Protecting ocean biodiversity at Terrigal

JOIN FRIENDS OF KURRAWYBA

AQUATIC RESERVE

We are the "Friends of Kurrawyba" and we would like your help to ask the NSW Government to create an Aquatic Reserve near The Haven, Terrigal.

Community support for the marine protected area is essential. If we work together as a united community, the NSW Government will listen to us and realise that our objectives are worth turning into reality.

OUR MISSION

Who we are

The Friends of Kurrawyba are a group of locals who have been meeting regularly to spearhead a campaign to have an area near The Haven declared a Marine Protected Area - No Take Aquatic Reserve. These local waters have a part to play in protecting the endangered Grey Nurse shark.

Our group is made up of ocean swimmers, divers, photographers and other locals who care about the environment and marine life.

The Friends of Kurrawyba have no political affiliations and we are supported by the Marine Discovery Centre and the Community Environment Network.

THE BENEFITS OF A 'NO TAKE' AQUATIC RESERVE

'No take' aquatic reserves' are the Marine Protected Areas with the strongest protection. They are very effective in restoring and preserving biodiversity and in enhancing ecosystem resilience.

A new meta-analysis of previous studies shows that biomass of whole fish assemblages in marine reserves is, on average, 670% greater than in unprotected areas.

Although marine reserves were conceived to protect ecosystems within their boundaries, they have also been shown to enhance local fisheries and create jobs and new incomes through ecotourism”.

MORE MARINE AND BIRD LIFE

It is well known that larger fish make more eggs than smaller fish.

One 30cm fish will release the same number of eggs in a year, as two thousand 15cm fish.

It is not hard to imagine then that allowing fish stocks to increase will lead to much more food for larger fish and marine birds.

Source: Australian Marine Conservation Society/National Parks Association factsheet

A BALANCED ENVIRONMENT

If we allow the environment to find it's own balance without the intrusion of people taking invertebrates and mature sized fish it will produce many more marine resources which will spill into neighbouring areas where fishing, spearfishing and collecting are allowed.

The benefits are there for all. We just need to allow enough time for the environment to recover and find its balance.

NO AMBIGUITY

It is much easier to enforce something where there are no exceptions to the rule.

'No Take' eliminates any ambiguity.

CALL FOR ACTION ALL NSW RESIDENTS

The NSW government is imminently deciding whether or not to continue with its marine culling program.

WE NEED YOUR VOICE! OCEAN NEEDS YOUR VOICE!

Follow the steps below

Contact the DPI Minister Tara Moriarty ( @tara.moriarty , who runs the marine cull. Let her know you want the NSW tax payer funded marine cull ended!

Contact the FIVE KEY NSW Cabinet Members below:

Paul Scully (Wollongong) - 42265700 - wollongong@parliament.nsw.gov.au
Ryan Park (Keira) - 42851588 - keira@parliament.nsw.gov.au
Michael Daley (Maroubra) - 93496440 - maroubra@parliement.nsw.gov.au
David Harris (Wyong) - 43522711 - wyong@parliament.nsw.gov.au
Yasmin Catley (Swansea) - 49721133 - swansea@parliament.nsw.gov.au

THINGS TO SAY

Focus your communication around on the three dot points outlined below:

There is NO EVIDENCE that culling sharks with sharks nets reduced any risk of shark bites, creating false sense of ‘safety’. We can re-allocate the millions of taxpayer dollars to the amplification of non-lethal shark mitigation alternatives that already exist.
There is demonstrable evidence showing that larger, potentially more dangerous sharks are being attracted toward beach goers to feed upon all the other vulnerable carcasses on the nets, jeopardising beach goer shark interaction safety.
Shark nets are NOT barriers. Shark nets are an indiscriminate fishing device entangling and killing over 94% of non-target species, making it completely ineffective, unlike the non-lethal alternative counterparts.

TEMPLATE MESSAGE BELOW TO SEND THROUGH
TO TARA MORIARTY

SEND YOUR MESSAGE

I share the solicitude for human life above all and the increased danger that shark nets pose to humans is deeply concerning.

Shark nets entangle and kill hundreds of marine lives each year, and by doing so, demonstrably attract larger, potentially dangerous predators closer to shore to prey upon. The DPI’s latest annual review even suggests that 94% of marine life caught are non-target species.

The Scientific Committees have subsequently time and again urged for the shark nets to be removed while escalating the use of non-lethal alternatives, that are already widely available, in use, and have been deemed as competent, compared to their ineffective shark net counterparts.

I, thereby kindly ask that you act according to the coastal council preferential surveys set forth in 2024 and terminate the JMA for the NSW Shark Meshing Program.

This is an issue of public safety, not politics. None of the eight councils have supported the use of shark nets, neither should the state.