The Solitary Islands and Jervis Bay marine parks are under attack and urgently need your support.

The protective zonings for both the Solitary Islands and Jervis Bay marine parks are being reviewed and anti-marine park lobbyists are fighting hard to reduce the protection in these parks.

The NSW Shooters Party has introduced a Bill to place a five-year moratorium on the creation of new marine parks and new sanctuary areas within existing marine parks.

This proposal displays a clear disregard for the scientific evidence of more than 300 international papers that marine parks, particularly no-take or sanctuary zones, are a vital tool for marine conservation.

Debate on the Bill has been delayed until 31 August. We must act now to ensure our marine plants and animals have safe havens, and that our threatened and overfished species have a chance to recover.

Please visit our www.marineaction.org.au website and send key politicians an email showing you strongly disagree with the five-year moratorium on new marine parks and sanctuaries in NSW.

The NSW Labor party has given its ‘in principle’ support for a Shooters party bill that bans the creation of new marine parks and sanctuaries in NSW until 2015. You can find out more about this outrageous proposal at www.marineaction.org.au

On Tuesday 24 August we are setting up a life-size inflatable whale in Martin Place, Sydney from 11am until 6pm to raise awareness and demonstrate support for marine parks, and make a stand against the Marine Parks Moratorium (Amendment) Bill. A big thank you to IFAW for lending us the beautiful Venus (pictured left) for the big day!

Can you spare a couple of hours tomorrow to help hand out flyers and collect signatures on a petition asking Premier Kristina Keneally to support marine parks and not vote for the bill?

To volunteer, please call Jane Garcia on 0402 757 342 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Arriving in Sydney after sailing from San Francisco on the Plastiki , a boat made from 12,500 plastic bottles, British environmentalist and adventurer David de Rothschild saw first hand the devastating human impacts on our oceans and marine life.

He was concerned to hear that the NSW parliament is currently considering a proposal to ban new marine parks and sanctuaries until 2015 and supports our "fight to stop this plain dumb proposition".

David says: "The fragility of our oceans is now more evident than ever! To this end, anyone who is seriously considering voting to stop the creation of desperately needed marine protected areas,  not only needs to get their heads examined but needs to recognise their role in destroying the foundations we and future generations require if we are to survive as a species"