It News: MP Bob Katter calls for starfish bounty to save Great Barrier Reef

October 3, 2012

MP Bob Katter calls for starfish bounty to save Great Barrier Reef

Townsville Bulletin
October 03, 2012

Crown of thorns starfish on the Great Barrier Reef

CROWN-of-thorns starfish beware: Bob Katter wants to place a bounty on your head. The Kennedy MP has called for scuba divers to be paid $10 for every pest starfish they kill.

It comes after a report found coral cover throughout the Great Barrier Reef has been declining rapidly each year, with the starfish accounting for 42 per cent of the damage.

Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke, however, says there is no way he would place a bounty on the coral-consuming creatures, whose poisonous spines pose a danger to divers. He said the way to control the starfish was through further research and government-assisted culling programs.

Under Mr Katter's proposal, the diver with the biggest headcount would be crowned the Australian starfish champion.

Mr Katter said the bounty would be a boon for the region's ailing tourism industry while the other two causes of the Reef's decline cyclones and coral bleaching could not be addressed.

Townsville Bulletin