In 1993, the Port dredged 1 million cubic metres of seabed over just 15 weeks. There is no question that they have a significant local effect. That is visible if you wander out and look at the Townsville port and have it explained to you where the mangroves and mud banks came from on southern and western Magnetic Island, for instance, or the expansive mud flats at Cairns. It does change the regions up to perhaps 10 kilometres away from the port. On the issue of disposal of dredge spoil, the available science does list it as a significant risk in a local setting. In 2014, Dr Russell Reichelt, Chair and CEO of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, told 1 a Senate Inquiry into Management of the Great Barrier Reef:
The deposited sediment can also be re-suspended. This sediment creates plumes in the water that can travel significant distances before becoming deposited. It is absolutely indisputable that dredging of the seabed stirs up loose sediment. Notice how close most of the capital dredging work will be to The Strand. The light blue shape in the top right of the above image is the official Dump Material Placement Area (DMPA) for Townsville Port.
0 kommentar(er)
