Work has commenced to remove more seagrass wrack from Jurien Boat Harbour to maintain improved water flow and navigation at the facility.
Department of Transport A/Executive Director of Coastal Infrastructure Donna West said the wrack trawling operation was a pro-active measure to prevent a build-up of material.
“It’s expected the operation will remove approximately 7,000 m³ of wrack from the harbour entrance, allowing for better water flow and improved water quality within the harbour,” Ms West said.
Contractor South Sea Logistics, who successfully completed wrack trawling at the harbour last year, has again been engaged to undertake the work.
A beam trawl and a heavy duty net are being used to remove the wrack from the water.
The trawled material is being temporarily stockpiled in the harbour and is available to the community free of charge.
Ms West said the trawling would be completed well ahead of planned dredging of the harbour scheduled for 2014/15.
“ The trawling will assist the day to day operation of the harbour as work continues to gather data to determine appropriate long term action to address ongoing environmental problems at the harbour,” Ms West said.
The Jurien Boat Harbour Steering Committee, chaired by the Member for Moore Shane Love MLA, was established earlier this year to advise Government on strategies to address water quality and seagrass accumulation issues at the harbour.
Press release, June 4, 2014