Science, industry and global public support protection of Coral Sea
26 Oct 2007
One month after the launch of its campaign for protection of Australia's Coral Sea, scientists, industry and the global public are rallying behind WWF-Australia's call for action.
A statement released today by the world's leading coral scientists - attendees of a conference in Canberra that considered the future of the world's coral reefs - includes a call for greater protection of the reefs of the Coral Sea.
Dr John Pandolfi, Associate Professor at the University of Queensland and a speaker at the Coral Reef Futures '07 conference, says most of the world's coral reefs have already deteriorated as a result of human impacts.
"There really are no truly pristine reefs left, but places such as Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea are about as close as we get. Reefs with healthy populations of predators, such as those in the Coral Sea, are increasingly rare and need to be protected as a matter or urgency," Dr Pandolfi said.
The Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators (AMPTO), the peak industry body for tourism on the Great Barrier Reef, has also thrown its support behind the campaign.
"The Coral Sea is a world class tourism destination", said AMPTO executive director David Windsor.
"The Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea is the big drawcard that attracts people from around the world. From a commercial perspective it makes sense to safeguard your asset base and we support WWF-Australia's call for greater protection of the Coral Sea," he continued.
After only ten days, more than 14,500 people from more than 140 countries have signed up to WWF's international petition to save the Coral Sea, which was recently declared a 'predator diversity hotspot' and is recognised as one of Australia's last tropical marine wilderness regions.
More than a thousand people signed up from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, and hundreds more have joined the petition from Brazil, Belgium, China, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain and Sweden.
Leader of WWF-Australia's Oceans Program Dr Gilly Llewellyn said the global support for protecting one of the planet's last healthy tropical marine environments was encouraging at a time when coral reefs were declining worldwide.
"This campaign and the message of hope that we can save the Coral Sea, one of the last great wild places and a place many people dream of visiting, has captured the imagination of the world," Dr Llewellyn said.
WWF-Australia is urging the next Australian Government to declare the Coral Sea a Marine Protected Area. Stretching from the outer boundary of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to the edge of Australia's territorial waters, a protected Coral Sea would create the largest Marine Protected Area in the world.
More information
Rachael Hoy, Press Officer, WWF-Australia
Phone: 0415 643 165
Mobile: 0407 204 594
Gilly Llewellyn, Program Leader Oceans, WWF-Australia
Phone: 02 8202 1227
Mobile: 0406 380 801
