Media Release: 16.11.18
Coral Sea Marina Resort has been named the first marina in Australia to achieve a score of 100% on the International Clean Marina audit.
In an assessment on 30 October, Coral Sea Marina Resort was re-accredited as a Level 3 Clean Marina and also scored 100% on the Fish Friendly Marina assessment.
The re-accreditation process included a thorough review of the marina’s policies and procedures, taking into account 10 different categories.
In the re-accreditation confirmation letter from the Marina Industries Association (MIA), the assessor commented that Coral Sea Marina Resort, “is an exemplary model of best environmental management practices for marinas.”
Colin Bransgrove, Executive Officer, Marina Industries Association says this of Coral Sea Marina Resort’s re-accreditation “Coral Sea Marina Resort is to be congratulated for their 100% score resulting from re-accreditation under the International Clean Marina and associated Fish Friendly Marina Programs. The audits for these Programs are conducted by a qualified third party auditor. The environmental leadership provided by Coral Sea Marina Resort as reflected in this result is a valuable asset for the regional community.”
This is a proud moment for the Coral Sea Marina Resort team, who are dedicated to protecting the marina’s natural surrounds, notably the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Kate Purdie, General Manager, explains, “Commitment to good environmental management practices is a key priority for our business. As a destination marina we are also committed to educating the vessel owners and tourists who frequent our precinct, to ensure that environmental awareness is top of mind as they enjoy their time in the Whitsundays”.
Earlier this year, Coral Sea Marina Resort’s village became the first in Australia to have all food outlets and venues sign up to the globally recognised campaign, The Last Straw.
The Last Straw campaign aims to eradicate single use plastic straws across the world and encourages food outlets, venues, restaurants, bars and other hospitality businesses to commit to becoming plastic straw free. Going a step further the marina has engaged the Whitsunday business community through a social media campaign, to encourage the entire Whitsunday region to sign up to the campaign.
With over 500,000 plastic straws being discarded worldwide on a daily basis, Coral Sea Marina Resort has removed 70,000 straws per annum from circulation with their campaign commitment. In addition to the food outlets at the marina, many of the commercial tour operators that call the marina home have also committed to this worthwhile cause.
Located in Airlie Beach, the gateway to the Whitsunday islands and Great Barrier Reef, conservation of the marina environment and education of visitors is a focus of Coral Sea Marina Resort’s marine operations.
The International Clean Marina program sets an environmental benchmark standard for marinas across the globe and the key focus of the program is to assist the marina industry operators in their endeavours to protect inland and coastal waterways by leading them through a voluntary accreditation process.
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Media contact: Joscelyn O’Keefe, Coral Sea Marina Resort, joscelyn@abellpointmarina.com 0488 049 807
For information about the International Clean Marina Accreditation Program – https://www.marinas.net.au/industryprograms/international-clean-marina-program