A multi-million dollar partnership will deliver world-class monitoring, research, education and training to advance marine science in Weipa and three other North Queensland ports. Photo: Supplied.
A $7.5 million partnership between North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation (NQBP) and James Cook University (JCU) will launch a five-year program to advance marine science across four ports including Weipa.
Building on a decade of nationally recognised collaboration, the partnership will deliver world-class monitoring, research, education and training.
The project will also expand into new areas such as marine habitat restoration research, marine animal studies including dugongs and turtles, and increasing Traditional Owner engagement.
Mackay, Hay Point and Abbot Point are the three other ports to benefit from the funding.
The collaboration is led by JCU’s Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER).
NQBP CEO Brendan Webb said the new partnership solidified the corporation’s long-term commitment to environmental stewardship and collaboration.
“As the only port authority managing three ports within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, we take our environmental and social responsibilities in these iconic surroundings seriously,” Mr Webb said.
“This partnership represents the gold standard for how industry and research institutions can work together to protect and understand the environment.
“Together, we’ve delivered world-class monitoring, empowered Traditional Owner engagement and fostered the next generation of marine scientists. This renewed partnership ensures we build on those achievements into the future.”
JCU Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research Professor Jenny Seddon said the partnership continued to demonstrate the real-world impact of JCU’s research.
“Our collaboration with NQBP shows how industry and universities can work together and embed scientific expertise into core port operations to deliver real and lasting benefits to the environment, communities and industry,” Professor Seddon said.
JCU’s co-director of the program, Professor Michael Rasheed, said at its core the partnership supported world-class research and monitoring, including one of the world’s longest continuous-running seagrass monitoring programs.
“These programs have led to breakthrough knowledge on how coastal ecosystems function including developing tools for their effective management and approaches to restoration of seagrass meadows that can be applied throughout tropical Queensland and the Indo-Pacific,” Professor Rasheed said.
“The program reaches well beyond the ports themselves with results fed into regional reporting on waterway health and advancing science and management. This is a great example of how research and industry partnerships can benefit society,” he said.
Associate Professor Nathan Waltham, JCU TropWATER said the partnership was a model for how industry and research could work together to deliver real-world outcomes.
“We’re proud to be training the next generation of marine scientists and delivering the data and solutions needed for resilient, thriving port environments,” A/Professor Waltham said.
“It also provides extraordinary opportunities for our students and researchers to work at the forefront of marine science.”
NQBP CEO Brendan Webb, NQBP principal adviser Environment Nicola Stokes, James Cook University (JCU) TropWATER’s Professor Michael Rasheed and NQBP senior manager Environment Odette Langham. Photo: Supplied.
