Gladstone Western Basin BPAR Monitoring: November 2015 - February 2016

[Extract] The dredging projects associated with port expansion in the Western Basin were identified as potentially posing a high level of environmental risk to the marine habitats of the area, particularly to seagrass meadows. A detailed seagrass and light assessment program has been established for the Western Basin Dredging and Disposal Project (WBDDP) to assist in management of the project during and after dredging. This program includes a requirement for continued assessment of seagrasses and Benthic Photosynthetically Active Radiation (BPAR) or benthic light following the end of dredging activities to assess seagrass recovery. These post-dredge seagrass and light monitoring requirements are outlined in several conditions and plans connected with the WBDDP and a strategy to meet them was developed and endorsed by the Dredge Technical Reference Panel. In May 2014, benthic light monitoring equipment was also established at additional sites (Colosseum Inlet, South Trees and Quoin Island) to expand the seagrass and light assessment program to areas most likely to be impacted by dredging associated with the proposed Channel Duplication project. These sites were decommissioned in August 2015. For more information, see Davies et al (2015a).