“I can’t agree with a wind farm going in off here that is two times the size of Canberra,” James McArthur of Moonshadow TQC said.

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“It is a 40 year industry that has been built here, not just by us, but by Imagine, Let’s Go Dive Adventures etc.

“There are so many people that use the waters here.

“It’s the fishers, the game fishers, and I just don’t think they have thought about the ramifications for those pockets of industry and the recreational users.”

The tourism industry in the region has been promoting the benefits of ecotourism for the last 20 to 30 years.

Tourism businesses have to be recognised for over 20 years to achieve the EcoTourism Certification.

“We promote our business and this region internationally and that is a big deal for us, because we have to be able to go to market and be sure that that product is secure.

“Think of the millions of dollars that us, Frank (Future) and others have spent over the last 40 or so years getting that in place and now potentially that is all in danger.”

Destination Port Stephens reports that 1.6 million people visit our region each year, spending $669 million dollars within the local economy.

These figures consistently continue to grow, especially post COVID.

There are over 3,500 jobs in tourism in the region and this increases from the shoulder tourism season into the peak season.

“People want to come here to see what’s out there.

“They have just created the Tomaree Coastal Walk,” Mr McArthur said.

“Whale watching is worth $2 billion dollars worldwide.

“The whale watching industry is potentially going to be affected.”

40,000 whales now migrate up the humpback highway off the coast of Port Stephens, some even entering the Bay.

“They travel through the shelf, the area the path of the whales and the migration goes directly through where these wind farms are (proposed),” Mr McArthur said.

“Our concerns are the effects on marine life, the annual migration of the whales, common dolphin pods, the Australian fur seals, the migratory species of birds.

“All of the tourism operations have been built around the wildlife – it is what we have been doing for years – and it’s generational.

“They may not have answers now but what happens in 50 years?

“It is all very well to say it hasn’t hurt a whale, or only a couple of birds have died in the last few years, but they don’t know what is going to happen in the next 50 years.

“They can’t guarantee that it isn’t going to affect anything in 50, 60 or 70 years.”

Commercial and recreational fishing bodies are concerned about the impact of offshore wind development on key fishing and spawning grounds.

Fears are also held that if overseas models are repeated, fishers will have access to fishing spots limited due to safety and potential damage to infrastructure.

Prawns spawn in the Hexham wetlands and the Myall Lakes and river system and the Australian Fishing Association has already raised concerns about what the wind farms will mean to these currently sustainably-fished delicacies.

A range of pelagic fish including tuna, swordfish, mahi mahi and Stockton Bight prawns are all sourced from the proposed wind farm zone.

There are over 100 commercial fishers working in the Newcastle and Port Stephens region, all of whom contribute to our region’s food security.

Tricia Beatty, CEO of the Australian Fishing Association said, “We as an industry have significant concerns about the connecting cables, how are we going to generate electricity and get it back to land?

“Nobody is talking to us about how many cables, where they are going to be, what area they are going through in these significantly important grounds.

“The companies we are talking with are saying there are some critical reefs that we would have to put the cables over – those cables too are significantly impacting.

“Three areas of impact – underwater noise, the electromagnetic fields and the water turbulence – these concerns are backed by research.”

By Marian SAMPSON