SHIPPING IN THE GREAT BARRIER REEF: Australian Shipowners Association

The Australian Shipowners Association (ASA) here represent Australian companies who own or operate international and/or domestic trading ships, cruise ships, domestic towage and salvage tugs, dredges, scientific research vessels and offshore oil and gas support vessels. The Association also represents employers of the Australian and international maritime labour.  


Their stated mission is to promote the role of Australian shipping providing sustainable shipping and internationally competitive sea transport services for the benefit of Australia.

ASA is considered a leader in the promotion of sustainable ship operations and encourage member companies to take a proactive approach to environmental protection.

An article in the August issue of their ANCHOR Newsletter (here) includes an article by ASA's Manager Industry Operations and Environment, Angela Gillham. The article provides some interesting facts and an opportunity to consider Shipping in the GBR - real threat, or perceived? (see pages 4 and 5).

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Littoral 2014 Conference; Coastal research, conservation and management - Southeast Baltic Sea

Of interest to coastal managers is the 12th coastal conference Littoral 2014, organised jointly by Coastal Research & Planning Institute of Klaipeda University Marine Science & Technology Centre, Lithuania and the Baltic States Office of EUCC – Coastal and Marine Union will be held in Klaipeda, Lithuania later this year, 22-26 September, 2014.


Participants will get an opportunity to share the results and ideas from their activities in coastal research, conservation and management, and experience the impressive diversity of the southeast Baltic Sea coast.

Priority themes:

• Integrated Coastal Management – case studies and experiences

• GIS & marine spatial planning

• Coastal and marine nature conservation

• River basin – coast interactions

• Coastal dune management

• Green coastal tourism

• Coastal climate change adaptation

• Coastal management and aquaculture

• Coastal fisheries management

• Coastal lagoon management

Littoral 2014 will address a wide range of coastal research, conservation and management issues and focus on networking of coastal researchers and practitioners from all over Europe.



For more information see the attachment or visit

http://balticlagoons.net/littoral2014/




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Mini Bootcamp for grant writing, South Australia

The Conservation Council of South Australia is providing a half day workshop for grant seekers to:

• Learn how to prepare to write a grant application
• Get a clear understanding of what different types of projects grant makers can and can't fund
• Come face-to-face with some real live grant makers and assessors.
• Practice assessing real grant applications

Sunday 16th February, 9:30 am to 1 pm 

Cost is $45 per person ($30 concession)

Venue: Conservation Council of SA, Level 1, 157 Franklin St, Adelaide, SA

Bookings essential. 

Phone (08) 8223 5155

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Port Phillip; looking after biological diversity and maritime history

Hosting a busy port at it's northern end, Victoria's Port Phillip Bay has a rich biological diversity and wonderful maritime history. Geographically, the bay covers 1,930 square kilometres (480,000 acres) and the shore stretches roughly 264 km (164 mi). Although it is extremely shallow for its size, most of the bay is navigable. The deepest portion is only 24 metres (79 ft), and half the region is shallower than 8 m (26 ft). The volume of the water in the bay is around 25 cubic kilometres (6.0 cu mi).

To get an idea of the depth of the bay in relation to it's surface area hold up an A4 (letter size) piece of paper. If we imagine the paper as having the same surface area as the bay and view it side-on, you can get an idea of just how shallow this large bay is.

Port Phillip is blessed with coastal communities that are active in it's protection. Marine Care Ricketts Point (here) is an incredibly pro-active marine friends group who are involved in monitoring and education in their patch, Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary. Their members have a wonderful network constantly sharing news and brimming with information about their and other wet parks (for example see clips below). This is a best practice example of what a friends group can be.

Remembering that Gummy Sharks are a fish and chips favourite in Victoria, this clip is a surprise showing a small group foraging in and around the Point Cook Marine Sanctuary. The also clip shows the more common stingarees and Port Jackson sharks in abundance.



Marine Care also shared this interesting clip of one of the bay's historic landmarks, the wreck of the Cerebrus.  






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Holiday Waste; cultural shift and re-gifting

Apart from extracting too much, the major thing troubling our oceans is what we are putting into it - waste!

Holidays can be exciting and wonderful times to show you care for family and friends but what happens to the waste? Packaging, plastics and paper can be overwhelming, requiring skill and good recycling management. However this is not the only excess we need to consider.

Is there anyone anywhere who can boast that they've never received a gift that just doesn't fit into their lives. Unwanted gifts, what do you do with them? Throw them out? Perhaps you put the gift on a shelf to collect dust or stash it in a drawer only to throw out months or years later? If the gift is really the generosity of the thought rather than the object then why not keep the continuity of that concept going? 

It is time for a cultural shift. Rather than storing up unwanted gifts whose ultimate destination is an over-stressed tip we can all embrace the re-gift. You might not have been the right one for the gift but maybe someone else is. Who might that gift be a better fit for than you, could it be creatively modified to suit or perhaps even keep it in reserve as the perfect prank gift. It is worth considering keeping the gift giver's name and the packaging intact to avoid mistakes.

Wind and water carry holiday wastes to the sea

In our lives we are all trying to consider how to keep the waste in time, materials and money under control. If we are looking after the world, mitigating the flow of our waste into the oceans means mitigating the waste in our lives and doing some things differently. It is, after all, the thought that counts.

Here are a few links for more ideas:

• Interesting stories about re-gifting? http://www.regiftable.com/

• How to recycle your unwanted Christmas presents: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/6873912/How-to-recycle-your-unwanted-Christmas-presents.html

• Ten Incredible Recycled Presents: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/16/christmas-gifts-2010-10-i_n_795174.html#s204550title=From_Glam_Gam

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Planet Ocean

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Talking Trash Tour 2014, Brisbane to Sydney 7Jan

Tim Silverwood from Take 3 and Adrian Midwood from Ocean Ambassadors are teaming up to lead an exciting 4-week sailing adventure from Brisbane to Sydney onboard the sustainable catamaran the S.V. Moana. The tour runs from 7th Jan to 3rd Feb 2014

Visiting up to 15 communities enroute the plan is to educate the community about plastic pollution and inspire local action.

Please follow the link to the event page and invite friends in the areas listed. We need a lot of help to make this project a success so please let us know if you can assist!!

www.facebook.com/events/557093521043698

The Talking Trash Tour

7 January at 08:00 in UTC+11

Brisbane to Sydney

39 people are going

www.ausmepa.org.au