A 1100-signature petition calling for a ban on fishing to be enforced at Martha Cove marina, Safety Beach has been submitted to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council.
The petition, posted online on 15 September, was prompted by a near-miss incident in which petitioner Georgia Symmons was nearly struck in the eye by a hook while a fisher ignoring the ban cast a line.
Other issues that have been raised by petitioners relate to public safety, animal welfare from carelessly discarded hooks and line, and pollution.
The petition wants council, as a first step, to enforce the environmental management plan that prohibits fishing in the Martha Cove marina reserve and waterways, including from the breakwater, groyne and boardwalks.
Complaints have been made to The News about fishers defecating in bushes at Martha Cove, dogs being regularly injured, rubbish being dropped, and boat owners being abused while passing fishing lines in the boating channel.
Symmons says enforcement problems and lack of accountability means people are regularly flouting the rules.
According to the environment management plan for the parent title at Martha Cove, there can be no fishing in the waterway.
It also states that the owners corporation is responsible for “education” material around the fishing ban, and monitoring fishing in the waterway with CCTV and visual inspections.
First published in the Mornington News – 8 November 2022
