Years of damage to Reef by boat
A SEVEN-year recovery period predicted for a section of the Great Barrier Reef hit by an Australian Border Force boat has been described by an environmental expert as just the “best case scenario”.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority last week released its findings from an investigation into the grounding of the Border Force’s vessel Roebuck Bay at Henry Reef on September 30.
The report found live coral cover has halved as a result of the September collision and the reef, which is about 500km north of Cairns, could take up to seven years to recover.
Cairns and Far North Environment Centre president Denis Walls said the amount of damage caused was “terrible” and the recovery time was optimistic and dependent on no further coral bleaching events or other factors.
He said it also highlighted environmentalists’ concerns about the growing number of vessels using the shipping lanes along the Far Northern coast, which would only increase if Adani’s Carmichael mine was approved.
“As an environmental movement our main point is that this is the danger when you get a lot of traffic close to the Reef,” he said.
“We don’t want to make this about point scoring, we just want to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
GBRMPA’s report recommended remedial action including the removal of a 250kg anchor and 150m of anchor chain left behind, other metal debris and toxic paint, and stabilising coral debris at the site.
The Australian Border Force has been assisting the reef watchdog by determining the best way to clean up the area.
This is expected to begin in the New Year and would be a joint effort between the authority and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service’s field officers.
Mr Walls said there also needed to be more emphasis on educating both commercial and military users of the shipping channel about the dangers posed to the Reef.
The grounding is still being investigated.