Recreational fishers win right to take from protected green zones

community, fisheries, government, research, waterways/wetlands

Feb 032014

Original story by Brian Williams, Sunday Mail

AMATEUR fishers have pledged to fight for as many green zones as possible to be opened to fishing after getting the go ahead from the State Government.

The move has been heavily criticised by University of Queensland ecologist and laureate fellow Hugh Possingham, who said research shows that green zones produced more and larger fish.

Sunfish chief executive Judy Lynne said it was not clear how much access would be sought but she had already received about 20 submissions – and the Mirapool green zone on Moreton Island was top of the list.

Green zones are the marine equivalent of national parks.

She said north Queensland and Great Sandy Marine Park fishers at Hervey Bay also opposed green zones in their areas.

National Parks Minister Steve Dickson announced during the Redcliffe by-election that recreational fishers could soon be able to fish at Scotts Point, Redcliffe, under a plan to change marine park zoning.

Premier Campbell Newman said he wanted to rezone 100m at Scotts Point to allow recreational fishing. It would become a special management area.

Mr Dickson has also called on fishermen to identify other green zones that they would like to fish.

“If there’s an area near you with good public access to the shoreline, where recreational fishing would have minimal impact on the environment, I urge you to tell your local MP,” he said.

The move has been heavily criticised by University of Queensland ecologist and laureate fellow Hugh Possingham, who said research showed that green zones produced more and larger fish.

“Larger fish have four to five times as many babies as fish half their size,” he said. “That’s why marine reserves are really good. It’s why recreational and professional fishers know to cluster at the edge of reserves because the fish they can catch there are much bigger than those in other areas.

“Opening up green zones defeats the purpose of fishers who want to catch more and bigger fish.”

Professor Possingham, who was on a scientific committee that helped determine bay zonings, called on Mr Dickson to reverse the decision.

Sunfish supported nursery areas being protected but believed many places that had been closed had little conservation value.

Ms Lynne said Sunfish supported nursery areas being protected but believed many places that had been closed had little conservation value.

Professor Possingham said recreational fishers already had ample fishing grounds, with access to 84 per cent of Moreton Bay.

Opening the beach at Scotts Point, it ensured fishers would be able to target species like whiting, flathead and bream in a prime area, leaving the rest of the zone as a protected area. This ensured the Government could say it had kept green zones even though critical areas were being fished.

Ms Lynne said Scott’s Point had no conservation value.

“We’re not prepared to accept that taking three or four fish has an impact,’’ she said.

Professor Possingham said the danger in recreational fishing was the cumulative impact which in some areas was so great that its take outweighed commercial fishing.

He said fishing in green zones had the potential to reduce positive results of protection.

A 2012 CSIRO Moreton Bay report says: “Although the new green zones have only been in place for approximately two years ... the average biomass of snapper, spangled emperor, redthroat emperor, black spot tusk fish, Maori rock cod and goldspot wrasse all increased in the new green zones.

“Changes to the marine park are still new and many of these species are long-lived, therefore the responses of populations within the new green zones may take many years to become fully evident.’’

Professor Possingham said it was odd that the Government would remove protection when good results had appeared so fast.

He said arguments that green zones led to impacts on camping and fishing shops and reduced boat sales were incorrect given growth in the industry.

Let us know what you think of fishing in green zones. Leave your comments below

Beach clean-up for baby turtles

community, environment, government, threatened species, waterways/wetlands, wildlife

Feb 032014

Original story by Nicole Fuge, Queensland Times

Baby turtle

SUNSHINE Coast conservation groups have laid out the red carpet for thousands of turtle hatchlings due to hit local beaches in coming weeks.

Volunteers collected 220kg of rubbish yesterday, after scouring the sand from Shelly Beach to Buddina, and cleaning up the waterway around La Balsa Park.

Sunshine Coast Turtle Care, Reef Check Australia, Sunshine Coast Council, UnderWater World SEA LIFE Mooloolaba and members of the public teamed up for the first time to clean up for the turtle hatchlings.

Council conservation officer Kate Winter said cigarette butts, fishing debris, cans, clothing and hard plastics, including water bottles, were the most common items found.

"I truly am surprised by the amount that has come up here. It's far greater than I had expected," she said.

Ms Winter said the collection of hard plastics was the focus of yesterday's effort.

"We want to make sure we get as many hatchlings out to the water and in 30 years back to our beaches as nesting turtles," she said.

"Those hard plastics float on the surface and in the pelagic phase of a turtle's life, that's when they're feeding on the surface."

There are 23 nests from Shelly Beach to Buddina, each producing between 100 and 200 hatchlings in the next two months.

The first is due in the next couple of days.

UnderWater World animal health man-ager Emily Thomas said the last thing they wanted was for the turtles to head out into a "big sea of rubbish".

Reef Check Australia community engagement officer Jodi Salmond donned her diving gear to clean up the Mooloolah River mouth from La Balsa Park.

She came ashore with bags of fishing debris, tackle, broken glass, cans and lots of degradable plastic bags caught among the rocks.

"It's important to have an idea of what's not just on the beach but what's making its way into the water," she said.

The clean-up information will be collated into the Australian Marine Debris Initiative database.

"When they autopsy turtles, we find out what's in their guts and then we start to see what's on the land and what's in the water," Miss Salmond said.

"We can start to source track where these things are coming from and how we can make real differences."

Wayne Foster, from Golden Beach, was among the lay volunteers, cleaning up the northern tip of Bribie Island after finding a few turtle nests on his daily walk.

"A lot of people come and have a lovely day, but they'll always leave two or three pieces behind," he said.

"We try and go across and if we see something we'll pick it up and bring it back."

Tourism operators may sue Barrier Reef body over dumping approval

community, government, waterways/wetlands

Feb 012014

Original story by Graham Cairns, Sydney Morning Herald

Marine tourism operators are threatening legal action against the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, or GBRMPA, over its decision to rubber-stamp a proposal allowing the dumping of dredging spoil inside the marine park.

Abbot Pt. Photo: Greenpeace/Tom Jefferson

Environment minister Greg Hunt had already given the North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation approval to dredge the harbour at Abbot Point near Bowen, and that was signed off on yesterday by the GBRMPA.

The Great Barrier Reef

Colin McKenzie, president of the Association of Marine Park Tour Operators - the peak industry lobby group covering tourism in the reef region - has told Fairfax Radio that his group may take legal action to stop the dumping.

Mr McKenzie says it appears that the Authority members 'have lost their marbles'.

"The final authority had to be issued by the Authority. They had the ability to say no. The principal objective of the act is to provide long term protection and conservation of the environment, biodiversity and heritage value of the Great Barrier Reef region," he said.

Snorkelling on reef off Whitsunday island.

"Now how the hell can the organisation responsible for ensuring that act is adhered to then allow anybody to go and dump millions of tonnes of rubbish on the Barrier Reef every year? That is just ridiculous."

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says it has demanded a number of safeguards, including a limit on the amount of dredging spoil that can be dumped - but Mr McKenzie says the authority is pushing "a snowjob".

"Leadership of the Authority needs to be replaced. If they won't do their bloody job of preserving the environment out there then they should have people there that will.

"These guys are just pandering to the politicians. Politicians, if they want to change the act, should change the act. The GBRMPA should do what it is actually being paid to do - which is provide for the protection and conservation of the reef.

"When they talk about 1.3 million cubic metres (of dredging spoil), that's actually 2.3 million tonnes of rubbish that will be dumped on the reef.

"We have, over the last four years, been able to reduce the silt going out onto the reef by 360,000 tonnes. And we've spent $200 million doing it. Now we are going to let a mining company go out there and dump 2.3 million tonnes every year.

"We are talking about a massive amount of siltation - and then we have the mining industry, through the Queensland Resource Council, come back and say 'hey look, this is fantastic, we've stuck to the scientific facts'.

"Well, let me tell you, 220 scientists wrote to the GBRMPA saying 'do not grant this' because it will be bad for the reef. They [the Authority] are not looking at scientific fact, they are not looking at protection of the reef - they are just doing what their political masters want."

Mr McKenzie denies that tourism operators and environmentalists are opposed to any expansion of the coal terminal at Abbot Point, saying his member support the miners.

"We as an industry think that there IS a need to be able to export that coal. We absolutely support the mining industry in being able to get it out there.

"They could have done this with 'trellis' construction that would not have required any dredging but they didn't want to do that because it was a little bit more expensive.

"They'd rather dump their rubbish on us."

The tourism industry boss says the real concern to his members is one of uncertainty, not knowing how badly the dumping is going to affect the Barrier Reef.

"My guess is that it is going to reduce visibility in the Whitsundays even further, it is going to seriously stress all the corals in the region.

"The Whitsundays is south of the dumping point they are talking about, and the main current on the reef runs north to south.

"We are really, really concerned about this. The jewel in the crown of tourism is the Whitsunday islands and here they are saying 'let's trash it'."

Mr McKenzie has told Fairfax Radio that his group will continue to fight - and may take legal action if necessary.

"We will take it to [Environment minister Greg] Hunt, we will appeal this to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, we will take it to court if we have to. I think the GBRMPA is in breach of their own act and that will be how we are trying to challenge this," he said.

Volunteers to help control willow numbers along Murrumbidgee

community, fisheries, government, pest species, waterways/wetlands

Feb 012014

Original story by Megan Doherty at The Sydney Morning Herald

A team of volunteers will be taking to the water by kayak near Canberra to tackle the scourge of Australian waterways - the willow.

The NSW Government is providing an additional $10,400 to a project called the Upper Murrumbidgee Demonstration Reach, which controls willow trees along 45 kilometres of the Upper Murrumbidgee. Trimming the willow trees from her canoe, Anthea Brademann, facilitator of the upper Murrumbidgee demonstration reach. Photo: Katherine Griffiths.

NSW Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson and the member for Monaro, John Barilaro, on Friday announced a $10,400 grant for a fish habitat project to control willow trees along a stretch of the Upper Murrumbidgee River.

Ms Hodgkinson conceded it was not a huge amount of money but a ''wise investment'' in the health of the river.

''This is a terrific local project, which will improve the Upper Murrumbidgee River and provide better access for fish, improve fish habitats, and ultimately produce more fish,'' she said.

''Willow infestation is a major issue for river health and native fish habitats - it can destroy native plants and wildlife habitats, alter stream flows, cause flooding by blocking the natural watercourse, and reduce water quality.''

The money will be used to fund the Upper Murrumbidgee Demonstration Reach project, which extends from Bredbo in NSW to Casuarina Sands in the ACT.

The funding will cover about a 50-kilometre stretch from Bredbo to Angle Crossing at the NSW-ACT border.

Project facilitator Antia Brademann said they would work to control young emerging willows growing in-stream.

The aim is to remove the willows before they have a chance to establish, when they become more costly and difficult to remove.

''We're also interested in working with the landowners to work on the banks,'' she said.

Ms Brademann said willows could quickly colonise river banks and cause problems for the aquatic ecosystem. ''They block everything else and have quite a fibrous root mass, and that tends to affect habitats on the bank. Platypus also find it very difficult to burrow into the bank,'' she said.

''We also get leaf fall from the willow in the autumn and we often get a rotting muck at the bottom of the water. It degenerates water quality and raises phosphate levels.''

Senior aquatic ecologist with the ACT government Dr Lisa Evans said the territory would offer advice for the NSW side of the project. She said the ACT would also do cross-border fish monitoring to see if the project was having an effect.

The project is being led by the community organisation Kosciuszko 2 Coast, with other funding from the Murray Darling Basin Authority and Bush Heritage Australia.

Mr Barilaro said the project would result in a healthier, more resilient and sustainable river.

GBRMPA approves plan to dump Abbot Point spoil

community, government, waterways/wetlands

Jan 312014

Original story at ABC News

Abbot Point coal terminal in Queensland. Abbot Point in Bowen, Queensland is a gateway to the vast coal reserves of the Galilee Basin.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has approved a proposal to dump dredge spoil from the Abbot Point coal terminal expansion in the Marine Park area.

Three million cubic metres of spoil must be dredged as part of the project at Bowen in North Queensland green-lighted by Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt last month.

Scientists and conservation lobbyists had urged the Authority to reject the expansion, with 233 signing a letter to chairman Russell Reichelt that said: "The best available science makes it very clear that expansion of the port at Abbot Point will have detrimental effects on the Great Barrier Reef. Sediment from dredging can smother corals and seagrasses and expose them to poisons and elevated nutrients."

Greenpeace warns that any dumping of dredge spoil on the World Heritage-listed reef will be an "international embarrassment" and akin to "dumping rubbish in the Grand Canyon".

"We wouldn't throw rubbish on World Heritage sites like the Grand Canyon or the Vatican City, so why would we dump on the reef?" spokeswoman Louise Matthiesson said.

"Scientists are clear that the potential impacts of dumping the dredge spoil so close to fringing reefs and the WWII Catalina plane wreck are significant."

The reef already faced pressures from climate change, land-based pollution and crown of thorns starfish outbreaks, she added.

What the expansion involves

The Abbot Point expansion will create one of the world's biggest coal ports, located about 25 kilometres north of Bowen on the central Queensland Coast and handling exports for companies mining the vast coal reserves of the Galilee Basin.

Various conglomerates, including Australia's own Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer, are negotiating leases for the area.

According to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the area to be dredged is located about three kilometres offshore of Abbot Point and is "wholly contained within existing port limits of Abbot Point".

The dredging of "previously undisturbed seabed" is required to deepen an area around six new ship berths as part of the development of Terminal 0, Terminal 2 and Terminal 3.

While the area to be dredged is located within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, it is in an area excluded from the Marine Park.

Strict conditions, but are they enough?

Announcing the expansion in December, Mr Hunt said he was imposing strict environmental conditions on the project.

"It is my intention that the first priority for all future capital dredging projects within the central and north Queensland coastal zone will be for shoreline, near-to-shore or land reclamation disposal," he said.

"This follows my recent agreement with the Gladstone Ports Authority that they will not dispose of up to 12 million cubic metres of spoil within the marine park, but will instead use this material for land infill.

"This is a significant step towards improving and protecting the marine park for future generations."

Mr Hunt said one condition would be that any dredging would be limited to 1.3 million cubic metres of sediment a year and conducted during a "small window" nominated by environmental scientists.

He also said that he would demand "a 150 per cent net benefit requirement for water quality" in the reef area, a target that Wendy Tubman from the North Queensland Conservation Council said was unachievable.

"You've got water of a certain clarity, then you add three million cubic metres of dredge spoil, finds, sands, sludge," she said.

"Now I don't know about you, but I can't see how that's going to improve water quality."

Jon Brodie, a senior researcher at James Cook University, told ABC News Online that while the Federal Government had limited estimations of dredge spoil from the project to three million cubic metres, the effects would be "cumulative" and set a precedent for other developments along the Queensland coast.

Citing projects at major ports along the Great Barrier Reef coast - including in Cairns, Townsville, Hay Point (Mackay) and Gladstone - that could create as much as 80 million cubic metres of spoil, he said: "It will add to the destruction of a system that is already going downhill badly."

And over the next decade more dredging would be needed at Abbot Point to make room for future exports from Waratah Coal's Alpha North project, he added.

Is there an alternative to dumping spoil on the reef?

In announcing the expansion in December, Mr Hunt said the Government preferred that where possible, spoil from dredging be used as infill for land reclamation.

"There are great examples in Queensland where the material produced by dredging has been used for land reclamation - for example, the Port of Brisbane," he said in a statement.

Mr Brodie, who has outlined alternatives in an article published on The Conversation website, says that among "several options" for disposal of dredge spoil are building a retaining barrier, called a bund wall, like that used at Gladstone Harbor, adding that in the case of Abbot Point, "I really can't understand why that's not on the table".

However, unlike the wall at Gladstone, which the local ports authority has admitted leaked sediment into the harbour in 2011 and 2012, it would need to be "done properly".

"This would also have the benefit of increasing port land, an important consideration at Abbot Point as useable land is scarce," he wrote.

Another option was to build longer jetties, he added, reducing the need for dredging.

"The emphasis should be on designing ports in ways that safeguard the Great Barrier Reef, rather than causing damage and then trying to fix it," he wrote.

Among the 95 environmental conditions on the Abbot Point project, the Minister states a requirement for "identification of alternative disposal sites for analysis", although disposal at an alternative site will only be allowed "if it would have the equivalent or lesser impacts than the site".

Business groups, meantime, have applauded the Government's decision to allow the expansion of the port.

Bowen Chamber of Commerce chairman Bruce Heddich said: "Bowen, being adjacent to Abbot Point, is the real winner in this decision. It can only go well for the future of the town."

And Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche praised Mr Hunt for using the weight of scientific evidence to put Queenslanders ahead of "increasingly hysterical environmental activists".

"The trading ports working alongside the Great Barrier Reef are responsible for the export of commodities worth $40 billion a year to the Australian economy," he said.

Australia courting danger with the Great Barrier Reef

community, environment, government, waterways/wetlands

Jan 312014

Original story by Barbara Norman, University of Canberra at The Conversation

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has announced it will allow the dumping of three million cubic metres of dredge spoil from the Abbot Point port redevelopment within the marine park’s boundaries, despite other options being available to them.

In doing so, the authority ignored the pleas of a wide coalition of interests that went well beyond the environment movement. The Queensland Tourism Industry Council, the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators, Whitsunday Charter Boat Industry Association and Dive Queensland had all expressed “grave concerns” about the effects of the dredge-dumping plan on their industry.

So why are so many people concerned? In part, because Australia is now a step closer to seeing the reef being added to a list of World Heritage sites “in danger”, possibly as soon as June this year.

While some may dismiss that “in danger” listing as symbolic, it could affect reef tourism, which Deloitte Access Economics has estimated brings in A$6.4 billion a year to Australia in direct spending and employs more than 64,000 people.

So what happens next? And is there anything Australia can do to avoid being added to that “in danger” list?

A map showing the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Image: Department of Environment, Great Barrier Reef Long-Term Sustainability Plan

Protecting our reputation

The federal government is due to report by tomorrow to the World Heritage Centre about what Australia is doing in response to global concerns about the impacts of climate change and rapid coastal development pressures on the reef.

In June, the World Heritage Committee will then consider whether to add the Great Barrier Reef to its list of iconic global sites officially considered to be “in danger”.

The committee’s principal concerns include the “cumulative” impacts and risks to the reef - that is, the combined effects of several individual developments, including continuing coastal urban development and large-scale port expansions such as the Abbot Point project.

World Heritage sites currently listed “in danger”. Image: UNESCO

It has asked the Australian government for commitments to “ensure that the legislation protecting the property remains strong and adequate to maintain and enhance its ‘outstanding universal values’”.

Between now and June, if the Australian government can answer the committee’s concerns then there is still a chance that the reef will stay off the “in danger” list - or at least have that decision be deferred. However, the Abbot Point dredge dump decision has undoubtedly made the task much harder.

Meanwhile, the committee has also asked Australia to prepare a long-term sustainability plan, which is due to be completed by February 2015.

As a signatory to the World Heritage Convention, Australia has pledged to implement world’s best practice in protecting the reef for future generations.

International concern

The World Heritage Committee has previously raised concerns about the state of the reef, particularly concerning the dredge-dumping proposals. In its review of the health of the reef it recommended:

A clear and target-driven framework to support planning and assessment of development proposals to protect outstanding universal value, and restore it where necessary, and to ensure resilience of the site, including the consideration of cumulative impacts.

In spite of that international concern, the federal government has made several decisions within the past two months that arguably erode safeguards for the reef, including:

10 December 2013 – granting approval for the Abbot Point port expansion (although it was the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority that took the decision on where to dump the spoil).
13 December 2013 – reaching a revised agreement with the Queensland government (signed by Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Premier Campbell Newman) for a “one-stop shop” on environmental approvals, including decisions about “actions on state land and state waters that impact on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park”.
20 December 2013 - approving the Galilee Coal and Rail Project, allowing for six new mines and a railway from the mine sites (400km inland) to Abbot Point.

Those are all significant decisions to be making, which will have long-term ramifications for the health and tourism value of the reef.

Seeing the bigger picture

On a more positive note, federal environment minister Greg Hunt has promised that the Australian government will be “examining the cumulative effect of human activities and natural forces rather than looking at impacts in isolation”.

Blue linckia starfish and coral. Photo: Richard Ling/Wikimedia Commons

A giant clam on the Great Barrier Reef. Photo: Jan Derk/Wikimedia Commons

Late last year, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority also expressed concern over “cumulative impacts of coastal development activities on ecosystem function”. The key question is how will this be achieved given the development decisions that have already been taken.

In November last year, former deputy prime minister and Nationals leader Tim Fischer told a Queensland planning conference that more lateral thinking was needed on ports and coastal development. Mr Fischer suggested that instead of five individual ports along the Queensland coast, each with their own railway line, another option could be one “super port” away from the Great Barrier Reef.

It’s a great idea - but it’s the kind of big-picture thinking that has been sadly lacking in planning for the reef and coastal Queensland to date.

What is really needed to rescue the reef is an integrated regional plan. That would take into account the environmental impacts both on land and on water, from port development and associated infrastructure, coastal urban development, agriculture and tourism. It should also factor in impacts such as farm run-off and climate change.

Without such a plan, decisions such as those taken about Abbot Point are piecemeal and premature.

As a maturing developed nation, it’s time for Australia to decide what is really important to our future. Protecting the Great Barrier Reef – one of the great wonders of the world and a treasure to be preserved for future generations – must be on that list.

Barbara Norman currently or recently received funding from the Bushfire CRC, the National Climate Change Adaptation Flagship (NCCARF), the ACT Government and the Murray Darling Basin CRN. She is affiliated with the ACT Government as Chair of the ACT Climate Change Council, the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development as Deputy Chair of the ACT RDA, CSIRO as a member of the national advisory committee to the Climate Adaptation Flagship, Canberra Urban and Regional Futures (Director) and the Planning Institute of Australia as a past national president and current adviser on planning and climate change. Barbara Norman is also a long term member of the Australian Labor Party and the Melbourne Football Club.

This article was originally published at The Conversation.
Read the original article.

Tropical Cyclone Dylan gathers strength after king tides hit North Queensland coast

community, government

Jan 312014

Original story at ABC News

Cyclone Dylan is continuing to gather strength as it approaches the North Queensland coast and is set to be upgraded to a category two storm later tonight.

Authorities are on cyclone alert across the region. The system began as a tropical low in the Coral Sea several days ago but officially became a category one cyclone this afternoon.

Andrew Bufalino from the weather bureau says Dylan is still intensifying.

"Currently we have it as a category one, but we are forecasting it to upgrade into a category two by 10pm this evening," he said.

Dylan is expected to cross the coast between Townsville and Bowen early tomorrow with wind gusts of 150 kilometres per hour near its centre.

Cyclone information

Mr Bufalino says the cyclone will dump heavy rain from Cardwell to St Lawrence.

"We are expecting widespread daily rainfall totals of around 100 to 300 millimetres," he said.

"The areas that pick up the 300 mills will be quite isolated at this stage, but as it pushes further inland we are expecting some rainfall totals up to 100 mills, even possibly higher."

Gale warnings were issued for the Townsville, Mackay and Capricornia coast. A storm tide is expected between Cardwell and Lucinda, and large waves may cause minor flooding along the foreshore.

Premier Campbell Newman, who has travelled to Townsville, says despite extensive preparations there is no room for complacency.

"The big threat is going to be from flooding, and my single most important message today is that people who need to travel need to do it now and try to get it out of the way as soon as possible," he said.

"If it's flooded, forget it."

Townsville and Yeppoon on the Capricorn Coast are among the centres being inundated, and Townsville Council has set up an evacuation centre at Cungulla.

Senior weather forecaster Matt Bass said the storm was tracking further south than first thought.

"At this stage the most likely crossing location is near Ayr, but anywhere between Lucinda and Proserpine could see the cyclone near them," he said.

Bowen motel operator Anita Rogan says the strong winds have forced some boats onto the shore.

"Down near the skateboard park on Front Beach, there is quite a large trawler that's been blown up and quite a few smaller boats, yachts and the like have broken their moorings and have been blown up onto the beach there, but nothing really major," she said.

"I know that everybody's just knuckling down and making things safe."

The tide at Cairns Harbour reached 3.83 metres, exceeding this year's predicted record by nearly 40 centimetres.

"It's certainly put the water levels at a level that's been beyond anything we've ever noted before," John Lucas from the Hilton Hotel on the Esplanade said.

"Our restaurant which sits on the waterfront has certainly had a good few inches go through the bottom of it. Little bit of minor damage to some timberwork and the like but nothing that we can't fix fairly readily."

Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Wayne Preedy says people still have time to prepare for further flooding.

"The cut-off we always work off is once the winds get to 100 kilometres an hour, there's no more outside work," he said.

"The bureau plays a key role in this today and leading into tonight as to when those winds are expected."

He says emergency crews will be keeping an eye on the tides throughout today.

Residents of low-lying areas told to get sandbags ready

Mackay Mayor Deirdre Comerford says residents in low-lying areas should be prepared.

"You need to have sandbags on hand, because you know if you've experienced water inundation normally, you can expect that again," she said.

Additional swift water rescue crews have been sent from Rockhampton to Mackay as a precaution with extra resources also in the Whitsundays.

There was very little rain overnight in the Mackay Whitsunday region, but winds have picked up.

Wind gusts of up 104 kilometres an hour were recorded at Hamilton Island overnight, but just 5 millimetres of rain fell.

Ferry services out of Airlie Beach were suspended last night and all boats have been moored at Shute Harbour and Abel Point.

Mayor predicts cyclone's centre will miss Cassowary Coast

The Cassowary Coast Regional Council, which covers the towns of Innisfail, Cardwell and Tully, is urging residents in the shire to go about business as usual, while remaining alert.

Mayor Bill Shannon says residents should follow the lead of the State Government.

"If the schools are open, then we expect kids to be going to school," he said.

"We expect people to be going to work and therefore going about their normal lives, but keeping a watch and that's the situation we've got at the present time.

"I'm quietly confident that given that most of the action is to the south of the centre of the cyclone and the centre is going to be beyond Cardwell, further to the south of Cardwell, that there shouldn't be too much problem in that part of the world."

Cyclone tracker map: Tropical low forms off Queensland coast

Cyclone: North Queensland residents told to prepare as system develops

community, government

Jan 282014

Original story at ABC News

North Queensland residents are being urged to prepare for a possible cyclone that is expected to make landfall on Thursday.

The weather bureau has issued a cyclone watch for coastal areas from Port Douglas to Proserpine.

The system is about 760 kilometres east-north-east of Cairns and moving west-south-west at 9kph.

Cyclone tracker map: Tropical low forms off Queensland coast

Duty forecaster Andrew Cearns says the low is likely to develop into a tropical cyclone tomorrow and cross the coast on Thursday.

"It certainly seems to be more on that in that area now between Ingham and Cairns as a crossing point," he said.

It could be the first cyclone to cross the state's north-east coastline in more than two years.

The system is being fed by a monsoon trough over the north of the country and is expected to track south-west towards Queensland.

If the system continues to develop, forecasters expect to name it tropical cyclone Dylan.

Cyclones explained

The bureau has warned that the system may combine with king tides later this week.

Parts of the state's north are already experiencing wild weather, with well over 100 millimetres of rain recorded near Cairns.

A severe weather warning for damaging winds, heavy rainfall and abnormally high tides has been issued between Mackay and Port Douglas, with rainfall predictions in excess of 200 millimetres.

A gale warning is also in place extending between Cairns and the Capricornia coast.

The Townsville Port has suspended all commercial shipping operations.

"Larger commercial ships are all the larger ships that are carrying commodities, so ferries and other recreational traffic aren't affected at this stage and the harbour master will continue to make announcements as he sees appropriate," said acting chief executive Ranee Crosby.

Emergency Management Queensland recommends that a home emergency kit contain items such as a portable radio, a torch, spare batteries, essential medications and a first aid kit.

Cyclone information

Irrigators group backs Commonwealth buy-back plan

community, environment, government, waterways/wetlands

Jan 272014

Original story by Gavin Coote, ABC News

A local irrigators' group has come out in support of a buy-back scheme on the Murray-Darling Basin.

Irrigation in the Murray-Darling basin. A farmer walking past a mobile irrigation boom on a dying oat crop in the Murray-Darling river basin outside Moulamein, August 24, 2007. Photo: Tim Wimborne/Reuters

Yesterday the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder announced it would temporarily sell water in the Gwydir valley in northern NSW.

This would mean some of the Commonwealth's annual allocations of water will be available for sale, a decision which has been backed by the NSW Irrigators Council and the Murray Darling Basin Authority.

But the sale's angered environmentalists, and Greens Environment spokeswoman, Lee Rhiannon, says the policy will come at the cost of the environment.

Citrus grower and South West Water Users chairman Alan White says while the sale won't impact those outside the Gwydir, it's a step in the right direction.

"It's a good decision, they haven't got any local use for the water [in the Gwydir], it'd be criminal if they wasted it," he said.

"Why not sell it and use the proceeds for other environmental water purposes either in the Gwydir or someone else in the valley?"

Irrigator recalls 'successful' water trading system on Murray

Mr White says the "naive" opposition expressed by some environmentalists fails to recognise how Australian wetlands run their natural course.

"The Murray Wetlands Group is a very good example of where this system's worked well in the Murray previously," he said.

"A long time ago before this environmental watering regime became popular they started doing a lot of good work, and they acquired some water licences as a consequence of some water savings at Moira Lake, which is on the Murray River.

"Some years it simply didn't make sense for them to use the water in Moira Lake, they didn't have another use for it. If they didn't have a use for it, they would routinely sell the water, bank the proceeds and spend money to fix things the next year.

Mr White describes the idea of a market-based approach as "an eminently logical, sensible system".

"The reaction against it from some environmental groups really just displays absolute ignorance of how wetland ecosystems operate in Australia," he said.

Mr White says it's a natural cycle for rivers to go through a drying phase following wet periods.

The New South Wales Irrigators' Council says the benefits of a water sale could potentially spread beyond the Gwydir valley.

Economic policy analyst Stephanie Schulte says the Commonwealth will be able to buy water in other parts of the Murray Darling with the money raised from its Gwydir sale.

She says this will be of large benefit to irrigators in the areas affected.

"The sale of environmental water in the Gwydir will make further allocation available in that particular valley," she said.

"But of course the proceeds from that transaction will then be used for purchases of water somewhere else in the basin so it could have impacts for other water users in other parts of the basin as well."

Bull sharks are swarming in the Brisbane and Bremer Rivers

community, government, waterways/wetlands

Jan 262014

Original story by Joel Gould, Queensland Times

BULL sharks are swarming in the Brisbane and Bremer rivers and Cr Paul Tully has warned residents using the waterways to be wary.

JUST A PUP: North Ipswich resident Shannan Landy with the young bull shark he caught at Mt Crosby Weir on Sunday night.

The QT has received reports of increased numbers of sharks being seen and caught in the rivers, with fishermen regularly pulling them out.

Cr Tully has also been receiving similar feedback and urged boaties and those using the river to exercise caution.

He said children paddling in the water, or assisting their parents putting a boat or jet ski into the river, were most at risk.

"There are regular reports of bull sharks being caught in the Brisbane and Bremer rivers," Cr Tully said.

"It is a warning to parents to be very, very careful.

"The bull sharks are around and there have been fatalities on the Gold Coast.

"It is probably only a matter of time before there could be a fatality.

"They have been seen up as far as Colleges Crossing and one regular fisherman reckons they are teeming in the Brisbane River.

"I asked him how many and he said, 'Imagine if you kicked a bull ants' nest and they just swarmed everywhere'.

"His impression was that bull sharks are just swarming on the bottom of the river.

"It is a timely reminder. It is summer and with people out on the river, putting out boats and fishing...just don't dangle your feet. Be very careful."

The QT accompanied Cr Tully to the Goodna boat ramp to try and pull a shark out for ourselves using a live catfish and a favourite rod of Cr Tully's that he hadn't used since the 2011 flood.

But the tide, the wind, the time of the day and the 40-degree heat on Tuesday were against us.

"But we'll catch one.

"It might take a couple of days," Cr Tully said.

"Dusk and dawn is when we might hit the jackpot."

North Ipswich resident Shannan Landy did land a young bull shark near the Mt Crosby Weir on Sunday night.

He caught the shark using live mullet as bait.

"The little ones put up a good fight too," he said.

"There are a lot of little ones around but I am sure there are some of the big mothers around.

"There must be something out there laying the pups.

"The one I caught was about half-a-metre long but I have caught them up to a metre long in the Brisbane River.

"The bigger ones I have caught down towards the junction of the Bremer and Brisbane River and down at Kookaburra Park."

Mr Landy said he had heard of bull sharks of 1.2m being caught up at Mt Crosby.

"I think there have always been lots of them," he said.

"It is just that people are becoming more aware of it now.

"Guys are out there chasing bass. They catch the bass and bring them in and, the next thing you know, the shark comes up and sees it as an easy meal...and they are hooked onto a shark. A lot of people aren't targeting sharks but they are ending up catching them."

Older Entries Newer Entries