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Sydney Harbour polluted
24/01/2006 14:31 - (SA)
Sydney - Sydney's famous harbour may rank as one of the most beautiful in the world, but commercial fishing in its vast blue waters was banned on Tuesday because of chemical pollution.
Bream and prawns in the harbour were found to carry dangerously high levels of dioxins, which can cause cancers and birth defects, Australia's New South Wales state government said.
The pollution was a hangover from past industrial waste, said Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald, adding that the three-month ban was a precautionary measure.
Prawn fishing in the harbour had already been banned last month, but Monday's move prohibited all commercial fishing and even recreational anglers were warned to release any fish they catch rather than take them home to eat.
Dioxins are a group of chemicals produced as an unwanted by-product of some industrial processes.
Macdonald said the levels of dioxin in the harbour were above World Health Organisation recommendations, which had been brought down dramatically in recent years.
"We are dealing here with a legacy issue, with an industrial hangover," said New South Wales Environment Minister Bob Debus. "We're dealing with pollution that accumulated at various times during the last century."
The environmental group Greenpeace says some of the pollution originated in Homebush Bay on the Parramatta River some 12 kilometres from the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.
"The area has been the site of some of Australia's most polluting industries since the earliest days of Sydney's industrial development," Greenpeace said.
- AFP
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