Queensland’s Sanctuary Cove Marina, a beautiful Australia yacht charter location, has been accredited ‘Fish Friendly’ status by the Marina Industries Association.
Caption L to R: Keith Allardice, Helen Motteram and John Hogan at Sanctuary Cove Marina
Fish Friendly accreditation is an information campaign and accreditation system focusing on marina fish habits and developed by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) in collaboration with the Marina Industries Association (MIA) and the NSW Boating Industry Association (BIA).
The initiative is attached to MIA’s International Clean Marinas Program and is available to luxury yacht marinas across the Asia Pacific region. Additional fish friendly criteria and an audit are requirements to achieve ‘Fish Friendly Marina’ accreditation.
Sanctuary Cove Marina, a world-class facility and the venue for the renowned Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, is the first marina to be accredited ‘Fish Friendly’ in south east Queensland. There are now 11 marinas recognised or in the process of being accredited as ‘Fish Friendly’ throughout Australia. The initiative has received positive support from numerous government departments and authorities across Australia.
“Marinas can provide important habitat for fish. The Fish Friendly Marinas program has been developed to inform marina managers on how to maximise benefits for fish, and recognise those operators actively working to improve fish habitat,” said MIA Director, John Hogan in presenting the award to Keith Allardice, Executive General Manager at Mulpha Sanctuary Cove (Developments) Pty Limited.
“I congratulate Sanctuary Cove Marina today which holds Level 3 International Clean Marina status on its significant commitment to protecting and preserving the marina’s valuable marine habitat and communicating its efforts to customers and visitors.”
Helen Motteram, Marina Operations Manager at Mulpha Sanctuary Cove Marina Ltd said the initiative is an important development. “It is essential marinas continue to set the highest environmental standards. Marinas are the ideal location for many community members to see and learn about native fish and the aquatic environment. Clean Marinas and the Fish Friendly accreditation add-on demonstrate that industry, with support from government, is best able to set the standards that meet and exceed community and government expectations.”
“We are proud to be accredited with this exciting new environmental initiative and are committed to ensuring our marina is of the highest environmental standard through participation in programs such as Clean Marinas. We have all fully embraced the opportunity to meet the Fish Friendly criteria,” Ms Motteram said.
“We will continue to support the MIA in these very important programs which demonstrate the industry’s commitment to sustainable practices. The MIA leads the industry in developing consistent best practice management of the waterways in which marinas operate and Sanctuary Cove Marina is very proud to uphold such practices.”
