Australia''s Senator for Tasmania has attacked WWF’s ''Living Blue Planet'' report as the latest in anti-fishing propaganda and calls it more of a marketing pamphlet than a serious fisheries report.
Senator Colbeck, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, said the WWF’s latest report is extremely misleading and more about their business model than genuine concern for the sustainability of Australia's marine environment.
“This comes after a false campaign earlier this year which incorrectly claimed that 90% of global fish stocks are overfished. That claim is a complete misuse of the data and actually includes fisheries that are operating at a sustainable level,” he said.
“In fact, research by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations shows that 60% of the world’s fish stocks are fully exploited (sustainably fished) and about 10% are underexploited.The community look to WWF for guidance and it is frustrating to see them abuse that power by providing glossy marketing material in the guise of research.”
Senator Colbeck said that this new report is misleading and fails to share the numerous success stories of Australian fisheries. He goes so far to say that it’s one of a string of misleading campaigns aimed at scaring people into making donations, rather than educating the public.
He added: “The recent ABARES Fishery status reports show no solely Commonwealth managed fisheries are subject to overfishing. This is a significant milestone which we should be proud of – it shows our fisheries are exceptionally well managed."
