AN INDEPENDENT report about the effects of dredging and sediment disposal on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area has found the impacts will differ, depending on the location, timing, size and type of dredging and disposal activity.

The Dredge Synthesis Report has been produced by a 19-member panel of experts, brought together through a joint initiative of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

The technical and scientific experts, with a range of skills from oceanographic modelling to coral ecology, were asked to review existing studies and data on the biophysical effects of dredging and disposal, while also identifying key knowledge gaps.

The outcome of their research is an overview of the potential impacts of dredging and disposal on habitats such as coral reefs and seagrass meadows, and on fish and species of conservation concern such as dugongs and marine turtles.

Among its key findings, the panel concluded that dredging and disposal could have substantial impacts at a local level, but only a small impact on the broader Great Barrier Reef area and its biodiversity as a whole. The panel concluded that sediments released by dredging and disposal had the potential to stay suspended in the water and move, which may be contributing significantly to the long-term chronic increase in fine suspended sediments inshore.

A full copy of the report is available online at both http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au and http://www.aims.gov.au.