About North Queensland Branch
 
The IMarEST North Queensland Branch is  based in Townsville with outlying members in Cairns and Papua New Guinea.  Members come from a number of marine industry areas. The Branch has a particularly strong representation from marine science research, education and environmental management reflecting the focus and concentration of those activities  in the Great Barrier Reef region.
 
The Branch organises bimonthly technical meetings by leading marine industry practitioners and researchers enabling information exchange and networking . This is particularly significant as the Branch mentors undergraduates undertaking studies towards a Bachelor of Marine Science from James Cook University – the first University Marine Science course accredited by IMarEST in Australia.
 
About North Queensland:
 
Situated on the Great Barrier Reef coast, Townsville is the marine technical, academic and research centre of tropical Queensland. It is the home base of the Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University  which, with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, makes it a leading centre for marine science in Australia.   Townsville is also a high volume export port for mining, sugar and refined copper, zinc,  nickel and lead.