Ban Fishing on Crowded Urban Beaches - Marine Reserves

Each year there are fewer Crested Terns visiting Manly Beach.

More and more fishermen line up along the urban beach. Booze-free zone. Stinking garbage, dead fish, dangerous hooks and plastic junk are left behind.
A Crested Tern mother had a chick which she hid amongst the Seagulls. Returning from her feeding trip, she was in distress, trying unsuccessfully to regurgitate - a fishing hook and nylon string. Various phone calls were made to volunteer organisations with long waiting loops. Had it been a precious dog, there would have been a swift service. It is unknown if the dependent chick or the mother survived. But then it's all about beach as a tidy and profitable playground for humans. Wildlife, especially shorebirds, are not granted a habitat.

More birds killed by fishing hooks and fishing lines at Manly Beach

Ban fishing on urban beaches. Make Manly beach and the Northern beaches a marine park.

Seven Little Penguins killed by a Dog at Manly Beach

Seven endangered Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) were butchered by one dog in their "protected" habitat in the National Park. (Images). This is the last and only colony in N.S.W.

Dog owner's attitude: ‘what’s one penguin against my dog’s freedom’ Manly Daily 060709

Mnly Blog points to an abundance of dogs being illegally allowed to be on Manly Beach (daily), in penguin habitats, Shelly Beach, North Head NP and the National Parks. There seems to be very little enforcementt and a lot of encouragment of the introduced canine obsession. The unleashed dogs are gaining territory, as wildlife is lacking a sponsoring industry.

Many cafes have dogs INSIDE, and outdoors they have their snouts on the same plates as the customers. Staff fondle the saliva of dogs and then continue to serve human beings.

But then in a society where children are mauled by dogs, people have their face ripped off, little flightless birds only get a few lines, before its back to serious business.

It is a state of poverty to exchange rich biodiversity for a monoculture of dangerous animals mauling people and Australian wildlife.

Questions:
How many convictions (on-the-spot fines) have been served on dog owners for illegal behaviour?
What proportion of resources are being devoted to the protection of wildlife?
What is the ratio of dog sponsorship by council, compared to the effective enforcement of the 'critical habitat' law?
Which tourist/visitor will want to see packs of dogs?

Update: 170709
T E N endangered penguins killed. Mnly Tweet
Penguin Habitat, Manly Cove

Manly Beach Drift "wood" - February

A monthly summary of what has washed onto the shore or beach through the winds, tides, waves or human action. Marine debris, flora and fauna, dead or alive:

A lot of bluebottles. On the beach, many had small shiny fish entrapped in their tentacles. Some were in the water, leaving large streaks/marks on some people's skin. Thick kelp on the North Steyne end. Crested Terns diving, 2 Pelicans soaring above. A dead bird. Various dead fish.

Junkspace: Approx. 10 'dead' balloons with long gift wrapping strings, ready to entangle. Freed up into the environment by 'fun'- loving people. 250209

As most early mornings or late evenings, dog owners defy the law and encourge free range activities of their dogs on the beach. Today, one large hunting dog (many seagull feathers?) and a hand-bag sized rat-like thing called dog were on the beach.
Beer bottles, whole or as generously smashed glass were left on the sand. The number of smokers seems to have increased, butts and toxic fumes are hard to evade on this "smoke free beach". Car fumes and rancid cooking oils drifting right up to the 'surf'. Crested Terns are still there, so it is not yet getting cold. 270209 (Image "Dog harasses Little Penguin" by local children, expressing their desire for the existence of wildlife in their life-time, Manly Library exhibition)

Manly Restaurants & Eateries - a Wishlist

There are some very good restaurants in Manly. Council made an effort to bring the “the basics of food safety, cleanliness, and hygiene practices” to the eateries and restaurants recently. The NSW Food Authority introduced a ' name and shame' register. As we are frequenting these premises with our friends, MNLY has a wish-list.

We'd like:

1. a regularly cleaned place, preferably using non-toxic materials
2. the provision of hand washing facilities for staff and customers
3. a fragrance- free environment
4. a smoke-free environment, in and outdoors
5. a spam-free ambiance
6. an absence of dogs (and their feces) in the food and drink establishments
7. an absence of toxic car fumes and unventilated gas heaters in the sitting areas
8. that it is stated whether the water was filtered
9. that it is mentioned on the menu where the fish/seafood comes from, esp wrt aqua-'culture'.

In detail:

1. In some places the paucity of cleaning is obvious. Some premises elsewhere are disclosing their ecological cleaning agents and the frequency of cleaning.
2. The bathroom does not necessarily have to be designed, as is fashionable in event gastronomy, or even cleaned with ecological sound materials. But the bottom line should be clean facilities and functional hand washing basins ( hot water, soap & towels) for staff and customers in times of recurring norvirus, hepatitis and Sydney belly. Toilet paper helps.
3. Various toilets offer synthetic fragrance sprays in small toilet cubicles to mask odours, due to lack of ventilation. Entering the premises one is forced to inhale these harmful substances. (pdf)
4. The right to breathe while eating out
   
5. Climate damaging flat screens have been installed in many places to pour some solid state spam over the customer held hostage to programs of shameless self-promotion of sales people. Each of the LCD displays is a huge energy guzzler, some use the equivalent energy of 7 fridges (de). These unsolicited, non-informative messages ruin the atmosphere. The choice of music is often, soothing to the staff, but incompatible with the clientele.
6. Dogs, prohibited in all food and drink serving places, regularly are seen sitting on laps, eating off the plate, kissing their owner. Staff handle doggy bowls and human implements simultaneously without concern. The dog saliva on the table just gets redistributed with the same old rag, that is used for all tables. True, as seen in real life!
7. Unflued gas-heaters, an unhealthy and wasteful form of heating are approaching the end of season now. The doors open up and more vehicle pollution and noise is made available.

Also:
Reducing Risks when eating out
Links:
What is an 'air-freshener'?
Health Risks from Perfume: The Most Common Chemicals Found in Thirty-One Fragrance Products by a 1991 EPA Study
What is a fragrance, video
The hidden threats lurking in synthetic fragrances and indoor air “fresheners” pdf
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products as Pollutants (PPCPs)
Common Synthetic Fragrances Found to Harm Wildlife, Humans
Household fragrances may be harming aquatic wildlife

Update 061211
We also would like to eat ethically wrt to industrial relations. Don't serve up up poverty wages, lack of sick leave, and discrimination. Guide (US)

Dog-walking in Bushland Degrades Biodiversity

“Operation suburban storm”
Australia's growing population sprawls into 'nature', not because they like the 'bush', but it is a cost-effective way 'to get away from it all'. They take their unsustainable cultural luggage with them to not miss out on that sub-urban feeling. The unpacking happens, but on a bigger scale. First they create tabula rasa in the 'wide open spaces'. After that, the packages of McMansions, hummers, pets and lawn monoculture gets unrolled. 'Operation suburban storm' is the annihilation of Australian animals and plants. Should any creature survive this invasion, then the next growing together of the frontier settlements would run them out of a home. In no time the human settlements take up all the land-scape and resources. Destroying what is unique about Australia
The refuges for wildlife are fast disappearing in Australia. But even the 'protected' areas are being conquered and annexed for suburbia with a vengeance. From Manly to Byron Bay to all-over the wildland-urban interface is a battle zone where Australian wildlife is eradicated. One main cause for the ecological vandalism is the anti-social behaviour of dog owners, walking their foreign animals in the last reserves for Australian creatures. There is an abundance of signs, but very little enforcement is taking place all over NSW. It seems to be tolerated that the suburbs just annex 'their bush' as their dog loo.

Vested bestial Interests
Being one of the largest pet owning communities per capita with substantial commercial interests backing it, this is a veracious force. Americans spend $41 billion p.a. on their pets, “ more than the gross domestic product of all but 64 countries in the world.” One could only guess, that Australia is not far behind. Locals consuming their 'annexed' “wilderness” hits a 'blind spot' with its guardians.

Some consume all the land-scape
Dog owners consume and degrade parks & reserves and deprive others of their enjoyment. It would be interesting to quantify the economics of this 'local consumption only' and compare it to the loss of the eco-tourism industry, even locals and visitors who would also like to immerse themselves in a green space, rich in bio-diversity. The canine community lobbies to not be 'restricted' from areas, where in fact it is them that deny the existence of wildlife or of visitors enjoying what they came for - wildlife.The loss of biodiversity is price-less (so far).
Study: Dog walkers degrade Australian Bush

New research has found that “Dog-walking in bushland significantly reduces bird diversity and abundance...We show that dog walking in woodland leads to a 35% reduction in bird diversity and 41% reduction in abundance, both in areas where dog walking is common and where dogs are prohibited...The effect occurs even in areas where dog-walking is common and where they are prohibited, indicating that birds don’t become accustomed to continued disturbance by dogs. This evidence clearly supports the long-term prohibition of dog-walking from sensitive conservation areas...Ground-dwellings birds appeared most affected: 50 percent of bird species observed in control sites were absent in dog-walked sites. The effect of dog-walking was most pronounced in the area immediately adjacent to the site where dogs were walked...There were 76 fewer birds within 10 metres of the trail when dog-walking occurred compared to control sites, suggesting birds were seeking refuge away from the immediate vicinity of threat." (Peter Banks and Jessica Bryant, Four-legged friend or foe? Dog walking displaces native birds from natural areas.)

Unchecked dog epidemic in Manly threatens rich biodiversity
The overabundance of dogs in Manly and the anti-social behaviour of their owners degrades the refuges of native animals (and plants), but also robs bushwalkers of their rights to experience these places unhassled. Some of Manly's unique residents such as the Little Penguin, ground dwelling and flight-less, the Bandicoot and many others are too often killed by dogs.

Let's keep Manly special and unique, and effectively protect our rich green areas from irresponsible vandals.

Previous:
On the Annexation of National Parks on the Cheap
Extinction and a world full of poodles
Leave some of Manly as Penguin habitat
ASBO,Dogs allowed to savage
When Rangers knock off...
Links:
More interesting reading on Manly ecology by Dr. Banks et al
Do Australian small mammals respond to native and introduced predator odours? BENJAMIN G. RUSSELL, PETER B. BANKS (2007)
"Introduced predators such as foxes and cats are twice as deadly as native predators to Australia’s unique native animals."

The world as a car park - hot and oozing toxins running into our water streams

A growing amount of the Earth is sealed with non-absorbent surfaces to ease the flow of automobiles. The result is warmer urban temperatures and polluted water ways.

Bryan Pijanowski found that in a mid-size shire “...parking spaces outnumbered resident drivers 3-to-1 and outnumbered resident families 11-to-1”. Car parking spaces were “...larger than 1,000 football fields, or covering more than two square miles.” Car parks “... turn out about 1,000 pounds of heavy metal runoff annually ”. Leaking car batteries and airborne fumes all found their way to the impervious surface and then to the next water body.

The temperature in these areas is raised by '2 to 3 degrees Celsius'. The researcher reminds us that 'land is not unlimited ' and we should “ seek a lifestyle that requires less automobile use”.



Australian research has looked in detail at what is running down these hard surfaces to the beach and other waterways. “Roads make up about one-fifth of the urban land area”. They claim that the run-off is a cocktail of toxic waste. Rain or any other liquids then wash these poisons into the water bodies. “ The dust then enters the waterways, silting up creeks, ponds and wetlands.”

They found 20 chemicals on Sydney's road surfaces, such as:

• Environmentally persistent chemicals
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from “ vehicle exhausts, asphalt roads and fires”
• “ Nicotine, most likely from tossed away cigarette butts, is an alkaloid with a half-life in the environment of 30 days and can be toxic to aquatic organisms”
• “ Trace amounts of heavy metals such as lead and zinc from tyres, petrol and bearings; chromium from wear and tear on car bodies, and copper from brake linings”
• Plasticisers
• “ Phosphorous that leads to algal blooms”

“ Authorities are focused on the immediate risk to humans from sewage contaminating stormwater systems, and the immediate risk to waterways from nutrients.” It is of urgency that they would have to manage these new types of contaminants (PAHs).

Links:
Convention on POPs

The right to breathe while eating out in Manly

Despite the 'smoking ban' eating out in restaurants and other eateries in Manly still poses a health threat. Already many eateries are on high traffic areas, where fumes fill the establishment, additionally many places exclude non-smokers from their 'fresh air area' as they are lacking 'no smoking signs'. Additionally the outdoor spaces are where smokers produce their toxins which then blow into the so-called 'non-smoking area.' Both staff and customers are put at risk. The cyclopic 'blind eye' does not fine or withdraw licences. Till then consumers would have to make their own conscious-health choices.

We sampled some spaces:
Garfish has huge ashtrays in the small 'outdoor area', the smoke is permeating the place.
Ground Zero's outdoor area also has no non-smoking signs, hence all the smoke is entering the small space.
Le Kiosk comes out on top – indoor and outside NO SMOKING good food and toxins do not mix. Also a minimum of petrol fumes *****
Scoozime has many smokers outside and it is blowing in (along with the heavy traffic fumes)
White Water does not offer outdoor tables for nonsmokers, smoke fills the lower part of the restaurant. Traffic fumes add the rest.
The Bower now also has NO SMOKING inside and outdoors. (Update, 240907)

The following areas are supposed to be smoke-free in Manly. I assume that 'alfresco' refers to the leased footpaths and I wonder why they lack no-smoking signs.

• All harbour and ocean beaches
• Within 10 metres of all Council owned children’s play areas
• On and around all Council sporting grounds and playing fields
• Within 10 metres of all Council properties
• At all alfresco dining areas on Council land
• At all Council events.
• In any leases, licences etc on Council owned and managed land or property.
• In Council owned parking stations.
• Within bus shelters.

More on Smoking in Manly

When Manly rangers knock off...

and the other authorities too...
They defy the law and

• bring their dogs almost daily on to Manly beach and Shelley Beach
• empty their dogs especially at Lady Fairfax Walk, North Head National Park. Faeces deposits are increasing on the heath, ringtail possums are torn to death.
• let their dogs off the leash in 'penguin areas'
  
• light fires at Shelly Beach (with the vegetation of the headland)
• scrape the shellfish of the rocks of the Manly Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve and fish with them at Manly Beach.
• come in boots at night, fish in the Reserve with lights on and leave with full buckets.

'9 - 5 enforcement' to be continued...

Unsustainable noisy petrol - 'gardening' Manly style

There is a lot of circus and warm recommendations about 'sustainabiltiy' in Manly. The council itself is modelling via their actions that polluting petrol-gardening is ok. Putting in 'pansies' and other exotics that require petrol-powered watering is also ok. Apparently in charge of noise (annoys) management, it regularly bestowes a noisy hurricane of petrol-powered equipment 'when the council does the 'nature' strip'. It is hard to believe these machines have 'noise labels' and conform to the prescibed noise level of 80 dB(A). In other places the debris-blowers are already illegal.
Who controls and enforces this health endangering noise?
Who controls private providers when one wakes up on a Saturday in 'Timbertown'?
There is talk of 'tougher restrictions on neighbourhood noise' but are the 'managers of noise pollution' exempt?

When will council show the way and rip up the lawns of suburbia, plant self-sustaining native tufts of grass, that do not need, petrol, water, pesticides or high staff-intensity?
How does council ensure that pesticides on suburban lawns and constant beach turf transplants are not endangering life?
Where is the guarantee to toddlers/people that the lawns/turf are not saturated with poisons?
That their immune system will not be affected by 'mystery diseases'?

In many cities of the world people have taken sustainability seriously, they eliminate their carpets of conformity and put in sustainable plants that do not cost the Earth or inflict noise and toxic pollution onto the environment.
Visitors and tourists would also know that they are not in the Europe of the pansy or the Sth. Africa of exotica, but could see what unique flora Manly has to offer. Additionally it could become a quiet beach-resort and not another interchangable Anywhere-place.
More on lawns and pesticide
Images: Monoculture lawn of anywhere and local native grass tuft

Plundering the aquatic 'pantry'

The plunder of the world oceans goes unchecked and even increases. The over-exploitation takes place in the oceans, Marine Parks and the deep seas. The additional 'by-catch' of albatross, seals and dolphins goes unmentioned. Aqua-'farming' is also unsustainable. The 'I'd rather be fishing' culture also engages in practices outside all regulations. Australia is amongst the few nations with 'the largest numbers of threatened species in the world.' Species are disappearing, shrinking in body size or done out of a habitat altogether.

Many of the aquatic beings are gobbled up. The iconic Barramundi has been on the menu from Darwin to Tasmania in every little eatery, it has become the new 'flake' now that the sharks are going. There is no culture of informed decision making or a will to make informed sustainable choices with regard to ocean produce. Try to ask your shop or restaurant where the ocean food originated from, or if it is produced in tubs of anti-biotics on cleared mangroves. Slowly certain foods are being banned, wild cavier and some do not sell live lobsters and crabs.

Utilising the world waterways and the oceans as cost-effective sewage and industrial discharge ponds, it is no wonder that high readings of toxins are accumulated in sea creatures. Dioxin here, dieldrin here or mercury there.

Sharks and other living fossils inhabited the oceans for 350 million years. 'Harvesting' them in a blink of history is irreversible. Newly discovered species disappear immediately. Mining the mysterious deep seas with high technology combined with blind watchdogs makes for an empty 'pantry' for the ones to come. Grazing the tree of biodiversity to the deep ground.
National Parks Association of NSW
Australian Museum Fish site
Fish movies
Free sustainable seafood guides
Best and worst seafood
Australia’s Sustainable Seafood Guide ($)
Fish caught with 'hi-tech' methods has a wastage rate of 80 %
Manly Leafy Seadragon

Smoking in Manly

Various countries have effectively protected their airspace for people to breathe. Tobacco and its additives are the leading cause of preventable death. Five million people die each year from tobacco related diseases.
Manly (beach) supposedly became a smokefree zone in 2004. More signs than trees sprang up and 'hefty fines' were promised for smoking. Two years on one is still forced to passively smoke on the beach, on footpaths and in restaurants/cafes. Lacking effective implementation one finds themselves sitting in stuffy places and smokers sit outside in the open air blowing their toxic fumes into the enclosed space. There is in effect no non-smoking area. Elsewhere customers are deserting such polluted gastronomy. The footpaths are filled with lunch time smokers standing under 'no smoking signs' and door ways, making passing these clouds a health hazard. The pavement, flower pots, the beach and waterways are littered with butts and 'throw away' lighters. On rainy days all the toxic sludge gets washed down to the iconic Manly Beach. (image).
Minors often get a good dose of toxins, especially in cars. In flats, balconies and neighbourhoods the second-hand poisoning continues. Enforcing authorities seem to hope that the signs bring about change and outsource the enforcement of existing laws (DIY). Businesses are also not inclined to ensure a breathable space for their customers. Approaching tobacco addicts oneself is as risky as their toxins.
The Non Smokers' Movement of Australia
CDC
Tobacco Industry Documents,CDC
WHO
Airspace Action on Smoking and Health
ASH