Gecko will be making a submission and included in that will be a call for the southern boundary of the Marine Park to be extended south to take in Curlew Island and Curlew Banks. The reason for this is to provide protection for the shorebirds and migratory birds that use Curlew Island for feeding and roosting after their incredible journeys of many thousands of kilometres from Siberia.
At present this small island is not even recognised as land and has no protection from boaties and their dogs and visitor invasions which disturb the exhausted birds.
It has taken many years of persistent and informed advocacy by Bob Westerman, the shorebird ‘s friend, to get Curlew Island recognised as an essential stop over place for the migratory birds which are protected under the several international conventions to which Australia is a signatory.