What exactly are spoil grounds?

[Gagga08]

This is probably a stupid question. I fish over 'spoil' grounds all the time, but i'm not 100% certain what they are?

Am i right in thinking that they are areas where dredged up sand/sea floor is dumped?

Gagga

[Noelm]

spoil grounds are where they dump stuff that has been dredged from somewhere.

[Scott nthQld]

I've wondered that too. I also assumed it was dumping grounds for dredging, but also though it might be waste dumps as well? Just theories really, will be interested in the answer

[finding_time]

Gagga08

probably the most common ones consist of all the stuff trawlers scoop up on there runs , is kept so they dont trawl it up next time and dumped when there over a spoil ground. It would be a very bad idea to trawl through a spoil ground. A few of the offshore spoil ground have been used by the military in the past for dumping old ammo , vehicles, guns,etc.

Ian

[Richard]

Yeah as mentioned before, they are designated areas approved by EPA, DPI&F, Maritime Safety, the local Port Authority and sometimes GBRMPA as areas where dredge spoil (the stuff they pick up) can be relocated to.

Usually it's dredge spoil from harbours, marinas or even around jetties (eg. in the case of a coal port terminal). Dredge spoil is generally very fine sediment and it's dumping can cause problems with water quality (clarity) and can also have shading effects on corals and other benthic plants/creatures (eg. seagrass). Sometimes it's just sand or light gravel and has minimal impacts.


Richard

[Gagga08]

The reason I ask is because down south the spoil grounds within Port Phillip Bay and in particular Corio Bay are excellent areas to fish sp for Snapper. I was trying to work out why the Snapper can often be found in these areas. Maybe it has to do with the nutrients that are released into the water after the material is dumped attracts life in the form of plankton, and from then on the food chain kicks in until it reaches Snapper??

Not sure if that has anything to do with it?

[webby]

Most up here are used for dredging waste, and trawler thrash.
They are good areas to chase sandies in as they go after the trawler trash.
regards

[Noelm]

not too sure about the Trawler trash bit, they may dump stuff there as well, who knows? but a "proper" spoil ground, is as I said before, a designated/approved place to dump material that has been dredged from Harbours and Channels and places like that, if you are still not convinced do a Google search or a Dictionary, to save you the trouble, here is a direct Dictionary cut and paste
"an area within a body of water, esp. in the sea, where dredged material is deposited".

[finding_time]

Noel

Maybe it's a qld thing? But trawlers do dump alot of stuff in these areas . most would be natural stuff like oyster covered rocks but all of it goes back. there not going to bring in any rubbish because then there going to have to dump it some place and your flat out finding a bin in a park these days and hiring skips to get rid of the stuff is probably a little to charitable

[Noelm]

no doubt that Trawlers may take advantage of spoil grounds, as long as they don't mind a pile of rocks and stuff on the deck untill they travel to the spoil grounds, I guess there is no Law about dumping "clean" spoil there, but the Literal meaning is as I posted, what happens later is anyone's guess!

[Kendall249]

So are spoil grounds any better than the surrounding areas to fish ? or does it depend on what rubbish is dumped, whether it holds fish? So if it is just dredged material (silt) would it still be good for fishing?.

Whats the difference between spoil ground and foul ground?

Has anyone fished either the spoil ground in cleveland Bay or the foul ground between Keeper reef, centipede reef and wheeler reef?

[Noelm]

foul ground refers to a place that is dangerous to Anchor, or a partialy submerged reef (say) it will be marked by either a buoy or a Post , I think we need to revisit the handbook or some charts and the meanings of the stuff listed on them, all of these things are necessary for Coastal Navigation or even if you are in a new area, you need a chart to make sure you are in safe waters, bu it is useless if you do not know how to interpret the thing!

[webby]

Foul Grounds in the bay are areas and im referring to trawlers etc, where they cannot trawl, due to the bottom structure and other items that have been dump there, dredging materials are supposedly to be dumped in spoil t grounds.
But it doesn't stop the port development dumping it seems where ever they want too.
Some of the foul grounds in the bay do fish quite well, as its usually coffee rock structure and its the last thing trawlers want to plow through
wouldn'tbe bad areas to start some new arties as there already designated areas.
As for anchoring, there no worse then curtain, as a matter of fact there a lot easier to anchor it.
And as for the plastic brigades, most of them dont carry anchor do they
regards

[Gagga08]

I fish spoil gorunds often, especially during the Spring time when the snapper come into Port Phillip Bay....not far off now!

Now I fish using plastics only, and your chance of catching a Snapper from the Spoil ground are probably no higher then getting them from out along side the deeper channels. But it does give you another option, and as a plastics fisherman spoil grounds are usually shallower, making it a more desirable location to fish compared to 10-15m deep channels.