Differences in opinions over Coral Sea fisheries

Compare and contrast these two news reports on the proposed Coral Sea marine park (Read the full report here):

THE Coral Sea must be declared a protected zone to save sharks and some other marine species from rapid extinction, says the conservation group WWF. The organisation says two separate reports show many Coral Sea marine species are isolated and vulnerable to overfishing.

“For this reason alone, we are renewing our calls to the federal government to declare the entire Coral Sea a marine protected area,” WWF spokeswoman Gilly Llewellyn said.

“Without protection, these species are highly vulnerable to human impacts which could easily and quickly wipe them out,” Dr Llewellyn said.

‘Coral Sea needs protection‘ – The Australian, 22nd May

The Queensland Seafood Industry Association says the Coral Sea needs a sustainable management plan and not a complete ban on fishing.

Association president Neil Green says some environmental groups are out of touch.

“We’ve got the world starving for fish or for food in particular and we’ve got these groups saying we shouldn’t access that resource, we should just let them die of natural causes and that’s just not acceptable to an industry that means so much to Queensland,” he said.

‘Seafood industry slams WWF calls for fishing ban‘ – ABC News, 22nd May