19th Jun 2006, 3:43 PM – Senate Motions - Sea Bottom Trawl Fishing - Address destructive impact

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Rachel Siewert, which means that it was rejected. The motion was:

That the Senate—

(a) recognises that unregulated high seas bottom trawling is inconsistent with international law as recognised in the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea;

(b) notes the Australian Government’s initiatives in developing long-term governance arrangements to address destructive fishing practices such as illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing and high sea bottom trawling;

(c) calls on the Government to report on its actions to inform a review of progress and future recommendations to address the destructive impacts on deep sea ecosystems, as requested by the UN, and which was to have been provided by 1 May 2006;

(d) notes that:

(i) these governance measures will take time to develop and implement and the need, therefore, for interim short-term measures, such as a global moratorium on high seas bottom trawling, and

(ii) the UN General Assembly will consider a proposal for a global moratorium on high seas bottom trawling in October or November 2006; and

(e) calls on the Government to support interim measures to address the destructive impacts of bottom trawling on deep sea ecosystems while long-term governance measures are put in place.