Conservationists have bought the last commercial-fishing licence of its type in the northern Great Barrier Reef, creating a “net-free zone” larger than Tasmania to protect dugongs, dolphins and turtles.
WWF-Australia announced on Monday it had taken over and would retire Tony Riesenweber’s commercial “gill net” licence – which held the “last sizeable quota” for the northern reef – effectively creating a 100,000 sq km refuge stretching from Cape Flattery through to the Torres Strait.
