09 July 2005

Privatising bio-diversity on the foreshore

In the dark night of the protected foreshore, they move in, large buckets are filled up and wheeled away into well-to-do cars. The latest was a family, turning rocks in a haste, greedily torching anything that moved and looked edible. Feeling watched, they stuffed their loot into a rucksack, hopped into their flash 4WDR and raced off.
Although the rocky shores of Sydney's northern beaches are protected, the enforcement is weak. In Manly there are signs, approximately 2-3 m high informing of the fines. In a Wild-West manner all that over- regulation is ignored and the very last oyster is cracked off the rock. The oystercatcher just has to go 'elsewhere'.
Of course the public is free to do the policing, endless phone-numbers are available. Outsourcing the enforcement does not seem to work. But maybe the recommendations are all that is affordable to protect the remaining bio-diversity of the shores.
Who cares anyway?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

eine tolle seite MiRo

Anonymous said...

Hi MiRo

thanks for the comment.ri