A VETERAN commercial abalone diver has raised a red flag over Port MacDonnell’s clogged harbour, warning it could potentially cause a tragedy at sea.
This follows the “gunk” in the harbour triggering at least one commercial boat’s motor to fail.
Chris Carrison’s comments follow an outcry over the mounting seaweed and sand in the harbour from Grant district elected members and the Port MacDonnell Professional Fisherman’s Association.
Residents have also reported the situation is causing a “putrid” smell to drift across the township, as well as multiple fish deaths.
He spoke out ahead of this weekend’s popular Port MacDonnell Offshore Angling Club’s tuna competition, which is expected to attract around 50 boats.
“We have a tuna competition starting in Port MacDonnell this Saturday – there will be dozens of amateur boats fishing out of that harbour,” he said.
“From a safety perspective, my boat runs two motors, probably 80pc of the boats that will launch as of Saturday will have one motor.”
The veteran fisherman warned this fuelled a potentially hazardous situation given tuna competitors fish “hard conditions” and go out a long way.
Mr Carrison explained boats might not be capable of out-manoeuvering large waves if their motors malfunctioned given these boats were traditionally not as big or as equipped as commercial vessels.
“If an engine fails and they are limited to four knots on the way home, it will be no joke,” he said.
“It will be potentially hugely dangerous.”
Mr Carrison called on the new Liberal Government to step in.
While it would be difficult to dredge the harbour ahead of this weekend, he called for some of the silt to be “scooped out” as a stopgap measure.
“If they halve what is there, it would be better than not doing anything,” he said.
“We do not need one million dollars right now, we just need to get some of the gunk out that is in tight around the boat ramp.”
Mr Carrison is facing a hefty repair bill after seaweed sediment became entangled in the boat’s engine after launching at the seaside town’s boat ramp.
“I have never had that trouble before and I have been fishing for 25 years,” he added.
While Mr Carrison normally launched from the beach, he said the high tides meant he had to use the Port MacDonnell boat ramp.
“I had seen the reports in The Border Watch regarding the harbour and thought to myself ‘surely it is not that bad’,” he said.
But the commercial diver said after launching from the boat ramp and heading around the breakwater the computers on-board the boat shut down one motor due to “overheating”.
Mr Carrison said the engine was now not working and needed significant repair.
“I am devastated over what has happened – I look after my equipment. It really broke my spirits,” he said.
“But it created a very dangerous situation given we fished over the next three days with only one motor.”
Mr Carrison said he only had a few days to go to finish his quota.
“This boat is normally capable of 35 or 38 knots (60kph) and with one motor it was only capable of eight knots – so you cannot get out of trouble if a wave comes towards you.”
Mr Carrison said he was 100pc convinced his engine failure was due to the “slimy harbour”.
“There was no other reason. It got caught up in the motor – in any other situation that does not happen.
“The green slimy stuff in the harbour was fine enough to get through the filter and inside the motor.”
Grant District Council acting chief executive officer Graeme Maxwell said council wrote to the State Government and Transport SA regarding the need for the harbour to be dredged.
“We have not had a formal response from the ministers yet, but departmental staff have advised us of their intention to undertake a hydrographic survey of the sea floor to determine if any silting is occurring,” Mr Maxwell said.
The call comes more than 10 years since the channel was last dredged by the transport department, which has collected $1m in mooring fees over 11 years from 60 commercial boats.
The Border Watch contacted the State Government for comment.
