Grants have been awarded under the first round of the Our Marine Parks Grants Program.

Twelve projects worth $5 million are being funded under the first round of the Australian Government’s Our Marine Parks Grants Program.

The grants are to be delivered through fishing industry peak organisations around Australia and will improve the long-term sustainability of fishing in ways that support the objectives of Australian Marine Parks.

The successful grant recipients are:

• Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation
• Great Australian Bight Fishing Industry Association
• Northern Prawn Fishery Industry
• Northern Territory Seafood Council
• Professional Fishermen’s Association
• Seafood Industry Australia
• Tuna Australia
• Western Australian Fishing Industry Council.

The funded projects will bring wide-ranging benefits across the entire Australian Marine Parks network.

This includes promoting sustainability certification for fisheries, the development of new technologies and gear types that further reduce environmental impacts and unwanted wildlife interactions and promoting the use of citizen science to enhance the role fishers can play in managing and monitoring marine parks.

A second round of the Our Marine Parks Grants Program is planned for the second half of 2019, and will be available to a wider range of marine park user groups, to assist marine industries and marine park users become more involved in marine park management.

This is part of the broader Fisheries Assistance and User Engagement Package.