Dr.Meryl thank you for this piece, beautifully written, and straight to the point. If I read you correctly, you are basicly saying that a Government can pass any law it likes, but if they do not provide sufficient resources to police it, it is a worthless piece of paper.

I cannot for the life of me see the reluctance of Governments over the past 25 years to invest in aerial survielance, backed up by a coast guard organisation, or any other technology to protect our waters.

Apart from our dwindling fisheries, also illegal immigrants are a concern, the current Government has at least done the sensible thing and closed off in law large amounts of the Great Barrier Reef, however how rigourously it is policed is another question.

On a world scale, the story of the overfished oceans is a sad one indeed. Even so called sensible nations like the EU, are plundering African fish stocks.

To me its another sign that we are not addressing the key issue, ie how many people can actually live sustainably on our planet.

Sadly for the world's oceans, I think that the tragedy of the commons will apply. Already Indonesia has told Australia that due to their high population, we should share our fish stocks with them.
The fact that their fisheries policy was unsustainable, clearly did not occur to them.

But where is the enforcement? These guys sail in, do their thing and sail out...there should be severe penalties and swift retribution for the culprits.

As for the Indonesians, they can over-fish their own seas and live with the consequences of their own doing.

All the rhetoric and thunder we hear from Fort Fumbles (Canberra) achieves the sum of zero in assisting the biodiversity on places such as Ashmore Reef. Shark populations (of all species) are daily being plundered, and reduced to beyond 'critical'. Mud Crab, Barramundi, & Perch catches have fallen dramatically in recent years.

This is not solely an Australian issue as some may think. These bastards already use Cyanide in parts of our Top End reefs (Gulf of Carpentaria - E Arnhem Land). They land ashore with impunity (Roper River Bar incident 2004)

Yet what are Canberra and the states/territory doing? These matters are international and should have gravity of the situation that applies e.g the Antarctic issues - Patagonian Toothfish.

Because the lack of population (and active resources) to observe assists these illegal activities, fisherfolk and prospective irregular immigrants will always be a problem. Their respective governments don't give a stuff until these people are actually caught by our Customs, ADF, DIMIA and whoever. Then they waggle the finger accusingly.

Like the ancient Commanche cheif once said: "When all the trees are cut down for cabins, when all the buffalo are dried out as jerky, when all the rivers have dried up, do you think a rolled up dollar bill will suck up enough water from the rainwater puddle to quench our thirsts?"

As a species, let alone as individual nations in a greater world, we are almost at the precipice.