Mar 122014
 

Original story at Phys.org

Australia has successfully hatched its first shark born via artificial insemination with hopes that the development can ultimately be used to help breed threatened species, an aquarium said Wednesday.
The first brown banded bamboo shark pup born in Australia via Artificial Insemination is shown a at the SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium on March 2, 2014

The first brown banded bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum) pup born in Australia via Artificial Insemination is shown a at the SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium on March 2, 2014

Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium said the brown banded bamboo shark pup was born on March 3, ending a process which began in September when aquarists collected a semen sample from a shark in Mooloolaba in northeastern Australia.

This was flown to the southern city of Melbourne and inseminated into the mother the same day—making the pup the first shark to be born globally via a live semen sample transported from one facility to another, Sea Life said.

Melbourne Aquarium vet Rob Jones said the birth of the shark—which is expected to grow from its initial length of 16 centimetres (6.3 inches) to an adult size of 1.2 to 1.5 metres—was a milestone in using assisted reproductive technologies.

“This is a big leap,” he told AFP.

The hatching is part of a nine-year project into understanding the reproductive behaviours of , animals which are common in Australia but are little understood.

The team hope their research will help with plans to manage threatened species in the wild, in particular the critically endangered grey nurse shark.

The egg, one of several laid by the shark in November but the only viable one, was monitored weekly during its incubation period of 112 days.

“With each insemination attempt, we continue to learn about the reproductive behaviours of Australian shark species,” said Melbourne Aquarium research consultant Jon Daly.

“Hopefully we can use this technology as a basis for breeding grey nurse sharks in captivity and, in years to come, boost the species’ dwindling numbers in the wild.”

Grey nurse sharks are considered critically endangered, with estimates that there could be as few as 1,500 left on Australia’s east coast.

Sharks are a known danger for those swimming, diving and surfing around the country and are currently subject to a controversial cull in Western Australia state after a series of fatal attacks in recent years.

The policy to catch and kill any protected great white, tiger or bull shark bigger than three metres off popular west coast beaches has been condemned by conservationists.

Mar 112014
 
Tinker frog, Taudactylus liemi. The genus Taudactylus has unusual breeding behaviours that have made life difficult for researchers. Photo: Conrad Hoskin

Tinker frog, Taudactylus liemi. The genus Taudactylus has unusual breeding behaviours that have made life difficult for researchers. Photo: Conrad Hoskin

Original story by Elise Worthington, ABC News

Queensland researchers are working on a world-first frog breeding program to stop the tiny, endangered tinker frog from becoming extinct.

Two of the six species of tinker frog have already been wiped out, and researchers believe the lethal amphibian Chytrid fungus is to blame.

The one- to two-centimetre-long frog, which is native only to Queensland rainforests, gets its name from its unique call, according to Professor Jean-Marc Hero from Griffith University.

“The thing that really makes them stand out is their tinker, the sound they make is like the tinker of a glass jar with a metal pen or something,” he said.

Professor Hero says a new program on the Gold Coast has managed to breed the tinker frog for the first time.

“There are only six species – they are an ancient Gondwana group – and at least three of those are already gone,” he said.

“We are looking to recover and support the species that are remaining.”

There are only six species – they are an ancient Gondwana group – and at least three of those are already gone.

Professor Jean-Marc Hero

Saskia Lafebre from Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast says it is an exciting development.

“The species that we are working with are almost endangered in their own right, but we are actually trying to work with these species so we can one day work with the more endangered species of tinker frogs,” she said.

Ms Lafebre says it will be around two years before the new tadpoles can breed, but if all goes well there could be up to 400 tinker frogs hopping around.

“We’ve got large numbers of eggs, large numbers of tadpoles and hopefully we can turn that in to large numbers of metamorphs,” she said.

Tinker frog’s breeding behaviour unusual

The tinker frog is part of the genus Taudactylus, which has unusual breeding behaviours that have made life difficult for researchers.

Unlike other species, the tinker frog likes to lay its white eggs underground because they have no pigmentation, which leaves them susceptible to sunburn.

“We made a little bit of a mistake, where the eggs got some sunlight and they were killed almost immediately,” Professor Hero said.

He says things have improved this year with hundreds of tadpoles spawned from a number of adult frogs.

“It’s quite an unusual frog it has unusual behaviour and we are very lucky to be finally very successful in breeding them,” he said.

The breeders hope that those frogs will then be able to breed and create a large, captive population.

“It’s very important that we learn how to breed these species in captivity so we can save them from extinction,” he said.

Deadly skin fungus attacking other frogs

The tinker, like many other types of frogs across the world, has fallen prey to the deadly skin fungus Chytridiomycota, which causes the animals to die from heart failure.

Professor Hero says researchers are still trying to establish how the fungus spreads, to avoid reinfecting the new tinker frogs.

“The fate of the animals is still yet to be determined because we are still struggling with what is the cause of the decline in these animals,” he said.

“It’s hard to know at this stage where these frogs are first infected by the zoo spores of the lethal fungus that kills them, but it’s certainly in water and probably most likely the tadpole stage.

“We have to be really careful before we re-release them into the wild that they are not infected with that disease.”

 

Mar 072014
 

By Noel D Preece, James Cook University at The Conversation

The future of Cape York Peninsula – home to many of Australia’s unique birds, mammals, frogs and reptiles – is currently under review.
A baby northern quoll. The native mammal is having a hard time across northern Australia, battling for survival against cane toads and feral predators such as cats. Photo: Parks Australia/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

A baby northern quoll. The native mammal is having a hard time across northern Australia, battling for survival against cane toads and feral predators such as cats. Photo: Parks Australia/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

Prime Minister Tony Abbott recently launched the first stage of a new White Paper on Northern Australia. It’s the first national policy of its kind on the north and will be finalised within the next year. At the same time, the Queensland government has drafted the Cape York Regional Plan, which is currently open for public comment until 25 March.

Then there is the House of Representatives Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia and the review of Water Resources on Cape York. Comments on this are due also on 25 March. That water resources review is coupled with the revocation of the water-licensing moratorium on Cape York. This was initiated with the Wild Rivers declarations, which are also being revoked. New investigations into the availability of groundwater on Cape York, particularly in the Great Artesian Basin, are now planned.

All of these initiatives are focused almost exclusively on economic development.

Having built a northern Australian business that celebrates 25 years next year, I know the importance of a strong and viable economic base. But it must be tempered by a healthy regard for the values, opportunities and constraints of the natural environment and the unique biodiversity of the Cape.

The draft Cape York Plan does not adequately address the biodiversity and environmental aspects of the Cape’s development. The draft plan has already delineated areas for development for agriculture, mining and other activities, in the absence of sound knowledge and assessment of what is in the areas, as those studies have not been done.

Recent investigative reports on the potential and limitations of northern development have cautioned strongly against development at all costs without recognising the “critical gaps in knowledge”.

A vast unknown

Cape York’s unique natural values have been recognised for a long time. Naturalists were collecting plant specimens from the early 1770s, and from the early 1800s many new animal species were described. A third (114 species) of Australia’s mammal species are known from the Cape. Despite this richness and more than two centuries of records, the status of biodiversity of Cape York is poorly known.

Fruit Bat Falls, Jardine River National Park, near the top of Cape York Peninsula. Photo: David Robertson/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

Fruit Bat Falls, Jardine River National Park, near the top of Cape York Peninsula. Photo: David Robertson/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

Across northern Australia, native mammals have experienced dramatic declines. Many populations are undergoing “substantial and pervasive decline” towards extinction.

Have they been occurring across the Cape? In short: we don’t know. The few recent studies by researchers, including myself, have shown similar very disturbing patterns on Cape York, with mammal numbers at levels that have caused alarm in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Across the entire Cape, systematic but one-off studies of only around 230 sites have been made since 1979, most of them since 2012. These sites cover one hectare each, so the total area covered is tiny. No long-term studies of most mammals have been done for the Cape, despite known declines of some of the more iconic species, such as the northern quoll.

Many of the surveys were done for mining proposals located on areas which are now mined, and so they have no value for further study. None of the studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals, and are difficult to find even in technical studies and other reports.

Contrast this with studies undertaken in the tropics of the Northern Territory, where over 220 long-term monitoring sites have been established, which have shown “alarming” declines in many mammals over the last 20 years. There is no reason to think that these declines have not occurred on Cape York, given its similar climate, soils, pastoral history, and original fauna.

So what is being done about this lack of knowledge? Not much.

What cutting ‘green tape’ could mean

The problem for biodiversity in the plans of the Australian and Queensland governments for the Cape is that they are all about development, where the environment is seen as an impediment, an obstacle to be overcome.

None of the reviews or plans currently underway considers the unique biodiversity and environment as of prime importance to be considered on an equal footing with “realising the full economic potential of the north”, as the Prime Minister’s media release emphasised last week.

That philosophy derives in part from the Coalition’s policy 2030 Vision for Developing Northern Australia which is to “cut the green and red tape” and develop the north as a “food bowl” to help double Australia’s agricultural output. The policy is to be developed by September this year.

So what does cutting “green tape” (that is, environmental regulation) actually mean in practice? I expect it is code for removing many requirements for environmental assessment, including biological surveys of the land to be disturbed and adjacent to the projects, whether they be agricultural projects, roads, gas pipelines, dams, mines, subdivisions and others which will destroy landscapes, and thus kill millions of native animals.

Certainly, the Queensland Government is working towards restricting public objections to many mining projects to those directly affected, and no one else.

Deadly consequences

The devastating results of development without proper knowledge and care for natural resources and biodiversity can be seen in southern Australia, which has the worst mammal extinction rate in the world.

Over the past 200 years, a third (24 of 77) of all mammal extinctions around the world have occurred in Australia as a result of human impacts. There are no excuses left if we wipe out more species by poor planning for development.

Historical film footage of the now extinct thylacine, or “Tasmanian tiger”.

Extinctions are not impacts that we can repair later. There are no technological fixes, no seed banks, no magic potions to recover extinct fauna.

We know that extinctions are caused by land clearing, changed fire regimes, introduced predators, feral animals and weeds, and disease. Planning should recognise that studies are needed on the native species and habitats proposed for development to prevent this happening again across northern Australia, including on Cape York.

We simply don’t know enough about the wildlife on the Cape. That’s why the need to study them is more urgent than ever, so that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past and drive more unique Australian animals to extinction.

Noel Preece is an environmental consultant in his own business, and is contracted from time to time on projects funded from State and Federal funds, as well as by business and industry. He has recently received funding from the Biodiversity Fund for a rainforest restoration project on his property. He consults to various organisations, including NRM groups. He is affiliated with Charles Darwin University as a University Fellow, and with James Cook University as an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow. He is a Chief Investigator in one Australian Research Council research project, and a Partner Investigator in another ARC research project, both on forest restoration.

The Conversation

This article was originally published on The Conversation.
Read the original article.

Mar 072014
 

The ConversationBy Rod Keenan, University of Melbourne at The Conversation

Prime Minister Tony Abbott this week told a timber industry dinner that he doesn’t think national parks should be a growth industry:

“We have quite enough national parks. We have quite enough locked up forests already. In fact, in an important respect, we have too much locked up forest.”

Is he right? How much forest should be in conservation reserves, and does Australia really have too many?

Photo: Lake Judd, in Tasmania’s Southwest National Park. JJ Harrison/Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Lake Judd, in Tasmania’s Southwest National Park. JJ Harrison/Wikimedia Commons

Parks and protection

Australia has a world-class system of reserves, with just over 13% of its land area currently protected. Governments of all political persuasions have created national parks and protected areas for a range of reasons, including biodiversity conservation, wilderness protection, scientific study or to protect specific natural features.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he will not support the creation of any new national parks. Photo: AAP Image/Daniel Munoz

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he will not support the creation of any new national parks. Photo: AAP Image/Daniel Munoz

The most recent national figures indicate that 16% of the native forest area, some 23 million hectares, is inside reserves. This includes 70% of known old-growth forests and 55% of rainforest types. The iconic tall, open eucalypt forests (greater than 30 m in height) are also relatively well protected, with 26% inside reserves.

This stacks up fairly well against internationally agreed conservation goals. In 2010, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, which aim to conserve at least 17% of terrestrial ecosystems. In Australia, 54 bioregions already meet or exceed the 17% Aichi target, but 35 have less than 10% of terrestrial ecosystems protected.

These reserves have generally been created on public land, but 70% of Australia’s forest estate is privately managed, including private freehold and leasehold land and land managed by indigenous people.

Some significant conservation efforts are happening on these lands. For example, 83,000 hectares of forest on private land in Tasmania have been protected through programs such as the Private Forest Reserves Program and the Forest Conservation Fund developed under Tasmania’s Regional Forest Agreement.

Biodiversity conservation goals won’t be achieved simply by creating more reserves on public lands. More of these types of incentive programs will be required to encourage private landowners to participate in conservation.

While significant areas of forest on public land are not in reserves, these forests are not simply open slather for clearing or timber harvesting. Most states have legal restrictions on clearing and timber operators adhere to a code of practice. In many cases the land is inaccessible or not suitable for other uses.

As a result, only about 6% (or 9 million hectares) of Australia’s native forest area is available for wood production.

The Tasmanian question

The forest conservation debate is hottest in Tasmania, where the federal government is seeking to remove 74,000 ha of forest from the World Heritage list just a year after it was added.

The 2012 Tasmanian State of the Forests report indicates that 49% of the state’s native forest area (1.5 million of 3.06 million hectares) is in conservation reserves. Of the 50 native forest communities, 37 have at least 15% of their estimated pre-1750 extent protected in reserves. This includes the very tall Eucalyptus regnans (16% in reserves) and E. delegatensis forests (26% in reserves) in places like the Styx and Florentine Valleys.

Seven communities, mainly shorter-statured dry eucalypt types, have less than 7.5% of their pre-1750 extent protected in reserves. For most of these communities, the remaining extent is largely on private land.

As a result of this agreement, the previous federal government added 172,000 hectares to the 1,412,000 ha in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. But the Abbott government claims that 74,000 ha should be delisted because it is “degraded or logged”.

But it is misguided to describe harvested areas added to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area as “degraded”. Whatever your views on whether it should have happened at all, timber harvesting in Tasmania has generally been well-managed, with limited impacts on soil and water values. Harvested forests have been regenerated with the local species, and many other trees, shrubs and other life forms return to site within a short period of harvesting.

It is precisely this careful land management that has provided the opportunity to include these areas as World Heritage.

So was Abbott’s claim right?

In one sense, Abbott is correct about our national parks. We do have an excellent conservation reserve system with significant representative areas of many forest types. The vegetation types subject to timber harvesting are relatively well protected, both within national parks and outside them, by the restrictions and regulations on timber harvesting.

However, for the Prime Minister to suggest that we have “too much” forest in reserves overlooks the fact that there are many types of forest where the reserved areas do not meet national or global protection targets.

These are generally not the iconic tall wet forests adjacent to Tasmania’s wilderness areas. They are the shorter, less aesthetically appealing (to some) forest types in drier areas along Australia’s east coast. Remaining areas are often on private land, and the main threats are urban and infrastructure expansion, weeds, pests and feral animals.

Focusing the debate simply on areas in reserves also misses the need for a “whole-landscape” approach to conservation. Protected areas are just one part of the picture – areas outside reserves also need to be carefully managed so that conservation can co-exist with other land uses, such as agriculture.

This holistic approach will give us the best chance of protecting and conserving our unique native species and ecosystems.

Rod Keenan receives funding from the Victorian Government and has received funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research

The Conversation

This article was originally published on The Conversation.
Read the original article.

Mar 062014
 

Media release from the  College of Sciences News

Small satellite-tracking devices attached to sea turtles swimming off Florida’s coast have delivered first-of-its-kind data that could help unlock they mystery of what endangered turtles do during the “lost years.”

Juvenile Sea Turtle.The “lost years” refers to the time after turtles hatch and head to sea where they remain for many years before returning to near-shore waters as large juveniles. The time period is often referred to as the “lost years” because not much has been known about where the young turtles go and how they interact with their oceanic environment — until now.

“What is exciting is that we provide the first look at the early behavior and movements of young sea turtles in the wild,” said UCF biologist Kate Mansfield, who led the team. “Before this study, most of the scientific information about the early life history of sea turtles was inferred through genetics studies, opportunistic sightings offshore, or laboratory-based studies. With real observations of turtles in their natural environment, we are able to examine and reevaluate existing hypotheses about the turtles’ early life history. This knowledge may help managers provide better protection for these threatened and endangered species.”

Findings from the study appear today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

A team of scientists from the UCF, Florida Atlantic University, University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, and University of Wisconsin, tracked 17 loggerhead turtles for 27 to 220 days in the open ocean using small, solar-powered satellite tags. The goal was to better understand the turtles’ movements, habitat preferences, and what role temperature may play in early sea turtle life history.

Some of the findings challenge previously held beliefs.

While the turtles remain in oceanic waters (traveling between 124 miles to 2,672 miles) off the continental shelf and the loggerhead turtles sought the surface of the water as predicted, the study found that the turtles do not necessarily remain within the currents associated with the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. It was historically thought that loggerhead turtles hatching from Florida’s east coast complete a long, developmental migration in a large circle around the Atlantic entrained in these currents. But the team’s data suggest that turtles may drop out of these currents into the middle of the Atlantic or the Sargasso Sea.

The team also found that while the turtles mostly stayed at the sea surface, where they were exposed to the sun’s energy, the turtles’ shells registered more heat than anticipated (as recorded by sensors in the satellite tags), leading the team to consider a new hypothesis about why the turtles seek refuge in Sargassum. It is a type of seaweed found on the surface of the water in the deep ocean long associated with young sea turtles.

“We propose that young turtles remain at the sea surface to gain a thermal benefit,” Mansfield said. “This makes sense because the turtles are cold blooded animals. By remaining at the sea surface, and by associating with Sargassum habitat, turtles gain a thermal refuge of sorts that may help enhance growth and feeding rates, among other physiological benefits.”

More research will be needed, but it’s a start at cracking the “lost years” mystery.

The findings are important because the loggerhead turtles along with other sea turtles are threatened or endangered species. Florida beaches are important to their survival because they provide important nesting grounds in North America. More than 80% of Atlantic loggerheads nest along Florida’s coast.  There are other important nesting grounds and nursing areas for sea turtles in the western hemisphere found from as far north as Virginia to South America and the Caribbean.

“From the time they leave our shores, we don’t hear anything about them until they surface near the Canary Islands, which is like their primary school years,” said Florida Atlantic University professor Jeannette Wyneken, the study’s co- PI and author. “There’s a whole lot that happens during the Atlantic crossing that we knew nothing about. Our work helps to redefine Atlantic loggerhead nursery grounds and early loggerhead habitat use.”

Mansfield joined UCF in 2013. She has a Ph.D. from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and a master’s degree from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami. She previously worked at Florida International University, through the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) in association with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Marine Fisheries Services. She was a National Academies NRC postdoctoral associate based at NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center, and remains an affiliate faculty in Florida Atlantic University’s biology department where Wyneken is based.

With colleagues at each institution Mansfield conducted research that has helped further the understanding of the sea turtle “lost years” and sea turtle life history as a whole. For example she and Wyneken developed a satellite tagging method using a non-toxic manicure acrylic, old wetsuits, and hair-extension glue to attach satellite tags to small turtles. Tagging small turtles is very difficult by traditional means because of their small size and how fast they grow.

Mansfield is currently working under grants from NOAA and the Florida Sea Turtle License Plate fund to conduct work on the sea turtle “lost years.”

Other members on the team are: Wyneken, Warren P. Porter from the University of Wisconsin and Jiangang Luo from the University of Miami.

Mar 012014
 

Original story by Daryl Passmore, Courier Mail

RESIDENTS around Bulimba Creek on Brisbane’s southside are keeping their eyes peeled after a report of a freshwater crocodile emerging from the waterway.

A listener rang radio station 4BC on Friday night to say he spotted the reptile creeping out of the creek near Banika St in Mansfield.

Locals were yesterday startled — and cynical — about the suggestion that a man-eater may have moved into the neighbourhood.

Mark Kenway, whose house backs onto the bush corridor around the creek, was cool about the possible threat.

“I’ve lived here eight years and never seen anything,’’ he said.

“Well there are some pretty big goannas around here — and some mighty pythons.’’

“Let me guess,’’ asked Terry Vogan. “The bloke who rang the radio had a Kiwi accent and was actually looking at a four-foot lizard.

“We’ve got a couple of those, some vicious wallabies and a few savage cane-toads. But I can guarantee there ain’t no ‘gators.’’

Turns out, however, that Terry’s wife Lesley has got history when it comes to croc-spotting in the suburbs.

“I grew up on Norman Creek and there were always stories that a crocodile was in there. We survived that one too.’’

Crocodiles are rarely spotted south of central Queensland but rangers captured a 3.1-metre saltie in the Mary River near Maryborough last November and a 3.5m giant is still believed to be on the loose in the same area.

Wildlife officials caught a 1.6m freshwater crocodile in Logan City in 2009. They said there were signs it had previously been held in captivity and released 1300km from its natural environment.

The Courier-Mail carried a photograph of a 3.8m crocodile which was shot in the Logan River in 1905.

Feb 242014
 

Original story by Mark Mulcahy, The Border Mail

SCIENTISTS and river health teams are using reclaimed timber from a tornado in the Yarrawonga area to create a series of fish “motels” along the Ovens River.
Macquarie perch fingerlings released in the Ovens River.

Macquarie perch fingerlings released in the Ovens River.

New habitats for native fish are being funded from recreational fishing grants.

The North East Catchment Management Authority and representatives from the Department of Environment and Primary Industries attached to the Arthur Rylah Institute are involved in developing the new habitat.

The push for additional fish habitat coincides with a large number of recent fish stockings in the region.

The habitat structures are starting to be built between Tarrawingee and Everton today.

“Native fish look for snags and complex structures in a river when they are seeking shelter or it’s time to spawn (breed),” said Anthony Wilson, the catchment co-ordinator with the authority.

“Previous mapping of in-stream woody habitat in the Ovens River identified a lack of in-stream logs and timber for native fish species.

“That’s why we are creating these ‘motels’ for native fish.”

The fish motels are constructed by layering logs in a crisscross formation to form a tower-like structure that provides bulk and complexity for the fish species through differing water heights of the river.

The structures are then held in place within the river by large poles that are pinned into the river bed.

Mr Wilson said it was initially difficult to source native timber for the innovative fish habitat project.

“Streamline Environmental Project Management based in Yarrawonga helped us source the hardwood we needed to build these structures from tornado damaged areas,” he said.

“In doing so, we are helping to clean up storm damaged vegetation in the Yarrawonga community and offering environmental benefits for the Ovens River and its native fish populations.”

Earlier this month 5000 Macquarie perch were stocked in two spots along the Ovens River with another 33,000 released in five spots at Gapsted, Whorouly, Oxley Flats, Tarrawingee and Rocky Point last Wednesday.

About 20,000 Murray cod have been released into the Mitta River.

The North East Anglers Association with the department released 1400 catfish in Lake Moodemere near Rutherglen two weeks ago.

Feb 242014
 

Original story by , Sydney Morning Herald

Fish species such as the much-loved blue groper will be at risk if the O’Farrell government permanently allows recreational fishing in sensitive marine areas, a former government scientist has warned.

At risk: The blue groper could be targeted by fishers. Photo: Sarah Speight

At risk: The blue groper could be targeted by fishers. Photo: Sarah Speight

On Monday cabinet is due to consider making permanent an amnesty on recreational line fishing from beaches and headlands in so-called ”sanctuary zones” – marine areas that purportedly provide the highest level of protection for wildlife.

It is understood that cabinet is likely to allow line fishing in some of these zones. Under one option being considered, this would occur in about half the state’s sanctuary zones, which are designated in marine parks around Batemans Bay, Cape Byron, Jervis Bay, Lord Howe Island, Port Stephens and Solitary Islands. It would mean reinstating a ban on fishing in the remaining sanctuary zones.

A former scientist at the now-defunct Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre, Kevin Rowling, said the move could devastate stocks of some fish species including the blue groper, red rock cod and eastern blue devil fish. ”Recreational fishing can have a major impact,” he said.

”There are millions of [fishermen] and it all adds up.

”A lot of the fish that live [around rocky headlands] … are slow growing and there are many species we don’t know the biology of.”

The state’s most recent update on fish species status was conducted in 2008-09 and he questioned how fishing could be allowed when stock levels were unknown.

”They could be overfished … or they could be wiped out in particular areas,” he said.

The designation of sanctuary zones has been highly politicised. The Coalition accused the former Labor government of establishing new protection zones in the Jervis Bay and Solitary Islands marine parks before the last election to attract Greens’ preferences.

But the Opposition and the NSW Greens said the government had bowed to the Shooters and Fishers Party by opening sanctuary zones to fishing in March last year.

Save our Marine Life Alliance spokeswoman Cate Faehrmann said sanctuary zones around popular Wategos Beach and the Pass, near Byron Bay, were likely to be permanently opened to line fishing despite the presence of a dolphin nursery.

”Recreational fishers already have 93 per cent of the state’s waters in which they can fish … no other government in the world has wound back sanctuary zones in this way,” Ms Faehrmann said.

President of the NSW Amateur Fishing Clubs Association, Sydney branch, Carlo Dicello said the impact of recreational line fishing was ”minimal”.

”The ocean looks like a big place, but unfortunately the good fishing spots are very small and confined. The [sanctuary zones] are our prime spots,” he said.

A spokesman for Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson said the Marine Estate Expert Knowledge Panel carried out a risk assessment during the amnesty which ”thoroughly considered ecological, social and economic values”.

A department spokeswoman said fish assessment was carried out each year.