IT comes as no surprise that the State Government’s unveiling of its Moreton Bay rezoning plan appears to have pleased very few with a stake in what happens in the waters stretching from our Gold Coast north to Caloundra.

The ‘tough love’ approach introduced by Canberra to protect and preserve the Great Barrier Reef in 2004 generated strong emotions.

On the one hand, the zonings were hailed by conservationists in Australia and in the international community as one of the great political and scientific achievements of the past few decades, with the likes of international environmentalists Jean-Michel Cousteau and David Attenborough happily expressing their delight.

On the other hand, the zones meant fishing was banned in areas that many north Queenslanders had considered they had a birthright to fish, generating intense anger and a series of very fiery public meetings.

The State Government’s bid to protect this region’s inshore fishing stocks, with its rezoning plan due to take effect from March 1 next year, bans fishing from 16 per cent of Moreton Bay waters stretching down to the Seaway.

The Bligh Government’s intention is noble enough: to ensure ‘our grandchildren will still be able to throw in a line’ in the bay — and presumably catch something worth eating.

But typically, environmentalists believe a considerably larger part of the bay should be no-go zones while the fishing industry argues the proposed measures are over the top and is warning of shortages of local supplies and an increase therefore in imported seafood.

It is important the rest of us keep in mind what has brought southeast Queensland to this point. Few can deny that while the majority try to do the right thing, there have been cowboys raping our fish stocks over the decades, leading to a situation now where stern measures are required.

It is sad that it will mean even more bureaucracy, with bay rangers with the power to levy on-the-spot fines enforcing the new bans.

It will be not only charter operators and commercial fishermen who could be hit hard in tough economic times. As one experienced fisherman told he Bulletin yesterday, there could be collateral damage extending to bait and tackle shops and others who service the fishing and tourism industries, such as clothing manufacturers and — as the Gold Coast has witnessed already — boat manufacturers.

Cool heads are suggesting it would be more effective to introduce bag limits on species that are unrestricted at the moment.

What is evident though is that common sense should have prevailed much sooner. Instead, professional and recreational anglers are about to be hit with measures that are probably too harsh — and too late.

Source : goldcoast.com.au