Summary of the Whitsundays Plan of Management Amendments 2008
The follow ing inform ation is a su m m ary of the am end m ents to the W hitsundays Plan of M anagement 1998 (inclu d ing A mendment 2008 (N o.1)) (the Plan) that cam e into force on 18 Decem ber 2008.
Consu ltation on the am end m ents w as cond u cted in Febru ary -March 2007 and all su bm issions received w ere consid ered in the p rep aration of the am end ed Plan.
Fu rther inform ation can be accessed throu gh the GBRMPA w ebsite (w w w .gbrm p a.gov.au ) or by contacting (07) 4750 0700
Summary of amendments:
Core amendments
A llow vessels that have an overall length of no more than 70 metres to Hardy Reef, if the vessel is operating to a mooring or pontoon.
Previou sly access w as restricted to vessels less than 35 m etres. This am end m ent accom m od ates the trend in im p roving vessel d esign tow ard s larger vessels.
Designated W ater Sports A rea on western side of N orth M olle Island
The am end ed Plan exp and s the area available for activities like p arasailing, w aterskiing and other activities as d efined .
Setting 5 areas now have a maximum vessel length of 20 metres and maximum group size of 15 people. This applies to both recreational and tourism activies.
Site p lans have been d evelop ed for Setting 5 areas and the am end m ent im p lem ents th e recom m end ations from th ose site p lans.
N o A nchoring A rea at M anta Ray Bay has been extended.
The new bou nd ary d escrip tion w ill increase ease of com p liance and extend p rotection of coral cu rrently ou tsid e the N o Anchoring Area.
Editorial and technical corrections.
Part 1 has been re-w ritten to m ore clearly exp lain the intent of the Plan and u p d ate or rem ove ou t-of-d ate inform ation. The Forew ord has also been re- d rafted to link review and su bsequ en t am end m ent of the Plan to the five- yearly Outlook Report. The intent of the Plan is now clearer, ou t-of-d ate inform ation has been u p d ated or rem oved w here no longer relevant , and there is greater consistency betw een this Plan, the Cairns A rea Plan of M anagement 1998 and the Hinchinbrook Plan of M anagement 2004.
Grou p size lim its have been clarified , w ith child ren u nd er fou r no longer inclu d ed in grou p size lim its.
The Bareboat p rovisions have been u p d ated in line w ith the G reat Barrier Reef Marine Park Au thority’s Bareboat Policy. The Bareboat Policy p rov id es for lim ited tw o-w ay conversion betw een bareboats and crew ed vessels.
All enforcem ent p rovisions that relate to w hales have been rem oved from the Plan and w ill now be located in the Great Barrier Reef M arine Park Regulations 1983.
Exem p tion to the 50 d ay lim it and booking requ irem ent for Bow en op erations has now been clarified in Part 2.
Consistency w ith Great Barrier Reef M arine Park Z oning Plan 2003 and the Great Barrier Reef M arine Park A ct 1975 has been m aintained .
The d atu m for the Plan has been changed from AGD66 to GDA94, in line w ith Com m onw ealth requ irem ents.
Summary of proposed changes w hich w ere not progressed:
A llow vessels up to 50 metres in length access to the Setting 2 area in southern W hitehaven Beach.
The GBRMPA has d ecid ed not to p rogress this as there w as significant op p osition to the p rop osal from resp ond ents, on the grou nd s that it w ou ld affect am enity for other u sers, it m ight cau se an u nd esirable increase in
visitation to the area, insu fficient infrastru ctu re exists to su p p or t the p rop osal, and there is a d esire to see the area’s natural and aesthetic values preserved .
