As a certified Clean Marina Level III through the Marina Industries Association and Sustainable Tourism Certified through Ecotourism Australia, we are focused on sustainable business operations and protecting the environment in which we live and work.
One of the key elements of our Environmental Policy is to educate visitors, employees and marina stakeholders on environmental initiatives which we support.
In addition, the Coral Sea Academy was created as an innovative series of events designed to inspire and educate all marina guests, visitors and locals about the environment, the Great Barrier Reef, sustainability and better boating.
By providing our networks with up to date information on topics such these we are able to spread the sustainability message further.
The Whitsunday Islands form part of the world-heritage listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and, as a business, we are focused on reducing our impact on the environment, encouraging the long term health of the reef and preserving the biodiversity of the National Parks which surround us.
Below we have have also included links to some great resources to assist you in enjoying your time in the Whitsundays in a responsible and sustainable manner.
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Coral Sea Academy
Consciously connecting people to boating, the environment, and themselves...
The Coral Sea Academy is the educational tourism arm of Coral Sea Marina and was designed to provide guests, visitors and the local community with access to a range of engaging events and educational content, providing opportunities to consciously connect people to boating, the environment and themselves.
Coral Sea Marina attracts thousands of visitors a year to its vibrant marina precinct, as well as being home to many incredible local businesses. As a thriving tourism hub, Coral Sea Marina understands the importance of operating the business in a sustainable manner, fostering regional pride, encouraging environmental sustainability and driving sustained visitation to the Whitsunday region.
The Coral Sea Academy provides an experiential travel experience for visitors and locals alike, that educates, engages and immerses guests with themes that are relevant to the Whitsundays, actively encourages better boating practices, shines a light on the local community, and the promotion of sustainable tourism.
Find out more about the Coral Sea Academy here: https://www.coralseaacademy.com
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Clean Marina Level III
Coral Sea Marina Resort holds a Clean Marina Level III (ISO 14001 accreditation level) certification which is awarded to marina industry leaders with the highest level of environmental management. Coral Sea Marina Resort has also attained Fish Friendly status, which recognises our commitment to actively working to improve fish habitats within the marine environment.
These accreditations are awarded through the Marina Industries Association and is based on a set of criteria which are regularly reviewed to ensure continuous improvement through benchmark environmental practice.
Maintaining Clean Marina accreditation and Fish Friendly Marina status strengthens our commitment to conserving our natural marine environment.
For more information: https://www.marinas.net.au/industryprograms/international-clean-marina-program
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Sustainable Tourism Certified
Coral Sea Marina is proudly the first marina in Australia to become Sustainable Tourism Certified through Ecotourism Australia, recognising our commitment as a business to minimising negative impacts and maximising benefits for the environment, communities, and culture.
This globally recognised certification places Coral Sea Marina amongst an elite group of businesses who demonstrate exemplary sustainability in the tourism industry and reflects the marina's dedication to educating and inspiring boaters, the local community, and visitors about the natural environment, better boating practices and how to affect positive environmental change.
For more information please visit the Ecotourism Australia website here: https://ecotourism.org.au/
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Environmental Crew Guidelines
The Water Revolution Foundation and Sea-stainable Yachting have put together the ultimate guide for Superyacht crew to implement more sustainable practices onboard their yachts. By encouraging and empowering yacht crews to adopt more eco-friendly practices into their daily routines, the guidelines can contribute to a more eco-friendly industry overall.
For more information and to download the guidelines, click here - Environmental Crew Guidelines – Water Revolution Foundation
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Fish Friendly
The entire Coral Sea Marina Resort precinct is certified Fish Friendly. In order to maintain a healthy fish habitat, in the waters and foreshore adjacent to the marina and the resort we have the following rules:
- Fishing is prohibited anywhere in the marina and the area beneath the resort jetty
- No fishing trawlers are to be berthed at the marina
- Feeding birds or fish within the precinct is prohibited
- Disposal of fish waste within the marina basin is prohibited
- All sewerage must be disposed of ashore by using the sewerage pump out station
- Nothing must be thrown overboard – including fish scraps
- Any oil leaks or spills must be reported to the marina staff immediately, so they can be contained
- Berth occupiers must not discharge anything into the waters of the marina
Whilst enjoying the Great Barrier Reef marine park, guests wishing to fish are to ensure they are conversant with the zoning regulations. Zoning maps for the Whitsundays are available at reception, included in our Welcome Pack and also available digitally here for convenience. You can also download the Eye on the Reef app here.
The Whitsundays are home to a wide variety of fish species. The 100 Magic Miles has a comprehensive guide to fishing in the Whitsundays, including bag limits and size limits – we highly recommend visitors purchase a copy in advance of their stay. Alternatively, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries have the QLD Fishing 2.0 app available for download, which provides information on identifying your catch, size and possession limits and seasonal closures.
We ask that all visitors be aware of the issues related to pest fish in our region and if sighted, we recommend you report that to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Here is additional information to assist with identifying pest fish – https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries/pest-fish/general-information-on-pest-fish
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Environmental Policy
Coral Sea Marina undertakes all activities in compliance with relevant state and federal legislation.
Coral Sea Marina is committed to promoting and delivering the best environmental management practices and ensuring the long-term health of the environment and public is maintained across all operations and activities.
Coral Sea Marina acknowledges responsibility for environmental sustainability and recognises the relationships that exist between the key areas of energy, water, waste, health and the marine environment.
Coral Sea Marina aims to ensure all employees, contractors and guests of the marina understand and uphold the highest environmental management practices when within the marina resort precinct.
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Environmental Management
Coral Sea Marina conducts daily operations in line with our environmental goals, which are:
- Reduce waste and reuse/ recycle where possible.
- Minimise the effects of marina activities on water, air and noise pollution.
- Reduce energy, water and waste consumption across marina operations.
- Educate customers, employees and marina stakeholder on conservation of marine ecosystems and marine life.
- Promote activities which reduce marine habitat disturbance, protect native flora and fauna and encourage sustainable boating practices.
- Advocate sustainable vessel operations and maintenance practices.
Our marina rules outline the set of environmental standards which apply to marina resort guests, contractors and marina businesses. These rules include information relating to the following key environmental initiatives:
- Plastic Bag Free
- Reduction of Energy, Water, Noise Pollution
- Reduction of Energy and Water Consumption
- Nil Discharge/ Black Water Pump-Out
- No Fishing
- Recycling/ Waste Transfer
- The Last Straw Campaign
- Sustainable Vessel Operations
- Sustainable Vessel Maintenance Practices
Our Berthing Agreement includes the comprehensive list of marina rules, should you require additional copies please speak with our Guest Services team.
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Waste Management
Reducing our carbon footprint and keeping our marina clean are both environmental priorities for Coral Sea Marina. We provide extensive recycling facilities for our guests, commercial businesses and operators. We encourage all visitors to the marina to be mindful of their waste management.
Available in both the north and south marina resort villages we have recycling facilities available for aluminum cans, glass, hard plastics, cardboard and paper, waste oil and on request other hazardous materials. At the hotel, staff also have access to recycling facilities.
Behind the scenes, Coral Sea Marina staff have implemented recycling systems in all offices to join this cause, including the recycling of aluminum cans, glass, hard plastics, cardboard and paper. Similarly, a 'no print' email policy has been adopted throughout the resort and our preferred means of communicating information, promotions and events with our guests is predominantly done electronically to save on unnecessary use of paper.
Our fantastic businesses that call the marina home also have many great initiatives of their own. For example, Le Kiosk Cafe in the north marina village encourages everyone to bring along their own reusable coffee cup and in return they will receive a 10% discount on hot beverages.
We ask all guests to try and separate their recyclables and then fully utilize the recycling facilities provided.
Any questions about our recycling facilities, please speak with the Guest Services team.
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Purging Plastics
Coral Sea Marina is an accredited Clean Marina Level III and is committed to becoming plastic free.
We are plastic bag free and provide all guests at check in with reusable shopping bags, to actively encourage the elimination of plastic bags throughout our region. Our entire Courtesy Car fleet has reusable shopping bags in to encourage our marina guests to say no to plastics and additional bags are available at reception on request.
All dining and food outlets in the marina are plastic straw free. We have signed The Last Straw campaign pledge as a marina precinct and in July 2018 became the first marina in the country to have all food outlets signed up to the pledge.
We encourage all private guests also to ban the use of plastic straws on their vessels in a show of support for this worthwhile campaign.
We are working towards Purging Plastics entirely from the marina precinct by 2025. We have commenced an initiative in 2019 aimed at becoming plastic bottle free:
- We have installed three hydration stations throughout the marina precinct and have for sale stainless enviro water bottles at the marina office. In addition, single use coffee cups have been removed from our Ocean Club guest facility, where we encourage all guests to bring their own mug.
- Plastic water bottles have been eradicated from our marina owned food outlets and events venues and replaced with canned Wallaby Water.
Our team sweep the onshore marina precinct daily to limit the amount of plastic and litter entering the waterways. In addition, the marina team conduct a thorough check of the marina via boat on a regularly basis to remove any visible marina debris, we encourage all our guests to contact us should you sight marine debris which needs collecting during your stay.
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Better Boating Guide
We have our very own Better Boating Guide - Our Guide to Greener Recreational Boating.
This guide is available to anyone who spends time on the water and has plenty of tips and tricks for ensuring you minimise the impact of your boating activities on the marine environment.
Our location in the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef region is the major draw card for thousands of boating visitors every year and we have a responsibility to share knowledge with the boating community about how they can enjoy boating more sustainably. The ocean provides boundless opportunities for adventure and recreational activities, yet sadly many of those activities have the potential to affect the state of the marine environment. The boating community are in the unique position to act as ambassadors of the ocean, by making smart, sustainable choices and creating good boating habits.
Tips and tricks for basic boat maintenance, managing waste water, saving energy onboard, pollution control and using non-toxic cleaners are all included in the guide. More regional-focused tips on being Reef Smart, anchoring with care, zoning requirements in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, as well as the best ways to report wildlife and marine incident sightings are also included.
Download our Better Boating Guide HERE.
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Marine Life
The Whitsunday Islands National Park and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park are home to some endangered and the vulnerable marine life.
We encourage all our guests to observe the marine life they encounter in a safe and respectful manner. If you were to sight any injured or distressed marine life during your time in the region, we recommend contacting 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625).
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority also have a great app – Eye on the Reef. This app contains a wealth of information on the weird and wonderful species you may encounter during your stay. We recommend downloading this app and encourage all guests to share their marine wildlife sightings with other marine park users.
During our winter months, we also welcome the annual migration of Humpback Whales to the Whitsundays waters. There are numerous guidelines and regulations in place to ensure we protect both ourselves, our vessels and these gentle giants. You can discover more about the Humpback Whales and what to expect here.
The Whitsundays is also home to multiple Master Reef Guides, a group of passionate locals who are ambassadors for the reef and share the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area through engaging stories and memorable experiences. You can meet our local Master Reef Guides here.
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Seagrass Nursery
Coral Sea Marina Resort is supporting local seagrass restoration, working with the Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre at CQUniversity, Reef Catchments and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and will host a test site for a dedicated Seagrass Nursery within the marina.
Seagrasses are the only truly marine flowering plant, they have roots, flowers and produce seeds. A healthy marine environment relies on seagrass. Seagrass protect shorelines from coastal erosion, support fish and shellfish populations, filter out fine sediments and nutrients which protect the reef, and offset our carbon footprint by catching and storing organic matter. And of course, the local meadows are important feeding grounds for dugong and green turtles.
Storms and poor water quality can degrade seagrass meadows faster than they can recover so they need a helping hand. The project will establish a seagrass restoration site using seagrass seeds. For this, we will need volunteers to help collect from healthy parts of an intertidal seagrass meadow in Pioneer Bay, and later disperse them where needed. It also requires a seagrass nursery where seagrass plants can be grown for seed production, and seagrass flowers collected from the wild can be held in filtered seawater until they drop seeds for collection and storage in specific conditions.
Over the coming months, there will be opportunities for guests to:
- Attend information sessions about the value of seagrass and how we can help them stay healthy;
- Take part in seagrass flower collecting events to help collect seeds for restoration, but also see some of the amazing creatures that call seagrass home;
- Visit the seagrass nursery aquaria;
- Help with seed harvesting; and/or
- Gain training on seagrass identification and flower collection.
For more information on the Seagrass Restoration Project, please click HERE.
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Whales of the Whitsundays
The World Cetacean Alliance has formally designated the Whitsundays as a Whale Heritage Site following an active community program by Whales of the Whitsundays (WoW) which recognises the importance of our region for humpback whales to calve.
The Whitsundays is only the second such site to be designated in Australia and the first to be designated inside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the only site in the world to be in a UNESCO World Heritage Area - it is the first Whale Heritage Site in a World Heritage Area!
As well as playing an active role on the steering committee for the Whitsunday Whale Heritage Site application through the Whales of the Whitsundays, the team at Coral Sea Marina has taken its support one step further by becoming a Platinum Sponsor for the program.
Whale Heritage Sites are incredibly vital to encouraging human-cetacean coexistence and the program promotes responsible whale watching giving people the opportunity to enjoy these majestic creatures in their natural environment knowing the negative impacts on animals are being minimized and mitigated.
To be whale-smart whilst out on the water, be sure to read up on our Whales of the Whitsundays guide BY CLICKING HERE.
To learn more about Whale Heritage Sites, visit – https://whaleheritagesites.org
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Eye on the Reef
Help to protect the reef whilst cruising the Whitsundays.
One of the easiest ways to help manage the reef and is to join the Citizen Science movement and to download the free Eye on the Reef app. This app allows you to record your sightings whilst on the Whitsunday waters.
The Eye on the Reef monitoring and assessment program enables anyone who visits the Great Barrier Reef to contribute to its long-term protection by collecting valuable information about reef health, marine animals and incidents that is used to understand the bigger picture and inform how the reef is managed.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority have also provided a list of Responsible Reef Practices tips that you can view here.
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Marine Park Zoning
Before heading out on the water, ensure you are familiar with the Marine Park Zoning rules, to ensure you assist with the protection of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park environment.
You can view the Whitsundays Marine Park Zoning map here. Alternatively, you can collect a copy of this map from the Coral Sea Marina office or access it from the free Eye on the Reef app.
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Marine Debris
Coral Sea Marina are proud supporters of Tangaroa Blue, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the removal and prevention of marine debris.
We actively encourage all marina guests to assist with the collection and removal of marine debris during their time in the Whitsundays and on their onward journeys.
If you would like to help Tangaroa Blue with their Australian Marine Debris Initiative, please follow these steps:
Step One:
Collect a marine debris bag from the Coral Sea Marina Office.
Step Two:
Download the Tangaroa Blue Data Collection App. The app is available on both Android and Apple platforms.
Use this app each time you collect any marine debris around the Whitsundays. Be sure to note what you have picked up, and from where.
Step Three:
When you return to Coral Sea Marina, the marine debris can be disposed of in our normal Refuse and Recycling area.
Alternatively, you can contact Tangaroa Blue who will happily do an audit for you. However, they would need to know where and what you collected, and each location will need to be stored in separate marine debris removal bags. You can leave your bags at the Coral Sea Marina office for collection by Tangaroa Blue volunteers.
You can also choose to purchase your own Clean-Up Pack by clicking HERE. These can be purchased online and collected directly from the Coral Sea Marina office.
Other Tangaroa Blue projects:
The Rig Recycle Project: Please dispose of any unwanted or broken fishing line, plastic lures, plastic fishing line spools, hard plastic lures, floats and handlines at the Rig Recycle bin, located at the BCF store located in Cannonvale. These will be repaired and reused where possible.
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International Seakeeper's Society
Coral Sea Marina is a Marina Partner, proudly the first in the South Pacific, of the International Seakeeper's Society.
The International Seakeeper's Society supports marine science and education by utilizing privately owned yachts and vessels to act as platforms for oceanographic research, educational outreach, and marine conservation. They are dedicated to facilitating research, conservation efforts, and education by connecting the yachting and boating community with the scientific and academic communities.
Coral Sea Marina is uniquely positioned on the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef and able to promote awareness and facilitate participation in ocean conservation programs and the citizen science movement to both privately owned vessels and our commercial tourism operators.
There are numerous ways in which vessel owners can participate - Whether by documenting encounters with local marine life, or capturing important scientific data whilst cruising the water of Australia and the South Pacific, partnering with the International SeaKeepers Society provides everyday people to actively contribute to the crucial work of ocean conservation.
Discover more about how you can help by visiting the International Seakeeper's Society's website.
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EcoBiz Star Partner
Coral Sea Marina is proud to be a Star Partner of the ecoBiz accreditation through the Queensland Government.
ecoBiz is a free program for small to medium businesses, funded by the Queensland Government. With the help of ecoBiz, Coral Sea Marina has developed an action plan to help the businesses increase efficiencies. With over 1000 businesses registered from all over Queensland, 90% of businesses recorded an increase in productivity and savings.
After a sustainability expert visited our business facilities, we were then awarded a best practice Star Partnership (Waste) for all the measures we have implemented so far to our sustainability outcomes.
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Ditch the Flick
Coral Sea Marina has joined the ReefClean Ditch the Fick campaign with Tangaroa Blue.
The ReefClean Ditch the Flick campaign is an initiative to help drive behavioural change among smokers around the Great Barrier Reef. The campaign is focused on helping smokers Ditch the Flick because the Australian Marine Debris Initiative Database shows cigarette butts are one of the many items of single-use plastic litter impacting the reef and waterways across Australia.
Keep an eye out for our dedicated Cigarette Butt Bins located throughout the marina and dispose of your butts in the bin and - ditch the flick!
Tangaroa Blue are then monitoring the number of cigarette butts in these dedicated bins and comparing with the quantity before these with dedicated signage had been installed.
We’re not encouraging smoking, we’re encouraging smokers to change their behaviour and Ditch the Flick.
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The Last Straw
The Last Straw Great Barrier Reef campaign aims to eradicate plastic straws completely from business and vessels on the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Sea Marina signed up to this great initiative and then set about gaining commitment from all marina dining outlets and commercial tour operators to do the same.
In June 2018, all five marina dining venues committed to becoming plastic straw free, as well as 123 vessels operating from the marina precinct. This made us the first marina in Australia to have all its food outlets saying no to plastic straws, which is a great commitment to the future of the environment. Only stainless and paper straws are now available, and only on request.
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Rig Recycle
Fishing tackle is one of the most significant litter pollutants on the Great Barrier Reef causing harm to marine life and disintegrating into harmful microplastics.Coral Sea Marina is the first marina in Queensland to have a Rig Recycle bin on site, as part of the ReefClean project, in conjunction with Tangaroa Blue. This bin is for for visitors and operators to dispose of unwanted or broken fishing gear in this innovative repair, reuse and recycle program.Everything from spools, handlines, hookers, sinkers, old fishing line can be disposed of to be repurposed and recycled. -
Let's Strain the Drain
In conjunction with the ReefClean program and Healthy Rivers to Reef, Coral Sea Marina has joined the Let’s Strain the Drain Project.
A ‘drain buddy’ has been installed here at the marina, as one of fifteen ‘drain buddy’ (traps) installed across Airlie Beach and Proserpine as part of the project.
The project is designed to collect and monitor data on the types of litter entering the stormwater system across the region and then provide the data to the Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) Database. This data will be used to guide source reduction programs.
These audits take place regularly and are completed by volunteers – all are welcome to join.
The drain buddies are themselves a source reduction project, as they are capturing litter from entering the stormwater system and eventually our oceans.
