Marine Parks

There was recently a call made for a large Marine Park to be established in the coral sea. For Most people this will change nothing to very little. It just allows there to be a structure around the use of the area and some rules so you do not end up with a 'Tragedy of the Commons' situation. The problem is that there is always some one who will be disadvantaged, or at least think that they will be, by a situation where there are to be rules on the use of an area. Mostly these are the people who are abusing the situation as it stands but not always. This call for a Marine Park in no way demonised fishing or the fishing industry. It is just a call for some management of the area. Even if the fisheries in the coral sea are currently sustainable reason and logic dictate that without management they will become unsustainable in the future.

The thing I find interesting is that the Media gives the voice of Scientists who have spent years studying the ecology of Coral reefs and are world experts in the field is given equal weight to a Fisherman who spends some of his time out in the coral sea and is an expert on how to catch fish.

If you want to catch fish don't talk to a scientist ask a fisherman. In fact that is just what scientist have done in the past. When studying the Effects of Commercial Fishing scientist asked fishermen how best to catch fish. Scientists realise that there field of expertise is in the ecology of the reef not the best way to catch fish.

Unfortunately media in particular don't seem to realise that fishermen are not experts in the field of coral reef ecology. Coral Reef scientists such as the ones calling for the marine Park, are however experts in coral reef ecology. They are seeking to give the reefs enough protection so that the reefs can continue to be used into the future. They are not seeking to end all use of the Coral Sea. They are calling for a marine park much like the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, with protected areas and multi-use zones. To often people think that management means that the entire area will be cut off, No access allowed. This hasn't been the case for a long time. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was brought in in the 1970's and even back then it was a multi zonal system that allowed for the current and future uses.

The Amount of fishing pressure may have to be reduced. As with any unmanaged commons the amount of use tends to increase due to the logical choice of the individuals that use the commons (I will be posting soon about the 'Tragedy of the Commons' and how it works). So without management the area will be under too much pressure and the common resource, in this case the Coral Sea Fisheries, will collapse. This will adversely affect some individuals and they should be compensated. The fact that some people will be adversely affected shouldn't mean that the area should not receive protection or management though, unless that is you would like to see the Coral Sea degraded and turned into a marine wasteland.

So I say to the media, lets let people talk on what they know. If your article is about catching fish and how to do it your expert should be a Fisherman. If your article is about Marine Protected Areas and Reef Ecology then you should be talking to Scientists and Marine Park Managers. The reaction of fishermen is a valid part of your article but the fishermen should not be used as an expert in reef ecology and marine parks.