In a powerful and deeply informative community info evening, NQCC was proud to give the stage to Magnetic Island Nature Care Association (MINCA) President Gethin Morgan, alongside ocean advocates Kaspa Blewett and Lawrence Scheele.

The event brought together science, lived experience, and compelling visual evidence to show how maintenance dredging and offshore dumping in Cleveland Bay are affecting the health of Magnetic Island’s waters and marine life.

A Look Beneath the Surface: Photos and Footage from the Bay

Marine conservationists Kaspa Blewett and Lawrence Scheele opened the evening with striking photo and video material captured during this year’s maintenance dredging. Their footage showed a sediment plume drifting toward Magnetic Island - reaching the island in the following days.

(Image on the right taken by Lawrence Scheele and Kaspa Blewett showing dredge spoil reaching the island on July 15 2025)

This clearly challenges long-held claims that dredging activities do not impact the island.

Kaspa and Lawrence also highlighted the incredible richness of Cleveland Bay’s marine life - from turtles and dugongs to some of the region’s most extensive seagrass meadows. These habitats support biodiversity, cultural values, and a thriving local tourism and diving community.

Their message to the audience was simple and urgent: your voice matters.

Understanding the History: Gethin's Presentation

MINCA President Gethin Morgan - with over 50 years of experience in ecological assessment, planning and nature conservation - provided a deeply researched overview of dredging by the Port of Townsville.

(Right Figure: Improved Dredge Material Management for the Great Barrier Reef Region (2013) Sinclair Knight Merz and Asia-Pacific Applied Science Associates. Appendix E, p146)

He reflected on the long history of community pressure successfully shifting previous dumping sites to better locations, emphasising that Cleveland Bay is a Dugong Protection Area and part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Gethin also underlined the urgency of the current moment:

The Port of Townsville plans to apply for another 10-year permit, with only small adjustments to the existing dumping site. Yet previous studies show that this shallow site (averaging just 13m depth) allows spoil to travel far, reaching Yunbenun/Magnetic Island and even as far as Palm Island.

Long-term impacts are already visible. Since dredging began at the current site in 1990, water clarity and reef health have declined significantly due to sediment resuspension.

As Gethin put it:
“All of that protection is undermined by the way the port treats their spoil.”

What MINCA Is Calling For

MINCA acknowledges that maintenance dredging will always be necessary for a working port - and that land-based disposal brings its own challenges.

But as Gethin explained:

“What do you do? You have 600,000 cubic metres of mud to deal with. Our hope is to go into deeper water. Where the habitats and movements are understood, there’d be less and less movement and less smothering."

What could be done:

1. The Port of Townsville should request a two-year extension on their dumping permit instead of renewing for 10 years.
2. An independent scientific study should be undertaken to track the movement of sediment from maintenance dredging and assess the environmental merit of alternative dumping sites. 
3. A suitable dumping site should be selected based on the scientific evidence for best environmental outcomes. 

The responsibility for the impacts of the Port of Townsville's maintenance dredge spoil spans beyond the Port itself. As such, we must call upon the responsible decision-makers within the state and federal government to step up and intervene.

Want to Learn More or Take Action?

The full presentation materials can be found on MINCA's website. There is also a call to action: write to (or call) as many decision-makers as you can to ensure this issue is on their radar.

Write to or call:

• Hon Brent Mickleberg - Minister for Transport and Main Roads
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Ph: (07) 3719 7110
• Hon Andrew Powell MP - Qld Minister for Environment, Tourism, Science & Innovation
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Ph: (07) 3719 7300
• Senator the Hon Murray Watt - Federal Minister for the Environment & Water
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Ph: (07) 5531 1033
• Adam Baillie MP - Qld MP for Townsville
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Ph: (07) 4766 4100

Thank you for raising your voice to help ensure that Cleveland Bay, Magnetic Island, and the Great Barrier Reef receive the protection they deserve.