ROTTING seaweed trapped inside the Jurien Bay marina is causing quite a stink for the community and killing fish.
Local charter boat operator Ian Stiles believes the design of the marina is responsible for the ongoing problem and has joined the Dandaragan Shire in calling on Transport Minister Simon O’Brien to assist with improving the situation.
With the crayfishing industry suffering increasing restrictions, forcing many operators to sell up or partner with others, the number of commercial boats using the marina has declined significantly over the years.
As a result, the shire felt that this significant piece of infrastructure was being heavily underused and entered into discussions with the former Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan to evaluate other uses for the facility.
LandCorp began investigating the potential uses and came up with a plan suggesting that the marina could be used as a tourist and commercial precinct along the lines of Hillary’s and Fremantle harbours.
This concept received strong support from the community but with the putrid smell of rotting seaweed emanating from the marina it seems unlikely to attract any tourists.
Mr Stiles, whose charters run out of the marina, said it is hard to build a good customer base from word of mouth advertising “when people have to cover their faces with handkerchiefs when they board the boat because the smell is so bad it is hard to breathe”.
Dandaragan Shire chief executive officer Clinton Strugnell agrees there is a problem.
“It’s going to be hard to attract people to sit down and enjoy a coffee or meal when all they can smell is rotting seaweed,” Mr Strugnell said.
“There has been a constant line of excuses why the harbour has not been dredged to get rid of 15 years of rotting seaweed.
“Our council has, for the past four years, been asking the Department of Transport to put measures in place to deal with the problem.
“Structural measures need to happen to stop the weed from coming into the harbour.
“Previous attempts to clear the weed were abandoned because the accumulation was so thick and tangled that the dredging equipment kept blocking up.
“Council sees the need for appointment of ongoing management of the marina, not just for industry use, but for the potential maximum utilization of the facility.”
Mr Stiles has dived on the weed mass and estimates that it is over a metre thick.
“The weed is made up primarily of wire weed which over the years has become totally entangled and the only way I have found so far to clear it is to drag a heavy anchor over it to break up sections of it which then pop to the surface and float away,” he said.
“What really needs to be done though is to modify the shape of the opening into the marina to prevent weed from being blown in by the north-westerly winds and seas.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Transport agreed that there was a problem with the seagrass build up.
“The Department of Transport has been aware of this problem for some time and has been investigating various options to reduce the impact on the harbour.
“Transport has spent approximately $80,000 on a purpose built weed barge that is being used to remove floating weed and rubbish from the harbour waterways.
“The Department recently conducted a trial that removed seaweed from the harbour bed using a local fishing boat and is also considering other options which include the use of a fishing trawler to remove accumulated seaweed from the harbour basin seabed.”
The spokesperson also said that consideration was being given to building a spur groyne off the northern breakwater wall, but the department was awaiting the results of a two year investigation into the movement of seagrass wrack before making any formal decision.
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