Authorities say rubbish threatens marine turtles and questions have been raised about whether fishing should be banned in the canals.
Turtles are protected and threatened and at least three are living in the outlet canal.
John Larkins, of Toronto Bait and Tackle, said he was concerned for the turtles.
‘‘There’s a lot of rubbish down there, it’s ridiculous,’’ Mr Larkins said.
‘‘If the plastic bags or fishing line gets in the water, nine times of out ten the turtle will eat it thinking it’s a squid.
‘‘Greenies are trying to shut waterways down and this gives them an opportunity to say ‘why should you be able to fish there’.’’
Many bait packets were discarded at the canal and beer bottles ‘‘smashed all over the rocks’’, he said.
Turtle enthusiast Alison Dunne said turtles were a threatened species and marine debris was considered a ‘‘key threatening process’’.
‘‘How can they knowingly allow the two to be mixed?’’ she said. ‘‘They have talked about banning fishing activity when the turtles are present, but no one wants to say it because it’s so unpopular.’’
A Department of Environment and Climate Change spokeswoman said the community should be aware of the ‘‘devastating effect of discarding disused or tangled fishing line and other debris’’.
‘‘Entanglement and ingestion of debris, such as plastic bags, cigarette butts, lolly wrappers and discarded fishing gear can be fatal to marine species, particularly threatened species such as turtles, seabirds and whales,’’ she said.
The creatures ‘‘don’t know the difference between harmful debris and food until it becomes stuck in their stomachs.’’
An Eraring spokeswoman said the outlet was cleaned daily and extra clean-ups were done during school holidays at the inlet canal.
Gulin
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