GRANT District Mayor Richard Sage has called for a long-term solution to the clogging of the Port MacDonnell harbour amid growing calls for the breakwater to be breached.
Mr Sage warned breaching the harbour could see long-term “heartache” given the possibility breaching the structure could see homes and business flooded in the seaside town.
His comments come as the Port MacDonnell Professional Fisherman’s Association calls for urgent talks with the transport department and council on the issue.
With the opening of the 2018/19 rock lobster season just months away, fishers fear they will not be able to refuel their boats given the rising seaweed and sand levels in the harbour.
The association’s president Roger Cutting yesterday described the recent removal of seaweed in the harbour by the department as a mere “band-aid solution”.
It is understood the department scooped out 500 cubic metres of seaweed last month from the harbour, which is home to one of the largest rock lobster fleets in the southern hemisphere.
According to the department, the seaweed and sand in the channel near the refuelling areas is now clear following the works.
But Mr Cutting has called for sediment to be pumped from the harbour and for the breakwater to be breached to reinstate flow and stop the suction action from the current pipes.
“The transport department came down and scooped some of it out, but they were not there very long,” he said.
While praising the Grant district for supporting the commercial fishers on the issue, he said council needed to go one step further and push for breaching works.
“If we do not breach the breakwater, the harbour will just keep on filling up,” the veteran fisher said.
But Mr Sage – who expressed his personal opinion – called for caution given the potential long-term ramifications of breaching the breakwater.
“We have to investigate it properly, we cannot just jump in – we need to do our homework,” the civic leader said.
“If we do a quick fix, it may cause heartache in the long-term – we need to negotiate a plan with the transport department.”
He warned breaching the breakwater could result in more sand building up in the harbour.
Mr Sage said he wanted to hold discussions with the transport department about partnering with university students to undertake a study into the harbour.
“If we breach the breakwater and it does not work, who will pay for it to be fixed. It is a small problem at the moment, but if we do the wrong thing it could become huge,” he said.
“We need to find a long-term solution. We could see flooding again over Sea Parade and into houses similar to before the breakwater was built.
“Some of those houses have never recovered given salt-damp issues.”
Meanwhile, Mr Cutting has hit out over the fact the fishing association had not been approached by the transport department on the issue.
“Common sense must prevail – some of the stones need to be taken away from the breakwater,” he said.
He warned the harbour was likely to fuel ongoing issues for the commercial fleet, including damage to engines and difficulty accessing fuelling facilities.
In a letter to council from Transport Minister Stephan Knoll, the minister said dredging could not be justified for such a small area of the harbour.
“DPTI is currently investigating solutions and will continue to work with council to ensure the safe movement of marine vehicles at Port MacDonnell,” Mr Knoll said.
