MORETON Bay fishermen will soon find out which parts of the bay will be made off-limits to fishing.

Sustainability Minister Andrew McNamara says he has almost finished making his preferred changes to the State Government’s draft Moreton Bay Marine Park zoning plan.

But Mr McNamara has signalled further changes might be made when the document goes to Cabinet for approval in the next two months, and warned he could be overruled if other ministers wanted to adjust proposed no-take zones.

Fishing groups have consistently attacked the government’s draft zoning plan, which proposes fishing bans in 15 per cent of the marine park, while environmentalists have called for even stronger protection to safeguard marine life.

Mr McNamara spoke about a delicate “balancing act” when he visited the Redlands last week to accept petitions from about 1400 residents concerned about planned green zones.

The petitions, launched by State Labor Member for Redlands John English, called on the Minister to scrap the suggested bans on shoreline fishing at Victoria Point and Point Talburpin.

The State Opposition ridiculed the petitions last month after discovering two other Labor backbenchers had distributed near-identical petitions in their areas.

Mr English confirmed the Minister’s staff and the Labor Party had input into the wording.

The Liberal National Party claimed a backroom deal had already been done to make the proposed changes and the petitions were simply a ploy to make the MPs appear like community heroes at the end of the process.

But Mr McNamara told the Bayside Bulletin he hadn’t yet made up his mind on the petitions and accused the LNP of being out of touch with the processes of government.

“If I could announce today, and do a photo for you, and shake John’s hand and say, ‘Yep, good on you, it’s done’, I would,” he said.

“Cabinet is not a rubber stamp. It’s a very vigorous contest of ideas. Every minister will have their fingers all over this when it’s done.”

If certain green zones were removed from the draft plan or modified, he said, other areas would have to be added to maintain the same “overall percentage”.

The comments suggest the final plan is likely to include green zones covering about 15 per cent of the Moreton Bay Marine Park - the same level of protection as the draft plan but an increase on the bay’s existing 1 per cent coverage.

Source : Redland Times