Mr DUNHAM - 1998-10-13
Madam Speaker, recreational use of waterways is an important factor in my electorate. There are several places to access the harbour, creek and river systems and the sea from my electorate, Drysdale. Unfortunately, these are exactly the areas inhabited by that great Territorian, crocodilus ferocious. Can the minister advise the House how the Commission’s crocodile trapping program is going, particularly as it relates to Darwin and its environs?
ANSWER
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I do acknowledge that the member’s electorate covers a lot of the area that we are talking about here – the Darwin Harbour, including Howard River and Mickett’s Creek and so on. I should give praise at the outset for the great work that the Parks and Wildlife Commission does in its crocodile management program, particularly in regard to Darwin Harbour, but also in the outlying regions of the Territory. Here in Darwin Harbour 2 staff permanently work on setting 19 traps and monitoring those traps and, of course, removing problem crocodiles from our coastal waters.
What is worth noting is that the crocodiles being trapped in the management zone of the harbour are the larger ones and they’re being caught on the fringes. That indicates to everybody that the program is working very well - apart from, I must say, the particular incident about 8-10 days ago when my colleague, the member for Sanderson, frightened one of our crocodiles in the Darwin Harbour.
But generally speaking, because of the perimeter zone, we trap all of the creeks - the fish have been mentioned and the outlying areas - and we get most of the bigger crocs caught in those outlying areas apart from the odd one slipping through. Those crocodiles that are caught are handed onto the croc farms for their use in the breeding programs, but there are also other works going on in regional areas and 14 crocodiles have been removed from the rivers around the Darwin region including the Daly and the Adelaide Rivers. Three crocodiles have also been removed from Wangi Creek in the last year.
The number of crocodiles to date this year caught in the Darwin Harbour is 83; 108 caught in 1996 and 99 in 1997. So there are a lot of crocs being caught. But the numbers are reasonably static which indicates again that the program is working very well.
The Commission also responds to instantaneous reports on problem crocodiles and we have just had one down in Katherine at Knotts Crossing a couple of weeks ago where they responded very quickly to that.
The Parks and Wildlife Commission’s crocodile trapping management program, I believe, is going very well and I give high praise to the staff out there. The message still is that even though we do have a very good crocodile management program, give these animals the respect they deserve and they will keep clear of you. As I said, I praise the Commission for the good work.
ANSWER
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I do acknowledge that the member’s electorate covers a lot of the area that we are talking about here – the Darwin Harbour, including Howard River and Mickett’s Creek and so on. I should give praise at the outset for the great work that the Parks and Wildlife Commission does in its crocodile management program, particularly in regard to Darwin Harbour, but also in the outlying regions of the Territory. Here in Darwin Harbour 2 staff permanently work on setting 19 traps and monitoring those traps and, of course, removing problem crocodiles from our coastal waters.
What is worth noting is that the crocodiles being trapped in the management zone of the harbour are the larger ones and they’re being caught on the fringes. That indicates to everybody that the program is working very well - apart from, I must say, the particular incident about 8-10 days ago when my colleague, the member for Sanderson, frightened one of our crocodiles in the Darwin Harbour.
But generally speaking, because of the perimeter zone, we trap all of the creeks - the fish have been mentioned and the outlying areas - and we get most of the bigger crocs caught in those outlying areas apart from the odd one slipping through. Those crocodiles that are caught are handed onto the croc farms for their use in the breeding programs, but there are also other works going on in regional areas and 14 crocodiles have been removed from the rivers around the Darwin region including the Daly and the Adelaide Rivers. Three crocodiles have also been removed from Wangi Creek in the last year.
The number of crocodiles to date this year caught in the Darwin Harbour is 83; 108 caught in 1996 and 99 in 1997. So there are a lot of crocs being caught. But the numbers are reasonably static which indicates again that the program is working very well.
The Commission also responds to instantaneous reports on problem crocodiles and we have just had one down in Katherine at Knotts Crossing a couple of weeks ago where they responded very quickly to that.
The Parks and Wildlife Commission’s crocodile trapping management program, I believe, is going very well and I give high praise to the staff out there. The message still is that even though we do have a very good crocodile management program, give these animals the respect they deserve and they will keep clear of you. As I said, I praise the Commission for the good work.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016