Conservation, tourism and recreational fishers have today welcomed the Queensland Government’s new Great Sandy Marine Park zoning plan.

"AMCS Marine Parks Campaigner James Sherwood said:"The new Great Sandy Marine Park zoning plan will improve protection of threatened species such as dugongs, turtles, grey nurse sharks and the Australian humpback dolphin.

“Anyone who has fished consistently throughout the Great Sandy Marine Park from Baffle Creek in the north to Double Island Point in the south during the last few decades will confirm they have observed significant localised depletion across several of our key recreational species. The new zoning plan will assist in restoring and protecting fish stocks throughout the Great Sandy Marine Park for future generations while creating new employment opportunities.”

“Bringing an end to destructive gillnetting inside the Conservation Park zones is well overdue and should never have been established in the first place. The Great Sandy Marine Park was the only marine park in Australia that allowed commercial gillnetting in Conservation Park zones.”

The Australian Marine Conservation Society and the Fraser Coast Fishing Alliance are part of the Great Sandy Alliance with other conservation groups, recreational fishers and tourism operators.