COMMUNITY
The Port of Karumba is a key asset to the communities that surround it.
An economic impact study commissioned by PCQ in 2002 found that the port accounted for an estimated 91 full-time equivalent jobs, and that a further 132 flow-on jobs were generated by port-related activities. In total, these 223 jobs earned an estimated $22 million in household income during the 2001/2002 financial year.
PCQ actively supports and engages with the communities surrounding the Port of Karumba. In the last two years, PCQ has undertaken a range of local community support initiatives, including:- provision of funding support for upgrading the Karumba town swimming pool; and
- provision of funding/sponsorship support for local community events.
ENVIRONMENT
Coastal areas surrounding Karumba include salt flats, mangrove communities, extensive intertidal flats, and shallow subtidal seagrass beds. These habitats are extremely productive, and support a high diversity of animals and plants, including some species which are valuable to commercial fisheries, and some which have high conservation value.
Seagrass beds occur around the mouth of the Norman River, and on the northern and southern banks of the channel. The main seagrass beds in the port area are on the Alligator and Elbow banks, just outside the mouth of the Norman River.
In 1994, PCQ engaged the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI) to commence detailed biannual quantitative monitoring of seagrass beds within the port limits. These surveys continued over a seven-year period, and provided an indication of typical seasonal and annual variations occurring in seagrass growth. PCQ is now monitoring seagrass annually in a joint program with the QDPI.
Dugongs have been observed in aerial surveys of the Karumba region, and their feeding trails have been noted throughout local seagrass beds. Dugongs are long lived, herbivorous marine mammals, which have high conservation value. They can grow to about three metres long and weigh up to 400 kg.
Sea turtles including Green, Loggerhead, Flatback, Hawksbill and Olive Ridley turtles have been recorded from the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, and probably inhabit coastal waters around Karumba.
Dolphins have been sighted in the entrance channel to the Port, and it is likely that inshore species such as Irrawaddy River dolphins, Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphins and Bottlenose dolphins inhabit coastal and estuarine areas, including port waters, near Karumba (Marsh, 1994). The Karumba region does not appear to have any special significance for dolphins or whales (Dames & Moore & WBM Oceanics, 1996).
PCQ has undertaken the following environmental initiatives at the Port of Karumba:- development of dredging environmental impact assessment and long term dredging plans;
- annual seagrass monitoring;
- sediment quality monitoring;
- development of oil spill response and emergency response plans;
- development of a port environmental management plan; and
- a cultural heritage survey.
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