Slightly off the photography topic, but important nonetheless. Protect our Coral Sea Ambassador, actress Isabel Lucas, and her musician boyfriend Angus Stone have made a fantastic short video ‘Coral Sea Love’ asking people to show their Love for the Coral Sea by sending off a submission for the draft Coral Sea Marine Reserve this Valentine’s Day. Julia Stone’s beautiful song In the City of Lights features on the video.
The Coral Sea marine park draft plan, put forth by Environmental Minister Tony Burke, will be open for public submissions until February 24th 2012. I have been working hard on the Protect Our Coral Sea Campaign to create more environmental protection of the area. Currently only 2 of the 25 reefs are protected from fishing pressure under the new plan. One of the amazing things about this proposal is that with up to 90% of the large fish taken from our oceans (or ‘eaten’ as Dr Sylvia Earle puts it in her famous Ted prize talk – very worth a watch), the proposed marine reserve is large enough to create effective protection for these big ocean wanderers. However improvements are needed, like the removal of longliners from the southern Coral Sea which has been identified as a global biodiversity hotspot for apex ocean predators.
Isabel Lucas and Angus Stone have created the Coral Sea Love video encouraging people to send their rapid submission via protectourcoralsea.org and ask the government to make these improvements. Please help us improve protection for the Coral Sea.
Here is what Isabel Lucas has to say:
“I’d like to send a message to our federal environment minister…THANK YOU, Environment Minister Tony Burke for protecting the eastern half of the Coral Sea in your draft plan for this iconic part of our blue Australia. THANK YOU for banning oil and gas exploration, mining and longline fishing in the Coral Sea Marine Park. And also THANK YOU for recently noting that the “Coral Sea was a near-pristine area with abundant marine life that deserves protection”
HOWEVER Mr Burke….in your current proposal for the Coral Sea, only 2 out of the 25 coral reefs are fully protected. All the other reefs are open to some kind of fishing or harvesting.
So fellow lovers of our oceans, on this Valentine’s Day I ask you to show your love for the beautiful Coral Sea and please join with me by asking Mr Burke to better protect the coral reefs in our Coal Sea!
Sending your Coral Sea submission to Tony Burke via www.protectourcoralsea.org.au will take less time than brushing your teeth…”
Isabel Lucas, Protect our Coral Sea Ambassador.
Australian Conservation Foundation