Hundreds of Victor Harbor locals have paddled into the water on surfboards as a protest against a proposed aquarium tourism venture off Granite Island.
Developer Oceanic Victor plans to take people from the island to an offshore pontoon by boat, to let them interact with dozens of tuna and other fish in an enclosure.
A similar venture at Port Lincoln closed last year.
Long-time Victor Harbor surfer Steve Lock said locals were worried the aquarium might lure more sharks into the waters, south of Adelaide.
“You’ve always got the sharks a little it in the back of your mind so the last thing you want is anything that might sort of add to the risk,” he said.
“The sharks are definitely a concern, but there’s also the environment — in terms of what falls out from the aquarium.”
Another local surfer Lani Arens said the venture would not help existing businesses at Victor Harbor.
“A lot of our businesses going at the moment are actually aquatic-based so if they bring that sort of stuff in, if it brings sharks, it’s really going to scare away anyone that wants to learn how to surf, all that sort of stuff,” she said.
“It’s just not going to be any good for any of the local businesses.”
Any tourism venture welcome: mayor
Victor Harbor Mayor Graham Philp said emotions had run high in the town over the issue.
“Most of our economy comes from tourism and we know Granite Island is falling a bit flat at the moment,” he said.
“Any tourism venture is welcome to Victor Harbor, but it still has to go through the correct processes.
“We are having issues with older tourism facilities closing down, for example what’s happened on Granite Island [where kiosk and shop closed].”
Primary Industries South Australia said in a statement the tourist development was unlikely to alter any patterns of shark behaviour in the south coast area.
Oceanic Victor said previously there would not be any impact on local marine life and it would source pilchards to feed its aquarium species without affecting fishing or other activities in the Victor Harbor area.
The State Government said it had been assured by the developer that divers and veterinary staff would maintain the integrity of the local waters by regularly checking enclosure nets and regional marine life.
Environment Minister Ian Hunter agreed with the mayor that Granite Island was “a little bit run down” and said the Government was keen to see a new tourism attraction for the area.
Victor Harbor aquarium plan faces surfers" protest near Granite Island
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