Australian Giant Cuttlefish

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (15:32): I rise today to talk about the Australian giant cuttlefish. People are probably aware that just outside Whyalla, on the Point Lowly peninsula, each winter there is a massive, unique breeding aggregation. Cuttlefish can generally be found around the Australian coast, from the south of Queensland all the way around to Geraldton in Western Australia. The Australian giant cuttlefish breeds in pairs or in very small groups of up to five or six.

What we have outside Whyalla, on the Point Lowly peninsula, is a massive aggregation. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of animals aggregating in a small area in what is a spectacular display. It is truly unique. People from overseas have commented on the nature of the aggregation, and Professor Roger Hanlon of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, which is the largest independent oceanographic institute in the United States, has called the breeding aggregation 'the premier marine attraction on the planet'. That just gives you an idea of how this is viewed by cephalopod experts and others around the world.

We have had a number of major documentary makers come to Whyalla and spend time filming the breeding aggregation. David Attenborough's people have also been over to Whyalla and spent time filming the aggregation. It is an amazing event and, as I said, it is a unique event.

What has this minister done? He has reduced protection for the aggregation. Until a few weeks ago, if you were to draw a line across Spencer Gulf from Wallaroo to Arno Bay, all the area to the north was protected and a no-take zone for Australian giant cuttlefish. The minister has massively reduced the protected area and now even cut out some of the breeding aggregation from protection—and the animals from the northern Spencer Gulf largely only breed on the rocky fringes of the Point Lowly peninsula.

We already have one or two commercial fishers, right outside the boundary of the current protected area where the aggregation is, catching the Australian giant cuttlefish. It is totally unacceptable. It has been attacked by divers in this state, interstate and overseas. The decision has been attacked by environmentalists, it has been attacked by tourist operators and it has been attacked by motel owners. There was absolutely no pressure to lift that degree of protection that existed for the cuttlefish.

The protection was brought in back in the late 1990s, when the commercial sector, over a period of a few years, decided to directly hammer the aggregation in order to get a pittance overseas. Back in 1996-97, they took out 263 tonnes from the aggregation. It was absolutely appalling behaviour, so protection was introduced. It is incredibly disappointing to see this minister seriously dilute the protection that exists.

I would call upon the minister to rethink this, given there was no pressure from the recreational sector and no pressure from the professional sector to dilute this protection. I would call on the minister to reinstate the full protection in the northern Spencer Gulf.