FISHING: CORIO BAY

8 June 2010 COUNCIL

Mr KAVANAGH (Western Victoria) -- My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Agriculture in his capacity as fisheries minister and relates to Corio Bay. I have recently been visited in my Geelong office by several local fishermen who have decades of experience fishing in Corio Bay. They told me that over recent years they have seen fish stocks almost wiped out in Corio Bay, which is a fish nursery for the whole of the greater bay. These fishermen blame excessive commercial fishing in Corio Bay and state that catches are now a small fraction of what they were around a decade ago. It seems that the permanent ban on line fishing in Western Port may be one factor detrimentally affecting fish levels in Corio Bay.

The destruction of fishing in Corio Bay will have consequences far beyond those to be inflicted on people who make their living directly from catching and selling its fish. It will have knock-on effects for those in a range of industries, such as boat hire businesses, and would be detrimental to tourism generally as well as to the recreational opportunities available to local residents.

I do not by any means seek a permanent ban on commercial fishing in Corio Bay. I am seeking from the minister action to protect and rebuild Corio Bay's remaining fish stocks to ensure they are managed in a sustainable manner.

This would seem likely to involve instituting a temporary pause on commercial fishing in Corio Bay, perhaps requiring compensation for those whose livelihoods would be affected, and regulating future fishing in a way that ensures fish survive in Corio Bay and remain available for future generations.

Corio Bay: Pollution

Victorian Parliament Hansard - 14 April 2010

Mr KAVANAGH (Western Victoria) -- My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Environment and Climate Change and relates to a matter I previously raised in this house with him concerning allegations of extremely high contamination of heavy metals in the beaches around Corio Bay. There is evidence in the form of studies -- undertaken by semi-professional individuals, I might say -- showing extremely high levels of heavy metal pollution in the sands around Corio Bay.

The action I seek from the minister is to review any health data relating to conditions possibly related to heavy metals around Corio Bay and report on the incidence of risks to health from possible excessive levels of heavy metals in the sands around Corio Bay.

Corio Bay: Pollution

Victorian Parliament Hansard

Title: Corio Bay: pollution
House: COUNCIL
Activity: Questions without Notice
Members: KAVANAGH
Date: 11 November 2009
Page: 5309

Mr KAVANAGH (Western Victoria) -- My question is for the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Gavin Jennings, and relates to pollution and contamination in and around Corio Bay. A Geelong resident, Mr Stan Taylor, has been concerned for a long time about apparent contamination in and around Corio Bay. With few resources, he has been collecting samples of sludge and having them analysed at his own expense. As I speak he is displaying some of those samples on the steps of this building. The initial scientific analysis suggests rates of contamination, including lead and mercury, that are very many times higher than recommended limits. I ask the minister: what does the most recent data available to the government show about the levels of contamination in and around Corio Bay?
Mr JENNINGS (Minister for Environment and Climate Change) -- I thank Mr Kavanagh for the question and the opportunity to talk about the program that is coordinated through the Environment Protection Authority in Victoria to monitor water quality right around Port Phillip Bay, and in this context that includes Corio Bay. This program has been intensified in the last two years due to the increased monitoring associated with the channel deepening program to provide confidence to the Victorian community about the condition of these important parts of the marine environment in Victoria.
I have not been privy to the private research that Mr Kavanagh refers to from Mr Taylor, but I would be very happy to receive any advice and evidence he can bring to bear for us to take account of and compare with the knowledge that has been compiled through the EPA's programs.
I am advised that none of the heavy metals Mr Kavanagh has referred to in his question are evident in quantities that would trigger any environmental alarm or concern within the community. However, I am very happy to have a look at the material Mr Taylor has provided. Heavy metal analysis is part of the program the EPA undertakes on behalf of the Victorian community, and I have received some advice recently about recent monitoring in which the heavy metals Mr Kavanagh refers to have not been evident. Indeed the only elevated feature of analysis that I have been referred to relates to oxidised nitrogen. This information is something that has probably been available in the public domain through the public release of the EPA's material, but whilst there is a heightened level of this element within the monitoring regime it is not at a level that would warrant further examination. However, it is certainly something that warrants our taking note of to be sure that we are mindful of these levels into the future.
I am told that this does not necessarily relate to the channel deepening program because heightened levels of oxidised nitrogen were discovered back in 2002 and they subsequently subsided, so I am happy to share across the chamber with Mr Kavanagh publicly, but also privately, what information we may have available to both of us.
Supplementary question
Mr KAVANAGH (Western Victoria) -- I thank the minister for his answer. He referred to the program being undertaken by the EPA and to the study of water quality. What about the foreshore and areas near the foreshore of the bay, not just the water itself?
Mr JENNINGS (Minister for Environment and Climate Change) -- In terms of the absolute technique and the method and whether it relates to foreshore sludge, as Mr Kavanagh has described it, that may be evident along the foreshore, I am happy to take advice on the technique and the method, and perhaps we can compare notes about the best way we can compile evidence to provide some degree of confidence into the future.