Letter to the Editor: Mooring restrictions

DEAR News Of The Area,

BOAT and yacht club members, mooring holders and marine industries in Port Stephens are very concerned about the recent restrictions imposed by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) on acquisition, disposal and modifications to moorings.

As I understand it, these restrictions and changes of policy were developed by DPI in consultation with Service NSW (Maritime), Marine Parks, Fisheries and Port Stephens and MidCoast Councils.
Mooring holders, interested community groups, industry, yacht and boating clubs were never invited to participate in the policy development and have never been provided with any opportunity to comment on any information, draft policies or proposed procedures.

The first they became aware of the change of regulations was when mooring holders received letters in late 2024 telling them what the new policy is, not asking for any feedback.

I fully support measures to counteract climate change but these measures must be balanced with user needs.

The research shows that, with some modifications, mooring fields in Port Stephens could threaten relatively small areas of seagrass beds, especially if the replacement of current block and tackle infrastructure by environmentally friendly moorings is progressed in a timely manner.

Currently a significant percentage of mooring holders who wish to sell their boats cannot do so because, in many instances, buyers are not permitted to take over the leases for those moorings.
Often the mooring has been or is required to be removed and the space precluded from any future use as a mooring field.

Information about which areas will continue to host moorings is not easily accessible.

There are rumours that some areas will close as a result of natural attrition but it has never been made clear to stakeholders which ones.

The prohibition on new or replacement moorings and extensive restrictions on new moorings in some areas is resulting in a serious decline in the overall availability of moorings in Port Stephens with consequent long wait lists and a noticeable downturn in boat sales.

Currently there is nowhere in Port Stephens where a private mooring space is available for lease. Apart from private moorings there are very limited options available for vessel storage while a boat owner waits for a mooring.

Port Stephens marina fees are among the highest in Australia.

For many, the cost of paying for a marina berth is prohibitive.

Anchoring the vessel for extended periods contravenes Maritime’s regulations.

I note there are significant areas of abandoned oyster leases in Port Stephens which, if cleaned up, might be suitable for mooring fields.

Has this option been explored?

I note that there is currently a two year trial of 12 environmentally friendly moorings being conducted by CSIRO in Salamander Bay.

I note also that the Queensland Department of Healthy Land and Water conducted a successful two year trial of environmentally friendly moorings in Moreton Bay between 2009 and 2011.

Since then, several hundred environmentally friendly moorings have been deployed.

Why has NSW not adopted that technology which could have been in place before the current trial even started?

Note that Moreton Bay and Port Stephens both have sandy seabeds and experience extreme weather conditions.

With those two characteristics in common it beggars my belief why DPI has apparently expended huge sums of money starting from scratch with the research when there are already suitable options available.

Regards,
Cherylle STONE,
Soldiers Point.