The announcement on Monday that “fishing lockouts have been taken off the table” followed a backlash by recreational fishers.

Conservation groups condemned the decision, which  was made 10 days before the end of the public consultation period.

The South Coast areas affected by the plans included Flinders Islet (Toothbrush Island), which would have become a sanctuary zone, where fishing of any sort would not be allowed, except for Aboriginal cultural and heritage usage.

Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair said there would be no loss of fishing rights or access under the proposed marine park sites put forward by the NSW Marine Estate Management Authority (MEMA).

Mr Blair said he had received “extensive feedback from both local communities and anglers and is confident that fishing is not the key threat to the sustainability of our marine environment”.

“The feedback we have received has been robust but vital to being able to make this decision today. While consultation will continue, I felt it was paramount to allay the uncertainty and fear the fishing industry is currently experiencing.”

Mr Blair said MEMA put forward this proposal because it had identified 25 areas that required better management to ensure their sustainability.

“What is now clear is that their proposed management methods and in some cases the sizes of the sites, offered up a narrow option that unfairly impacted on low risk activities, such as fishing and spearfishing,” he said.

“As a result the NSW Government has taken lockouts off the table.

“We are confident there are many other ways to manage these sensitive areas, that have fishers as part of the solution and we will continue to explore these options for the rest of the consultation period.

“Today’s decision does not change the fact we are still working towards a marine park that protects key marine habitats, species and the environment we all know and love.”

Nature Conservation Council chief executive Kate Smolski said, “This decision undermines public confidence in the government’s consultation process, which still has 10 days to run”.

“By caving into a noisy minority of voices and pre-empting the results of the public consultation, the government has denied thousands of people a say in the protection of our precious marine life,” she said.

“It is a slap in the face for the vast majority of people who say they want increased protections for our ocean waters and marine life.

“This is a betrayal of public trust that may cost the Berejiklian government dearly at the next election as people on the coast oppose scrapping the sanctuary areas.

“Polling last month showed that if the government backflipped on Sydney Marine Park many people in key coastal electorates would vote against the Coalition.”

Australian Marine Conservation Society spokeswoman Adele Pedder said, “It's great that the importance of marine parks has been recognised, but the science shows stripping sanctuary protections may render the park potentially ineffective.  

“The people of Sydney will continue to stand up for their blue backyard until we have sanctuaries for our marine life.”