ENVIRONMENTAL groups and advocates have raised concerns about Griffin Coal’s plan to dredge 11.5 hectares at Bunbury Port, fearing for the safety of the local dolphin population and Geographe Bay’s “fragile” seagrass meadows.
Parent company Lanco has proposed the dredging of both terrestrial and marine areas as part of the new Berth 14A located within the Inner Harbour of the port to allow for coal exports.
The proposal is expected to take about 40 weeks and the public has until next Friday, July 17, to make comment.
Bunbury Against Coal Exports representative Dr Chrissy Sharp said dredging would at least disturb Koombana Bay’s resident dolphins, if not damage their hearing through the underwater blasting or even kill them.
Dr Sharp said the Geographe Bay region contained some of the most important seagrass meadows in the world which were very fragile and the project would cause them to further deteriorate.
According to Griffin’s proposal reports, the project has identified that monitoring of bottlenose dolphins, before, during and after port construction is “the highest priority.”
Passive acoustic monitoring has been proposed as an approach that will complement existing visual observations of dolphin habitat use and behaviour across the proposed development location.
The site states that while a number of potential impacts have been identified for the marine environment, appropriate management and ongoing monitoring will ensure potential impacts are minimised and the risks to the marine environment are reduced.
All comments should be marked to the attention of David Trench, Lanco Resources Australia Pty Ltd, PO Box 568, West Perth WA 6872 or berth14A@griffincoal.com.au
