Mike, there is a similar feeling of having been shafted on the opposite point of Aus.
There was a great period of consultation with fishers, professional and amateur, before declaration of the GBR Marine Park. The amateurs in particular felt they opened up on fishing and the bureaucrats took note---- and turned them in Green Zones [no fishin, no nuttin]
The latest effort put the whole of the Coral Sea off limits. This is a loooong way from the coast and as you say: Deep. It is only bottom dwellers that stay in a local habitat. That said, Japanese long-liners and super trawlers can still wreak havoc. But the NQ fisherman they put out of business use neither techniques. Do they seriously believe the Japanese will obey that law? Our navy can't control the Arafura Sea and west.
