16-Sep-2011

Boaties are being urged to swap conventional mooring for an environmentally friendly alternative to protect Moreton Bay’s seagrass. Reducing impacts to seagrass beds is vital to protecting the habitat of key species such a turtles and dugongs.

The Environmentally Friendly Mooring Forum held earlier this week presented the results of a two year trial, which assessed the effectiveness of three different types of environmentally friendly mooring designs.

Sean Galvin, Coastal and Aquatic Systems Manager at SEQ Catchments, said that the damage to marine habitat created by conventional boat moorings was extensive.

‘‘Conventional moorings rip out seagrass as the chain drags on the sea floor, creating a classic halo shape. This can cause thousands of square metres in damage and seagrass is such a vital habitat for fish as well as other local species such as turtles and dugongs,’’ he said.

The main aim of the project was to trial the effectiveness of three different types of environmentally friendly mooring designs reducing damage to seagrass beds in Moreton Bay. The cost of these new types of moorings was identified as a key issue in their widespread uptake. ‘‘We had great community interest to participate in the trial, which really shows that this has been on peoples minds for some time. We have streamlined the approvals process to make them as cost effective as possible.’’

He referred to the potential of environmentally friendly moorings as ‘another step forward for coastal management’’. Carol Stinson and Jim Warn were two local boat owners who participated in the trial and were pleased with the results so far. ‘‘Environmentally friendly moorings are a great idea to help improve the local environment. The forum was a great opportunity for boat owners, private industry and the government to have an open dialogue about the use of these moorings. We were happy to be selected for the trial and think it was a vital process to identify how they can be improved before they are distributed for widespread use,’’ they said.

The Environmentally Friendly Mooring Trial is a project funded by the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country initiative and partners include SEQ Catchments, Fisheries Queensland (a part of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, DERM, Maritime Safety Queensland, University of Queensland, Seagrass Watch, Tangalooma resort, Moreton Bay Seafood Association and local mooring owners.

For more information about the result of the Environmentally Friendly Mooring Trial, please contact:

Sean Galvin, Coastal and Aquatic Systems Manager, 0400 910 680 or sgalvin@seqcatchments.com.au