Learning outcomes
After completing this module, you should be able to understand
the:
•
challenges
of policy-making
•
complexities of
engaging with stakeholders
•
significance
of business-stakeholders nexus for sustainability
The
case of the Super trawler
Source: The Guardian (2014)
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/24/supertrawlers-to-be-banned-permanently-from-australian-waters
In 2012, the Dutch-owned and
Lithuanian-flagged ”super trawler” FV Margiris (later named The Abel Tasman) received
Australian Fishing Management Authority
(AFMA) approval to operate in local waters with relative ease. AFMA is the
Commonwealth agency that looks after Australia’s offshore commercial fish
resources and is responsible for the sustainable use of Australia’s fisheries
on behalf of the public. It is headed by a Commission comprising individuals
appointed for their expertise in areas such as fishing, fisheries management,
natural resource management, business or financial management, economics,
science/research, law and public sector administration or governance.
The 142-metre-long Margiris/Abel
Tasman is believed to be twice as large as any trawler that has ever operated in
Australia before and has fishing nets that are 600 metres long and ten metres
wider than the average trawler. Essentially
a floating factory which immediately processes the fish, the approval it gained
from AFMA entitled it to extract up to 18,000 tonnes of jack mackerel and red
bait from Australian waters annually. Community groups and commercial fishing
representatives feared that this would mean widespread overfishing with severe
collateral damage to non-target species such as dolphins and seals (known as by
catch).
The supporters of the trawling
operation argued that the precautions they had taken and the restrictions
imposed on them were sufficient: following public protests, the vessel was banned from operating in known sea-lion feeding
grounds, fishing was to be suspended if one dolphin died, or three or more
seals died in three consecutive “shots”, or more than ten seals died within a
24 hour period. On-board observers were to watch every move. A “by catch
excluder” device had been fitted to the net and would be video-monitored.
Opponents
of the operation pointed out that there had been no independent trial or
testing of the by catch mitigation device, and that the on-board observers
could not really check on a vessel processing 250 tonnes of catch a day round
the clock. They also suggested that given the value of the operation which will
involve taking up to 18 million fish a year, commercial considerations would tend
to overwhelm sustainability considerations. They also pointed to a disagreement
among scientists about the size of the existing jack mackerel population and
hence the fishing that it could sustain.
As the opposition to the super
trawler grew, it was discovered that the company that had organised the
Margiris operation and stood to benefit from its operations- Seafish Tasmania –
had a representative on AFMA’s approval committee. This link led to a referral
to the Commonwealth Ombudsman and to an investigation into the awarding of the
permit.
Commonwealth
fisheries are the responsibility of two ministers, the Minister for Fisheries
and the Minister for the Environment. Among other duties, the Minister for
Fisheries has to ensure that the exploitation of fishery resources and any
related activities are ecologically sustainable which includes the exercise of
the precautionary principle and consideration of the impact of fishing
activities on non-targeted species. The Minister is obliged to ensure the
long-term sustainability of the marine environment. The Minister for the
Environment administers the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity
Protection Act (EPBC Act).
The
restrictions on the super trawler did not reduce public concern. The government
became convinced that it was important to stop the operation relying on the
precautionary principle. However, it was
also realised that under existing legislation, there were no general powers in the EPBC Act to prevent new
fishing vessels like the FV Abel Tasman from fishing. Consequently, the
Minister took the following steps
1. Directed that urgent legislation
be drafted to amend the EPBC Act to stop the super trawler while further
research was undertaken on the effect of its operations
2. Once that legislation was passed
by the Parliament, the super trawler would be prohibited from fishing in
Australian waters
3. The scientific assessment would
consider all the impacts of the fishing operation, and once it concluded,
depending on its conclusions, the decision to allow the vessel to fish may be
reconsidered.
Effectively,
these decisions amounted to a ban for at least two years. Recently, the Abbott
government has indicated that Super trawlers will be banned permanently from
Australian waters.
Questions:
1.
Who
are the stakeholders in this case of the super trawler?
2.
How
effective was the environmental policy making in protecting the marine
environment?
3.
Did
government policy and NGO action in this instance hinder business interest and economic
progress?
There articles/video clips below cover this issue and might be helpful for your
team work.
·
http://www.coastalwatch.com/news/article.aspx?articleId=10868&cateId=3#ixzz2SDivcxCp
·
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/opinion/editorial/super-trawlers-net-gains-not-worth-it-20120902-25878.html#ixzz2SCCEjHR8
·
http://www.stopthetrawler.net/
·
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/26/supertrawler-ban-is-flawed-say-environmental-and-fishing-groups
·
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/24/supertrawlers-to-be-banned-permanently-from-australian-waters
this is the article and below is some instructions:
submit a 1000 (±10%) words essay on what
sustainability means to him/her in terms of their team facilitation
topic, relevant theories learned in this unit, and discussions made
in class. Your written submission needs to be fully referenced
and written to academic standards. The assessment criteria (rubric) for
this assignment will be available in Blackboard by week 2. Your essay
needs to demonstrate the evidence of having read and absorbed AT LEAST
FIVE (5) scholarly academic journal articles (you can include other
authenticated reference sources e.g., Books, Australian Bureau of Statistics,
as needed, but these do not count towards the minimum required number of
scholarly articles). Nor will online reports by academics (Working papers,
Discussion papers, commissioned reports of all kinds) or by organizations or
institutions, including NGOs and Government departments, be counted as
scholarly. You must AVOID web-based materials taken from sites such as
Wikipedia, Investopedia, Tutor.net, individual blogs, and etcetera.
What sustainability means to him/her in terms of
their team facilitation topic, relevant theories learned in this
unit, and discussions made in class.
Importance of regulatory options,
Opinion of regulatory options,
Law is important because,
Understanding how was it relevant,
How do you see it is important for regulatory options,
How do you believe you as a customer can increase
sustainability.
Relate it to SDGs.
