This is a hidden problem. People are not aware of what's going on offshore.
That's what we're seeking to achieve here that identify these issues.
I'm Andy Davis. I'm a Professor of Marine Biology here at the University of Wollongong
Dragging The Chain is all about looking at the impacts of anchor scour on deepwater assemblages off ports around Australia.
So in a sense this project started many years ago when we were observing dramatic impacts of mooring in shallow water particularly in seagrass beds.
When we saw vessels anchoring in deepwater offshore, large numbers of vessels, we
wondered what kind of impacts these vessels may be having on the seafloor.
This is an interdisciplinary project. It involves two biologists,
two lawyers that have a focus on law of the sea, and a colleague in the School of Business as well.
So we have three faculties here working closely together, to tackle this problem relating to anchor scour.
I'm professor Clive Schofield, and I'm the lead for the Sustaining Coastal and Marine Zones
portion of the Global Challenges program.
Shipping is crucial to global trade.
The entire globalised world economy really depends on ships.
90% of global trade by volume is carried on ships.
I, myself, am a geographer by training, so I add a spatial dimension to the project, but I'm also an
International Law of the Sea Scholar. One of the other aspects that's important in this project is whilst we have
domestic jurisdictional issues at hand between State and Commonwealth in terms of their jurisdiction to regulate practices offshore.
Will also have international law and the sea dimensions to the project.
What we have here is very large anchors up to 30 tonnes. Long lengths of chain
with links that are somewhere between 60 and 200 kilograms for each individual link, and they are dragging across the bottom.
So our project is about establishing that by comparing areas where there's intense anchoring of shore of Wollongong and
areas where we know anchoring does not occur.
What we have here, I believe is a real opportunity to make a difference.
To protect sensitive marine environments and deep water, a hidden issue with anchor scour.
This is a global problem, and we're moving towards coming up with solutions, and that's a very exciting prospect.
