The Nature Coast Marine Group has called for everybody to support the Batemans Marine Park, now that the zoning plan has been finalised.
A spokesman for the NCMG, Andrew Green, said that while there are critics of the zoning plan, there are positive outcomes for all stakeholders.
“Recreational fishers will benefit significantly from the removal of trawlers from the park,” he said.
“Commercial fishers have an opportunity to leave the industry with dignity, through the buyout process; while those interested in conserving or learning about the marine environment now have a wonderful opportunity on their doorstep.”
“The fishing can only improve, and there are new possibilities for eco-tourism, so let’s all get behind the park and use it to help promote and enhance the image of our Nature Coast,” Mr Green said.
“Take up snorkelling, or at least teach your kids to snorkel, as well as to fish,” he said. “Learn about the marine environment and see the changes as the fish return and recolonise areas degraded by years of fishing.”
“A safe, accessible spot in a sanctuary zone, such as Guerilla Bay, will be a great place to watch what happens,” he said.
Mr Green said that based on evidence from New Zealand, Jervis Bay and other places where changes following the creation of marine parks are monitored by scientists, people should see improvements in fish populations in less than two years after the zoning plan is implemented, in mid-2007.
“Removal of larger fish and crustaceans has all sorts of flow-on effects that scientists are only just beginning to uncover,” he said.
“One of the great benefits of marine parks is to provide a tool to manage ecosystems, using sanctuary and habitat protection zones, which traditional species-specific fisheries management tools can never do.”
Mr Green said that members of the Nature Coast Marine Group would work with scientists to help monitor changes at selected sites in sanctuary zones in the park.