Penny Wright (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries (Senator Ludwig) to a question without notice asked by me today relating to dolphin and sea lion deaths in South Australian waters.

This is an important and urgent issue. Last week five conservation groups, the Australian Marine Conservation Society, the Wilderness Society, the Conservation Council of South Australia, the Humane Society International and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society called for an immediate ban on the use of gillnets in a shark fishery, operating in Commonwealth waters off South Australia, due to the deaths of many sea lions and dolphins.

At this time in our history we are facing the worst extinction rate in 65 million years, since dinosaurs were wiped out. We must take this issue seriously. In this particular fishery in Commonwealth waters it is estimated that 256 threatened Australian sea lions are killed each year. I also understand that the latest available information shows that 13 dolphins were also killed in this fishery in the first three months of this year alone.

The government has put in place a strategy to attempt to protect the Australian sea lion, but this has been criticised as being grossly inadequate and now it would appear that impacts on dolphins are also increasing. Unfortunately, the exact numbers and the nature of the dolphin deaths are not known. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority, AFMA, seems unwilling to publicise the latest figures.

The public have a right to know how many sea lions and dolphins are being killed and what measures are being taken to remedy this. Gillnets are an acknowledged threat to the survival of sea lions at places such as Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island, which is a major tourist drawcard for the island. It seems that gillnets are also now killing dolphins.

Urgent action is needed to prevent the suffering and death of these animals. They are protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. A ban on the use of gillnets in Commonwealth waters off the coast of South Australia, as called for by the five conservation groups mentioned, and better information from AFMA would assist in the practical protection of these iconic and majestic creatures.

Question agreed to.