Environmental Sustainability

East Coast Angling prides ourselves on our continued commitment to sustainable practices and providing high quality nature-based tourism experiences which protect the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s greatest living treasure.

East Coast Angling acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters on which our tourism business operates and pay respect to the Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge the continuing Sea Country management and custodianship of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traditional Owners whose rich cultures, heritage values, enduring connections and shared efforts protect the Reef for future generations.

East Coast Angling are recognised as a GBR Reef Guardian Fisher.

This Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority program recognises commercial fishers who are fishing sustainably and maintaining the health of the Great Barrier Reef and use operational and innovative practices and procedures to go beyond what is required by State and Federal laws. Reef Guardian Fishers are recognised for share knowledge with other fishers and their communities and assist with research and trialling new technologies and for reporting back to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority on the marine environment via Sightings App.

East Coast Angling have an Environmental Sustainability Policy and Environmental Management Plan which are subject to review annually. We aim to minimise adverse impacts on the environment and to achieve this objective, conduct all operations with a view to prevent, reduce or mitigate harmful effects on natural resources and meet requirements of all relevant regulations and codes

We have measures in place to improve sustainability across our operations, such as:

• Low Emission engines which are serviced regularly for optimum efficiency
• LED Lighting at office and workshop retrofit,
• Waste management with recycling of all cardboard, cans, plastics, and bottles

To enable annual monitoring of resource use and carbon emissions we participate in the ecoBiz Program. EcoBiz is a free program funded by the Queensland Government and run by the Chamber of Commerce & Industry Queensland (CCIQ) that helps Queensland businesses audit their resource use and reduce costs from waste, water, and energy bills.

We are proud to have achieved Ecotourism Certification with Ecotourism Australia. The ECO Certification program assures guests that certified products are backed by a commitment to sustainable practices that look after the environment and provide high quality nature-based tourism experiences.

East Coast Angling’s Director provides sustainable fishing presentation connecting local students to sustainable use of their local reef systems as part of the Douglashire Fish for the Future initiative and is a member of Douglas Shire GBRMPA Local Marine Advisory Committee. Involving schools and community in education regarding sustainable practices and the current threats facing the reef encourages stewardship. Community understanding and stewardship can harness increased community action to support the Reef’s long-term protection

We encourage guests when travelling to:

• Use local energy and water efficiently
• Check soaps or detergents are biodegradable.
• Never litter and recycle where you can.
• Use reusable water bottles to minimise use of single use plastics
• Choose Reef friendly sunscreens, such as Sunbutter when visiting marine parks. You can learn more about these at reefcheckaustralia.org/reef_safe_sunscreen