MORETON Bay Marine Park has been declared a “unique’’ marine environment which is critically important to the health of the oceans.
Scientists from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature declared the bay a “Hope Spot’’ after the area was assessed and nominated by scientists.
Hope spots are places where locals help with the scientific work and are encouraged to take ownership of the marine environment, helping restore and protect it.
It comes as almost 2000 people have signed a petition, asking the state government to sink ex-HMAS Tobruk off North Stradbroke Island.
Redland City Council and Redland City Bulletin have been campaigning for the old warship to be sunk in Moreton Bay as part of the government’s $28 million transition from mining strategy.
Sand mining will end on the island in 2019.
Mark Stenhouse of UniDive said the hope spot declaration was good news for the bay and would help in its protection.
Mr Stenhouse said he had taken part in studies on Flinders and other reefs around Straddie which confirmed their ecological values.
He said if the government scuttled Tobruk off Straddie it would be of great benefit to the area.
“Everyone would love it to be at Straddie,’’ he said. “It’d be great for tourism on the island.
“Tobruk is different to HMAS Brisbane (sunk off the Sunshine Coast). Brisbane’s a frigate while Tobruk is a landing craft.’’
Mr Stenhouse said there was an ideal place to scuttle Tobruk off Straddie which was out of the way of currents, which was an extremely important issue for divers, and would help draw visitors.
If the Defence Department gave Queensland the ship, he hoped divers would be consulted on its final location.
The bay is one of 14 new Hope Spots declared by the IUCN and Mission Blue at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawaii.
The nomination was submitted by The University of Queensland Underwater Club (Unidive) after scientific vetting and policy analysis.
Other new Hope Spots include Hatteras in North Carolina and Malpelo off the coast of Columbia.
By allowing citizens to elect their own Hope Spots, Mission Blue and IUCN hope to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas large enough to restore the ocean’s health.
Mission Blue founder and National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence Sylvia Earle said the had encouraged people to take responsibility of their environment.
“The ocean is in trouble, but you can do something about it. Join us as a global community to become leaders towards this common goal. We want people to own their ocean and for Hope Spots to become a shared vision,’’ Dr Earle said.
In all, there are 76 Hope Spots around the world, including Queen Charlotte Sound in Canada and the Jardines de la Reina in Cuba.