White Bay 6 Marine Park awarded International Fish Friendly accreditation
by Marina Industries Association 17 Dec 2020 01:50 PST
White Bay 6 Marine Park Team and Clean Marina Flag © Marina Industries Association
The White Bay 6 Marine Park has received international recognition from the Marina Industries Association (MIA) for its positive contributions towards the creation and improvement of fish habitat through its accreditation as a Fish Friendly Marina.
Fish Friendly accreditation is an enhancement to the site's Clean Marina accreditation and further demonstration of White Bay 6's commitment to environmental sustainability and improvement.
MIA President Andrew Chapman explained, "The Fish Friendly accreditation assesses advanced elements of environmental planning and management, such as identifying opportunities to incorporate fish friendly structures into the marina to encourage marina life and the education of marina visitors on local fish species. White Bay 6 has certainly done that, there is information about local species everywhere across the site and they have gone so far as to implement a QR code to record marine pests."
The site has been successful for several years in achieving accreditation under the 103-point environmental Clean Marina audit, but this is the first time it has been accredited as a Fish Friendly Marina.
On learning of their accreditation, General Manager Lorraine Yates said, "We're all big smiles here sharing this wonderful news, particularly to be awarded the MIA Fish Friendly accreditation which is brand new for White Bay 6. We have a strong culture of compliance, working closely with an environmental management consultant and we have developed an excellent relationship with the Environmental Protection Authority. Both have been great sources of advice in continuous improvement and fine tuning our operations, so that we truly understand the potential impact of our work on the environment and the best control measures. We set the bar high and this recognises our dedication to protecting and enhancing the environment in our beautiful corner of Sydney's working harbour. Our resident seal is going to love this, too. We're very proud."
The MIA has over 57 Clean Marina accredited sites and a further 35 have also succeeded in attaining Fish Friendly status.