Hi to anyone that fishes out of 1770 or wants to.
Be warned about the siltation issues there.
here is a letter penned to a few relevant authorities in reagrd to this danger.
In regard to the Round Hill Creek, entrance and in particular the vicinity of S24.09.077…… E151.53.006 . The estuary is extremely shallow at and either side of a low tide and in fact many locals and frequent visitors have called it “ dangerous “. There has been numerous incidents at this area of groundings with some vessels being stuck for some time and more so, some vessels sustaining substantial damage to props and skegs with unknown ( at this juncture ) further damage to gearboxes and housings. Substrate build up over the last few years has gone unchecked. The situation has deteriorated so much that I believe the VMR has advised visiting vessels with a deep draft to not enter the creek or do so at their own behest. This has serious financial impacts on the local community and causes angst to the staff of the VMR if any vessel they advise not to, should decide to enter the creek.
Having vessels grounded in this area creates an unacceptable risk to other vessels entering and leaving the estuary, let alone distress to the grounded vessels crew. The amount of marine traffic through this bar equates to similar traffic through the most popular bars in SEQ around much heavier populated areas. This in turn creates a major issue for visitors who are unfamiliar with the estuary and bar crossing. It should also be noted that during the early part of this year and major marine incident took place and as a result, rescue vessels were needed to bring persons needing medical attention ashore via the Round Hill Creek. Traversing this passage caused more distress to the already emotionally drained rescue crews. A situation that does not and should not happen to a well maintained navigable waterway.
There are plans and approvals to undertake new marina development in the estuary adjacent to the existing marina and with this comes more marine traffic. I would ask the question if an EIS has been undertaken in respect to possible siltation issues and processes to alleviate said issues at or near the estuary entrance / bar ? It must be noted that the build-up of silt / sand in the area has increased substantially since the new marina development commenced.
This system and its associated land based attractions are a tourism hot spot and as such command a high level of importance in regard to maintaining that ranking in “ places to visit “ on the Queensland coastline. There are a large number of commercial and recreational vessels that utilize this system on a daily basis and all are entitled to travel upon this waterway with confidence. With these vessels using the creek, the financial benefits to the local community are essential, but should this situation continue, I would suggest
recreational users in particular will seek alternative departure or stop over points.
I call on the local Council, State Government, Gladstone Port Authority and MSQ along with other controlling bodies as well as stakeholders of the estuary to address this issue as soon as possible. As a navigable creek system, the responsibility of ensuring a safe passage lies at the feet of the authority that owns or over-sees this system.
The Gladstone Regional Council and Department of Natural Resources are the major stakeholders of this marine system along with the Gladstone Port Authority and therefore we expect these entities to provide a serviceable navigation pathway from the estuary to ocean.
I respect budgetary constraints of all stakeholders, but also feel that safety of the public is a pre-cursor to prioritise funding, particularly where it has been established by relevant users like VMR and Commercial Operators that there is a need for expeditious action.
Regards
Phill Kliese
Ausfish Fishing Forums
LP
Please use this or a variation of it to send to those that need to know.
MSQ
Gladstone Port Authority
Gladstone Regional Council
MP Steve Bennett
Fed MP , O'Dowd