More public moorings for the Great Barrier Reef

Boaties now have access to 200 public moorings on the Great Barrier Reef as part of a $2.4 million Queensland Government program which kicked off in Cairns 18 months ago.

Speaking from Cairns today, Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef Leeanne Enoch said a further 20 moorings would be rolled out this year between Townsville and Cooktown.

“Residents can have their say on the potential new sites by jumping on the Get Involved website,” Ms Enoch said.

“The Cairns area was the first to get new moorings from this program, with 13 installed in 2016, and it’s great to see those facilities being well used and doing their job of protecting coral.

“The program includes new reef protection markers, which identify fringing reefs to boaties and thereby protect them from anchors.”

Ms Enoch said most of the moorings installed in 2017 were located in the Whitsundays as the Queensland Government helped nature and local tourism recover from Tropical Cyclone Debbie.

“The Whitsundays area now has a total of 145 public moorings for use by recreational boaties, bareboat users and the marine tourism industry,” she said.

“We are absolutely committed to protecting and presenting areas of good fringing reefs, particularly after TC Debbie impacted many areas, and one of the simplest actions we could do to deliver on this commitment was to expand the joint state and Commonwealth Reef Protection Program, which is aimed at minimising anchor damage.

“Before TC Debbie, the Whitsundays already had 85 public moorings available for use and a network of reef protection markers (RPMs) delineating fringing reef edges at 13 locations. RPMs are now in place at 22 separate, popular fringing reef locations in the Whitsundays.

The moorings and RPMs help protect remaining coral cover on fringing reefs, and allow reefs to recover from impacts such as cyclones.

Minister for Fire and Emergency Services and Barron River Member Craig Crawford said visitors to the region and local tourism operators enjoy using the moorings because they are safe, reliable and convenient, and allow the park to be used more sustainably.

“After TC Debbie, reef health and impact surveys conducted by rangers, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and local stakeholders helped indicate locations which still had good levels of coral cover,” Mr Crawford said.

“This information, combined with feedback from the public and local industry, was used in placing many of the new moorings and RPMs.” 

Sites include Chalkies Beach, Tongue Bay, Cairn Beach, Crayfish Beach, Butterfly Bay and Cateran Bay.

Member for Cairns Michael Healy said many of the new moorings are already being used every day.

“They’re proving very popular with marine park users, particularly those on recreational vessels and bareboats,” Mr Healy said.

“The moorings are located not just to protect the reef but to also make it easier for visitors and locals to access the islands’ campgrounds, walking tracks and lookouts – both existing and planned.”

This year, as well as 20 moorings for the northern Great Barrier Reef (Townsville to Cooktown), others will be installed in the southern Great Barrier Reef, offshore from Gladstone.

• Have your say on locations of these new moorings and reef protection markers
• Public moorings across the Great Barrier Reef (including maps, GPS locations and vessel size classes)
• Information video for boaties about public moorings and responsible anchoring in the Great Barrier Reef

ENDS
MEDIA: Ben Doyle 0437 859 987