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Waste management works at Abrolhos Islands
There's a little-known, transient population of licenced fishermen living quietly 30 miles off the coast of Geraldton, Western Australia, on 22 of the 122 isolated Abrolhos Islands.
For three months of the year about 500 people survive without roads, or publicly-provided electricity and running water on this pristine archipelago, which is being protected with the help of a Waste Water Management project.
Some of the islands are mere lumps of coral that you could walk around in five seconds. Others are large continental islands complete with air strip, jetties and schools provided by the fishermen.
Project manager Alice Hurlbatt said they were "beautiful but rough" and often battered by 30-40-knot winds.
"Fishermen have lived on here for more than 50 years and before licensing was introduced, locals held a 'squatters' status," Alice said. "Today only licensed fishermen can work and reside on the island and there's a moratorium on building.
"Fishermen are abiding by regulations - they want to do the right thing because it's a beautiful place and they don't want to ruin it. It's their livelihood."
Funding
The waste management program has been funded over three years with $247,000 from the Australian Government and cash and in-kind contributions from the State Government.
Activities and achievements
Work has so far targeted commercial and domestic waste including cardboard boxes and plastic bags from bait and domestic food scraps and packaging.
"We want to remove this waste back to the mainland. They do have incinerators on the island but we want a moratorium on burning plastics and non-burnable items," Alice said. "We're also revamping the incinerators with ashtrays so ash isn't falling into the water, and we're changing what they burn."
New composting toilets are also being trialed because there are limited treatment and sewerage systems on the rocky islands. On the sandy islands locals can dig down and install septic systems.
"We already have about 90 per cent waste compliance with the new program and a lot of residents have put in their own funds and paid for the installation of toilets and other waste management programs. It's a "class A" reserve so the islands are right up there as a national park and it deserves to be protected."
Water sampling is also being conducted around 22 islands, which will be re-tested in the off season to see if there's any difference or sign of human impact.
More information
- Alice Hurlbatt, Project Manager: (08) 9492 8831 or alicehurlbatt@wafic.org.au
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