No Dredging @ James Price Point/Protect Whale nursery & Migration Routes

Thanks again for signing and helping! Updating is difficult at the moment, as I am on my way to James Price Point with my family to add our voices to the many individual voices that make up the Broome community. Anyone who wants to join in on research and survey activities at James Price Point is welcome to come along. There are large areas available for camping, caravaning, camp trailers etc. If you are self sufficient and have the ability to have fun and enjoy beauty, I recommend you come. This year we will be extending our surveys of the intertidal zones that Woodside intend to destroy. Also, we will be extending our terrestrial surveys of bilbies and their movements within the precinct zone. Last year with the help of a friend (Damien Hirsch), we discovered many bilby colonies that were not meant to exist (according to Woodside). Damien and myself have been the first to photograph bilbies in the wild at this location. It's been the first time bilbies have been seen in the area for over 20 years. Also, we found other rare fauna such as burrowing snakes, believed to be extinct masked owls and some of the weirdest reptiles I've ever seen. Surveys of whales, dolphins, turtles are also currently being conducted and help is always needed. New species of marine and terrestrial life have been discovered in this area.Whales and whale calves are on their migration soon the dredging proposal will effect them, noise generated by dredging operations underwater will confuse and distress mothers and calves which could result in seperation of mother and calve and even worse real chance of accidental beaching, resulting in death. 

Woodside's dredging proposal will have devastating consequences for the whole Kimberley region. The threat of disease by dredging 36 million cubic metres (enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground up to the rooftop 22 times!!!) is very real and unavoidable. Woodside's ability to synthesise and deconstruct the natural values and processes that have created this massive ecoregion are deliberately false and designed to mislead all Australians. Woodside and the West Australian Government are hoping Australians stay quiet and do nothing, but I think they underestimate what Australians truly value. This multi user LNG port and facilities will cost Australians more than their environment. We will have to pay to meet international shipping compliances in regards to anti-terrorism, domestic security measures which will include escorting massive LNG tankers in and out of Australian waters, protecting areas of land which could be accessed by potential terrorist groups, paying for treatment of contaminated and toxic waters within ships ballast systems. Meeting these international compliances for movement of LNG over water is massive and forever, eventually we will pay more to protect international investment in Australia than what will be invested in Australia by Woodside and partners (they will sell this lock, stock and barrel after they have been given approval to proceed with this outrageous proposal, I expect Woodside's shareprice will rise above $ 100 a share when they do sell this).

please everyone I want you to hit the "Like" button for this petition, also make a comment just write a name or any word you like and share to as many people as you can. This will help us to not only raise awareness but also to get the attention of our government who quite often follow No Dredging @ James Price Point, even though they don't make it obvious. Please, very important to hit "Like" and leave comments and share! Everyone must do this. Thanks!!

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF DREDGING ON MARINE LIFE? Dredging will create a disturbance on the natural marine ecosystems at James Price Point and all over the Dampier Peninsula. It will also create many adverse impacts. In addition, dredge spoils will contain toxic chemicals, that will have adverse effects on disposal grounds, just off the coast of the Dampier Peninsula. The process of dredging often dislodges chemicals sequestered in benthic substrates and injects them into the water column. Dredging can create the following impacts to the environment:
- Release of toxic chemicals (including heavy metals and PCB) from bottom sediments  into the water column.
- Short term increases in turbidity (the life of the port facility), which can effect marine species metabolism and interfere with spawning (lead-lag effect)
- Secondary effects from water column contamination of heavy metals, DDT and other persistant organic toxins (e.g. dinoflagellates/ciguatera), via food chain uptake and subsequent concentrations of these toxins in higher organisms and humans
- Secondary impacts to seagrass beds from sedimentation
- Tertiary impacts to birdlife which may prey upon contaminated marine organisms
- Secondary impacts to marine benthic organisms' metabolisms and mortality
- Possible contamination of dredge spoil sites (dredge spoil sites are quite often in danger of becoming re-suspended due to foul weather conditions)

photo above: SeaShepherd protecting whale nursery and migration routes
photo at top: living the dream, fishing Willie Creek, south of James Price Point, famous for the beautiful Broome pearl

RESEARCH by the Australian Institute of Marine Science has discovered that proposed dredging works along the WA coast could severely impact certain coral species found in local waters. Scientists from the Institute along with the Australian Research Centre of Excellence conducted laboratory tests to develop lethal and sub-lethal benchmarks for coral exposed to dredging-generated sediments related to offshore developments. The researchers tested two species of coral found in offshore locations to six levels of total suspended solids for 16 weeks, including a four week recovery period. Please read Offshore dredging severely impacts coral reefs. This is a very important link. A lot of Woodside's technical data to support their ability to predict the effects of dredging at James Price Point is based on data that is incomplete, logistically incorrect (mortality models for coral) with sampling and samples not taken from the area and sedimentation models based on natural processes. Obviously sedimentation from dredging is not a natural process. Values and constants made up and based on any other process is just that - a made up value. It's not real, not relevant and not science!

Please urgently keep signing and share! Please help make this go viral.

Thanks again for signing the petition! Please get all your friends to sign and share, as Woodside Energy Ltd. is entering their operational phase. Currently they are preparing to construct marine offshore facilities which will store equipment for dredging operations. It is a matter of urgency to get signatures forwarded to our environment minister to reject this multi user LNG port and facilities. Please help!

WHAT IS DREDGING? Dredging is a process that involves the aquatic excavation of water beds to remove sediments, pollutants, shellfish and other materials. The methods and machinery used in dredging vary widely. Most dredging is done by ships that tow a dredge along the water bed. Self standing dredges and dredge pumping stations are used for routine tasks. A dredge, which is the term for the different types of machinery that perform dredging, can cut away sediment, scoop materials out like a back hoe or suction them through a large pipe to be deposited into a ship, barge or other containment system.

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS ON WATER QUALITY? Well, Dean Jerry, Associate Professor of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, currently studying the Gladstone Harbour (and LNG facility) project, explains it like this: What happens with dredging is that you stir up sediments on the ocean floor. Once you get down below the first couple of centimetres, that sediment is quite often called a deoxygenated environment, where there's a lot of things such as heavy metals and hydrogen sulfide gas. Normally this deoxygenated environment remains sequestered under an oxidised layer where the water meets the soil, and toxic metals and nutrients don't enter the water column. As soon as you start dredging, you release all the deoxygenated soil sediment and nutrients. This may have a toxic effect in itself. As soon as these compounds hit the water column they start to oxidise. This can draw a lot of oxygen out of the water and create a chemical oxygen demand, which means there is less oxygen available for organisms to actually use. This places an additional stress on fish, weakens their immune response, and increase the possibility the might succumb to disease, e.g. when hydrogen sulfide gas is released it can damage the gills of fish.

This is senior law boss Phillip Roe, more commonly known in the Broome community as Uncle Phil. His ancestors' spirits live in the dunes that you can see. He is watching whales and looking after his country. The rocks, the dunes and the sand where Uncle Phil stands, is scheduled for removal now. The photo at the top is Evelyn and Malu playing "walking with dinosaurs". The blue bay in the background is part of the home of the largest whale migration in the world, where mothers and calves play, rest and feed. The blue bays will be browned beyond recognition. The blue bay where Uncle Phil is standing will be browned as far as the eye can see. The rocks with 65 million year old dinosaur trackways will be removed, crushed and used in breakwater construction. The home of his ancestors' spirits will be removed. In the top photo, the red cliffs in the background that seem to go as far as the eye can see, will be cleared, removed and become part of this port facility. It's MASSIVE! As far as your eyes can see in both photos, will be browned beyond recognition, devoid of life and uninhabitable for all marine life. This proposal is a MASS EXTINCTION ACCELERATOR.

Woodside Energy Ltd.'s multi user LNG port and facilities centrepiece. Walmadan Beach access track at James Price Point

We are past a thousand voices and here is one of many letters of concern to Tony Burke, the Minister for the Environment. Let's keep making our voices be heard! Only voices united and not divided can make change...

Dear Minister,

I am writing in regard to the proposed James Price Point LNG multi user facility. Myself and thousands of other individual people have grave concerns of the environmental impacts in regards to the terrestrial and coastal natural values and natural processes in this unique area. Over the past three years I have exhausted nearly every environmental impact and assessment statement produced by Woodside Energy Ltd. and believe the gaps between mitigation and management of environmental impacts and hazards associated with a project of this magnitude are far too wide, far too deep and far too complex to predict the environmental damage of this project.

I believe, and so do thousands, that the location chosen for the multi user LNG facility is in fact contradictory to the management and mitigations of the environmental hazards it poses. This location is the southern corridor to the Northern and Westerly Kimberley. The entire Kimberley is a globally significant region. It is more than a region of connected ecosystem and ecologies, it is an ecoregion in its own right as an entirety. This is not only significant to Australians, but also the globe. 

Dredging operations of this magnitude based on data that is scant, or either too complex to create universal model standards from, can have dire consequenses to the Kimberley. Logistically, these assessments and reports leave huge gaps in technical relevant data to predict the effects of dredging on marine life and water quality at this location.

I have a petition asking you to pre empt the environmental mismanagement of this proposal which was shockingly approved by a corrupted EPA board. These gaps and this dredging proposal should have triggered alarm bells early in your head. Our constitutional right to have our environment protected when alternatives exist that are less likely to cause environmental damage for extraction and production of resources is being impeeched. Furthermore, the failure of due process and manipulation of parliamentary process to achieve an outcome by the Western Australian Government is not only obvious, but shocking. You have more than enough environmental triggers and parliamentary triggers to reject this project on those grounds. There have been many human rights issues in regards to the manipulation and pressure applied to the numerous native title claimants of this area. I believe your office could have used culturally significant triggers to reject this project on humanitarian issues.Our voices are numbering 1035{signitures} please  follow No Deging @ Jame Price Point/protect whale nursery and migration routes (through causes.com) and help preserve Australias unique wilderness. How many signatures must I get to meet and discuss why you haven't  rejected this proposal much earlier given the poorly mismanaged environmental assessments and underthought offsets and humanitarian issues compiled with illegal compulsory aquisition, before greater environmental damage is done? Too much damage has been done with retrospective approvals. Dredging at James Price Point is irresponsible and are not in line with Australian values. You need to act!

I look forward to your reply.

Craig Doudle

Thank you again everyone for signing this petition! Please get your friends involved. We have little time to make Tony Burke MP seek sense and reject this multi user LNG port and facilities. Alternatives exist for the extraction and production of this resource. These alternatives have constantly been ignored, despite the fact that piping LNG to Karratha or Port Hedland is not only technically possible, but also much cheaper - $ 10 BILLION cheaper! The economic forecasters believe boosting local economies such as Karratha and Port Hedland by piping LNG from Browse Basin would have major beneficial economic impacts, creating local employment, stimulating local bussiness and leave a much lower environmental footprint for the next 50 years.

Building the second largest industrial facility in the world is a mega-construction. It is hard to imagine the scale of this multi user facility and impossible to predict or gauge the effects that dredging will have on the natural values and natural processes that have created the Kimberley region since the beginning of time. We have linked a Woodside document, so you may gauge the enormity and the scale of this project, keeping in mind mega-construction starts with mega-destruction. Terrestrial Facilities and Disturbance Footprint Plan. 50 kilometres spoil dredge plumes filled with heavy metals, toxins released in spoil dredge grounds kilometres off the coast that are in constant danger of resuspension, poisoning and killing marine life throughout the Kimberley. Toxins, such as ciguatera, will infect all our fish species, killing some of them and making all of them un-edible. Shellfish and all filter feeding species are also at high risk to toxins such as ciguatera, found in all dredge spoils.

In our next update we will go into more detail on the effects of dredging on water quality and marine life. Thanks for your support - keep it up, we are getting there!! Only the voices of individuals who stand united and not divided can make change! PS a good read is "Coastal pollution: Effects on Living Resources and Humans" by Carl J. Sindermann, and Dean Jerry, Associate Professor of Marine Biology and Aquaculture at James Cook University has answered some questions in relation to effects of dredging that have occured in Gladstone harbour after dredging. It is called " Is dredging killing the Gladstone fish and making us sick?", you find it on theconversation.edu.au.

Photo at top: Evelyn with local resident gekko at James Price Point

Photo above: a shocking photo of a mother and calf part of the largest humpback whale migration in the world, pass dangerously close to Woodside drillrig operations. Noise from dredging operations is extremely painful for whales, creating confusion and stress. As you can see this mother and calf face a most uncertain future... let's change that! The reason why? We don't need to - there IS an alternative!

The impacts of dredging go from sea beyond our shores... 

Thank you everyone for signing our petition! For our voices to be heard by the Honorable Tony Burke MP we require 7000 signatures or more. I believe our minister is acting like the minister for environmental destruction and inaction rather than a minister for conservation and protection. He has had ample opportunity to realise this second largest LNG processing facility placed in the Kimberley region, in particular James Price Point, places one of the world's largest eco regions, in grave danger. He is well aware of all Australians constitutional right to have all of Australia's greatest ecological jewels protected. He has been reminded on many occasions of our constitutional right to have our Australian environment protected when environmental impact exceeds economic benefit and alternatives exist for production and transportation of resources, especially when there is alternatives that have a lower environmental footprint impact and are financially more viable. And yet he doesn't act!

We need to get Minister Burke's attention. I need help to urgently raise 7000 signatures to engage Minister Burke's office. Please spread the word! PS if you can help us with any ideas to spread the word, please leave comments and let us know! We appreciate any helpful ideas you may have. WOODSIDE HAVE APPROVAL FOR THIS OUTRAGEOUS PROPOSAL EVEN THOUGH IT WAS PASSED WITH A CORRUPTED EPA BOARD. We need to send a clear message, that it is not only the Broome community, local indigenous communities of the Dampier Peninsula and the many individuals who voice concern. They are not alone on issues of conservation and preservation of this pristine wilderness called the Kimberley.

Thanks everyone for getting onboard to help with this important issue..please keep circulating this action as Woodside's dredging operation is nearing its operational phase.

The Kimberley is one of the Earth's great natural and cultural treasures, featuring some of the most extraordinary landscapes and wildlife in Australia. Some of the Earth's healthiest coral reefs are found off the Kimberley coast, boasting diversity to rival that of the Great Barrier Reef. On both land and sea, scientists are only just beginning to unravel the mysteries of the Kimberley and its global significance. Scientists are regularly discovering new species and some areas are yet to be discovered and studied. Woodside and the WA Government's massive gas hub and port development directly threatens the Kimberley, its coral reefs and islands. This major industrial development (second largest in the world) will lead to the loss of habitat for many unique and threatened species and destroy natural processes.

The picture above shows Woodside's drillrigs at James Price Point. The rocks in the foreground contain rare dinosaur trackways that are to be crushed and used for breakwater construction. At the low tide mark  the water depth will be 25 metres! This depth will be maintained for between 7 and 9 kilometres for shipping channels and turnaround areas. The picture above is only a small snapshot of the overall development. Its real size will be 65 square kilometres!

WWF also believe the Kimberley should be recognised as a globally significant eco region. Recently, they have undertaken many scientific reports and collated technical data which supports our view. WWF would like people to view and try to understand the importance of protecting this region. WWF recommended No Dredging @ James Price Point use the following links Coastal and Marine Natural Values of the Kimberley. also included is Woodside's Research Priorities for Improving the Capacity to Manage Dredging Impacts on Tropical Coral Communities in Western Australia. Richard Costin recommends exploring his page, if you want to learn more about the world's largest whale migration 

James Price Point,,,ready for preliminary investigations..imagine 65 sqare kilometers of this ??

Thanks for signing everyone..Woodside have recently finished geo-technical investigations both onshore and offshore they are currently preparing to remove dune areas around the precint area.Within these dunes is the final resting place of ancient and more recent first inhabitants of the Dampier Peninsula. The West Australian Government have given Woodside approval to desecrate and remove artefacts along with the bones of the First Australians. Senior law bosses Joseph Roe, Phillip Roe and Richard Hunter have grave concerns about the removal process and handling of their ancestors. Senior law bosses of the Dampier Peninsula have preserved the pristine wilderness in this area since the beginning of time. Senior law bosses Joseph Roe and Phillip Roe along with senior law boss Richard Hunter have always maintained the preservation of the Dampier Peninsula has great cultural significance. They believe the area needs to be preserved as it is part of their culture, lore and heritage, and more importantly, a place they view should be shared with the world. 65 million year old dinosaur trackways, which are part of local creation and dreamtime stories have been approved to be crushed for pavers and removed for breakwater construction.

The picture above is my son Malu Shark Doudle. He has been living at Walmadan (James Price Point) for parts of the previous two years. Nearly every day during that time Malu dragged mum and dad over the steep sand dune to his favourite beach. We would spend hours spotting whales, turtles, dugongs, dolphins and countless birds. One of the most exciting things for him to do was "walking with dinosaurs", when we followed the dinosaur tracks all along the rocks on the beach. He has been fortunate enough to see and experience some of Australia's and the world's rarest animals (e.g. bilby, masked owl, burrowing snakes...). Like many of us, he too is very concerned about the future of this culturally and ecologically signifacant area.

In 2008 Woodside and the West Australian Government held workshops on research priorities for improving the capacity to manage dredging impacts on tropical coral communities in Western Australia. At the time of these workshops, Woodside had already completed dredging of a LNG ship berthing and turnaround area on Scott Reef. These workshops were quite long winded with Edith Cowan University constantly insisting data required to manage these impacts was either non existant or far too complex to create standard universal models for such large scale dredging operations. Recently, Martin Prichard from Environs Kimberley, in conjunction with the Wilderness Society released a scathing science report covering all facettes of the James Price Point proposal by Woodside and the WA Government; this document is well put together, very informative and well worth the read. Many organisations in the public sector, private sector, science and environmental groups all share the same concerns as you and I in regards to this project. Many individual Australians and international guests are continuing to raise issues and voice real concerns about not only the environmental aspects of this proposal, but also the continuous lobbying by the oil and gas industry to manipulate government and parliamentary process to achieve an outcome. Many individual and bussiness groups have donated valuable time and assets which has delayed the destruction of James Price Point; individuals such as John Butler have given their voice, politicians such as Dr. Bob Brown, environmental groups such as Environs Kimberley and Sea Shepherd continually press Woodside and the WA Government  to see sense and seek alternatives to extract this resource.

THE HUB,,,dredging at the Browse LNG Precinct at James Price Point has been recomended for strict approval,Enviromental Protection Authority chairman Paul vogel announced.Paul Vogel said the assesment of the State Development Strategic Proposal was the largest and most multifaceted ever conducted by the EPA in its forty year history
"The level in assessing this proposal was unprecedented" Paul Vogel states ,,,"The assessment has been incredibly thorough and included wide consultation with community members and scientific experts,site visits and meetings with interest groups.After carefully considering each enviromental factor i have recomended 29 conditions and offsets to ensure the EPA enviromental objectives are met.In 2008 four sites where shortlisted for the multi user LNG precinct EPA recomended that the enviromental risks and impacts at James Price Point were likely to be manageable based on available data.."creating any industrial undertaking particularly one of this magnitude will have an enviromental impact,however thess impacts can be managed to an acceptable level"..The enviromental impact assesment  of James Price Point considered the impact of marine fauna,,he said "turbidity from dredging,oil spills,industrial discharges,noise,light and vessel strikes had potential to adversely impact on whales,dolphins,turtles,dugongs and fish in the area .Paul vogel said dredging 34 million cubic meters of sea bed had potential to affect habitats that support algea, seagrass, corals and filter feeders in the area.Proponents should be able to design and build a port in an area that is unlikely to compromise the overall ecological functioning of the marine enviroment provided strict conditions recomended are implemented,,Paul vogel said a high level of ecological protection was necessary to ensure emissions to marine enviroment did not significantly affect ecosystem health,recreation,aesthetics,fishing,aquaculture and cultural and spiritual values.......