DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2010 ?...

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2010 ? 308
Distribution : daily 14725+ copies worldwide 04-11-2010


LNG threatens marine life, says WWF

The establishment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing and export facilities at Gladstone could have a disastrous impact on threatened marine life, the World Wildlife Fund says. Endangered species will include Australia's only native dolphin - the rare snubfin dolphin. "The Gladstone developments will result in mass dredging on a scale never seen before in Queensland - enough to bury a football stadium almost 4km deep in mud and rock," said Lydia Gibson, WWF-Australia's Marine Species Manager. "The decimation of feeding and breeding grounds, increased shipping traffic, boat strikes, and chemical and noise pollution could all spell disaster for threatened snubfin dolphins, dugongs, and turtles. "The scale of dredging proposed is astounding - potentially more than 40 million cubic meters - and it's possible this mud and rock will be dumped inside the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area." Ms Gibson said there were more than 100 major coastal developments proposed for the Queensland coast, including a number of coal and gas developments proposed for highly sensitive marine areas, including the LNG plant planned for Curtis Island, off Gladstone.

She said a coal terminal planned for Balaclava Island on the mouth of the Fitzroy River 40kms north of Gladstone was proposed in prime snubfin dolphin habitat whre less than 100 snubfin dolphins live. "The loss of just two or three of these dolphins could be enough to trigger the extinction of this local population," Ms Gibson said. Without a strategic approach to managing the impacts on wildlife, it would be death by a thousand cuts for marine turtles, inshore dolphins and dugongs, she said. "If governments are serious about protecting unique wildlife they must put a stop to the current piece-meal approach to coastal development, adopt a more coordinated approach and designate sanctuaries that protect species from potentially devastating impacts of major coastal developments." Source : AAP