Get on board: Quest to reduce environmental footprint leads Port Douglas reef business down new path

A heartfelt desire to “tread lightly” when visiting the Great Barrier Reef while still allowing visitors to experience the natural wonder’s beauty has led Port Douglas tour operator Jay Wink to chart a new course for his business.

Tourism Minister Michael Healy, ABC Snorkel Charters owner, Jay Wink, Member for Cook, Cynthia Lui and ALP candidate for Mulgrave, Richie Bates at Port Douglas on Monday, September 16, 2024. Picture: Samuel Davis

A heartfelt desire to “tread lightly” when visiting the Great Barrier Reef while still allowing visitors to experience the natural wonder’s beauty has led Port Douglas tour operator Jay Wink to chart a new course for his business.

Recently, the ABC Snorkel Charters owner decided to add a custom-built, $3.5m catamaran to his fleet – but not before some careful consideration about what impact his business could have on the environment.

Rather than rounding up a rowdy mob of backpackers and slapping some goggles across their mugs, Mr Wink said his company strives to create small, sustainable reef experiences that emphasise education and the environment first.

“We feel we’ve made a niche for ourselves in the market,” he said. “We want to keep our numbers low. It’s the essence of who we are.

“We have around four-to-six people per marine biologist (on board).

“They get to snorkel with them, ask lots of great questions and we go for about an hour-and-a-half at each site.”

ABC Snorkel Charters owner Jay Wink is set to double his fleet soon with a new $3.5m catamaran.

The commitment to keeping the reef clean goes beyond the tour experience itself, with how the company’s new 20-metre vessel will be maintained also taken into consideration.

“We’re going to have our boats stored out of the water,” he said.

“There’s a company that makes an ‘air-berth’ system, so that when the boat comes in, it docks, and then it is raised completely out of the water.

“It means we don’t have to use any antifouls or anything nasty on the hull of the boat which is fantastic for the environment. Then you just flick a switch and the hull gets rinsed.

“To lift up 27 tonnes out of the water is no mean feat. It’ll be fantastic.”

The reef business – which will receive $1.6m from the state government to fund the vessel’s construction as part of a grant – reflected major changes within the industry, Tourism Minister Michael Healy said

“If you are not an eco-friendly product, you will not be sold into the international market,” Mr Healy said.

“We’re seeing big banks investing in eco-friendly operators, not necessarily the big ones.

“Society and industry are changing, so ensuring that we’re doing world’s best practice is fundamental to the ongoing (development) of this industry and keeping the reef as protected as we can.”

The award-winning eco-tourism trailblazer said tourists now expected operators to have top-notch sustainability credentials before even boarding a reef boat, with many visitors already sceptical about the health of the region’s coral colonies.

“A lot of people come here and are quite negative about the reef,” Mr Wink said.

“They’re ringing us beforehand and saying, ‘I’ve booked a trip for three months’ time. Is it worth me even bothering because there’s not going to be anything left?’

“Or, ‘Should I come earlier?’ We say to them to have a look at our socials and see for yourself what sort of shape the reef is in.”

ABC Snorkel Charters is one of four ecotourism projects across the state that will share in the $15 million second round of Growing Future Tourism funding.

“We’re also looking to do more work with coral planting and when you only run one vessel you don’t have any spare capacity for anything,” Mr Wink said.

Originally published as Get on board: Quest to reduce environmental footprint leads Port Douglas reef business down new path