The Greens spokesperson for Fisheries, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson provides the following comments on the drowning of four more dolphins by the super trawler Geelong Star.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Four more dolphins are dead because the Liberal Government and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) have failed in their duty as regulators.

“The risk to marine mammals was foreseen in the report by the super trawler Expert Panel and yet the Geelong Star was allowed to fish.

The Greens spokesperson for Fisheries, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, provides the following comments on reports that the recently arrived super trawler, the Geelong Star, has already caused the deaths of four dolphins and two seals.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “The Liberal Government and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) gave the Geelong Star a green light to fish a fortnight ago and already it has drowned four dolphins.

The Greens spokesperson for Fisheries, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson attended today’s community rally against the Super Trawler in Hobart and provides the following comment about the ongoing debate.

Senator Whish-Wilson said “Senator Richard Colbeck has done everything possible to avoid scrutiny in his handling over super trawlers fishing in Australian waters.

“His two major announcements in relation to super trawlers have been ‘dump and runs’ late on Christmas Eve and the day before Good Friday, in a clear attempt to limit debate and avoid scrutiny.

Greens spokesperson for Fisheries, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, applauds the overnight decision in the United States to ban new commercial fisheries for small bait-fish on the US Pacific Coast.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Federal fisheries managers in the United States have unanimously voted to adopt a ban on new commercial fisheries for small fish like sardines unless they can demonstrate that there is no impact on local ecosystems.

Greens fisheries spokesperson Senator Peter Whish-Wilson says the Abbott government’s super trawler ban is a cynical political ploy and not science based fisheries policy.

“This ban is a cynical political ploy not based on the recent independent scientific panel’s advice on super trawlers,” Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said.

“Banning ships over a certain length means nothing if mega freezing capacity industrial scale trawlers are still allowed to plunder our oceans and threaten ecosystems.

The Australian Greens spokesperson for Fisheries, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, provides the following comments on the release of the “Report of the Expert Panel on a Declared Commercial Fishing Activity: Final (Small Pelagic Fishery) Declaration 2012,” a scientific review into the likely impacts of the super trawler.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “This super trawler scientific report vindicates the position of the Greens, recreational fishers, environment groups and the wider Tasmanian community.

Today in the Senate the Coalition voted against a joint motion from Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson and Labor Senator Lin Thorp that would have ensured that approximately $1M of funding for independent fisheries science into the risks of industrial scale fishing would continue. 

Senator Whish-Wilson said the motion called for the maintenance of both the temporary two-year ban and the research funding required to investigate environmental impacts of the operation of large mid water trawl freezer vessels - like the supertrawler FV Margiris - in the Small Pelagic Fishery(SPF).

The Australian Greens will move a motion in the Senate on Tuesday the 26^th of February calling on Environment Minister Tony Burke to fix his mistakes and ensure the ‘super-trawler’ can’t operate in the Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF) until Burke’s own Commonwealth-funded independent expert panel are able to finish their scientific research.

The Australian Greens will today be using Senate Estimates to seek assurances that the super-trawler will not be allowed to operate in the Australian Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF).

 Senator Peter Whish-Wilson stated there were many unresolved questions around both the science underpinning the small pelagic fishery, SPF, and Seafish Tasmania’s plan to now use Margiris as a floating factory.