(9) Dover Harbour Board has applied for a licence to dredge Goodwin Sands, which had been proposed as a marine conservation zone, for aggregate to be used in the expansion and development of Dover port.(8) | Howard W French Read more In the South China Sea, China has, by massive dredging operations, turned submerged reefs with names out of the novels of Joseph Conrad – Mischief Reef, Fiery Cross Reef – into artificial islands, and is completing a 3,000m runway on Fiery Cross.(7) Dredging creates turbidity in the water that reduces the amount of light reaching the coral, affecting photosynthesis, while silt that settles on the coral interferes with its ability to feed itself.(6) In ongoing lawsuits objecting to the island reclamation scheme, the Jakarta Legal Aid association has argued these new islands are occupying traditional fishing grounds, while the sediment and dredging work have driven away fish from the remaining waters.(5) They want to send a very clear message to China that they are serious about this.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest This image from the US navy purportedly shows Chinese dredging vessels in the waters around Mischief reef in the disputed Spratly archipelago in May 2015.(4) A recent study suggests that coral disease is doubled when dredging occurs near reefs, although supporters of the dredging have repeatedly insisted it can be done safely and that the Abbot Point sediment will be dumped around 40km from the nearest reef.(3) Documents obtained under freedom of information reveal huge uncertainty over the investment needed to maintain water quality following dredging to expand the Abbot Point port, north of Bowen in Queensland.
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