Parks Australia has partnered with a number of Government Agencies to crack-down on the tonnes of deadly ‘ghost nets’ that kill tens of thousands of marine animals in northern Australian waters each year.
Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley said collaboration between Parks Australia and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA), Maritime Border Command (MBC) (a taskforce within the Australian Border Force), Indigenous rangers and the fishing industry would combat the ghost net scourge on Australia’s marine life and ensure a more coordinated response.
Ms Ley said $14.8 million had been allocated to the multi-Agency collaboration which would track the deadly nets, identify their sources and embark on a range of initiatives to remove them from Australia’s waters.
“This is a pointless environmental tragedy, one that takes a heartbreaking toll on our marine life,” Ms Ley said.
“Northern Australian waters and beaches hold some of the highest densities of ghost nets in the world with up to 80-90 per cent of ghost nets in our waters coming from foreign vessels, due to prevailing currents and conditions in the Arafura and Timor Seas and the Torres Strait,” she said.
“Fish, turtles, dugong, sawfish, hammerhead sharks, sea snakes, and birdlife are among the tragic victims of these walls of death, which are also responsible for thousands of tonnes of plastic being added to our oceans each year.”
Ms Ley said the funding would go towards projects that addressed the challenge of ghost nets in northern Australian waters; proactive steps to address the source of the issue with stakeholders; and enable further research and coordination.
