An environmental group has renewed its calls to ban dredging, after a report about its impacts on the Great Barrier Reef.

The report by an independent panel has found dredge plumes could have more of an impact than first thought, because sediment could travel further towards coral reefs.

The Australian Marine Conservation Society's Felicity Wishart said dredging should be banned altogether.

"Our view is let's apply the precautionary approach - if we don't need to do it, let's not do it," she said.

"We could see the development of Abbot Point for no good reason and we would rather see that area protected."

Much of the report was written before recent policy changes to ban capital dredge disposal in the marine park.

One of the report's authors, Laurence McCook, said that was an important step.

"That's a definite tick on that ground but we do still need to be careful," he said.

He said the process was still risky.

"The actual process of dredging the material and getting it to land are things that we need to keep our eye on," he said.

The Queensland Government said port developers would have to maintain water quality while dredging and it had already moved to give the reef greater protection.

The Queensland Resources Council's Michael Roche said if scientists did not support dumping at sea, they should not raise concerns about dumping on land.

"Scientists really can't have it both ways. They either support land-based disposal and reclamation or they don't," he said.

"We do know that with land-based disposal you've got to do it properly.

"You've got to do the bund walls properly, you've got to choose your disposal area very carefully

Great Barrier Reef dredging report sparks fresh calls from Marine Conservation Society for dredge ban