The Coasts and Communities program is continuing to work towards protecting and enhancing the condition of our coast to ensure future generations will be able to enjoy the same natural beauty we do. Reef Catchments, our partners, and our amazing volunteers have been working hard together to deliver some incredible projects.
We do this through coastal planning, monitoring, on-ground activities, and our volunteer Coastcare program. Through our Coasts and Communities quarterly eNewsletter, we will continue to keep you updated on projects and opportunities to work together continuing to care for our coast.
We would love to see you at our upcoming
Coastcare events!
If there's anything topics you would like to hear about or you have any stories about biodiversity works or events happening across our coast,
please email us here.
The Coasts and Biodiversity Team
What's on these school holidays?
This school holidays, Coastcare invites all young beach-lovers to learn about how the coastline changes over time and how animals and plants adapt to survive in this ever changing landscape through a FREE fun-filled morning of activities and games!
Two events are scheduled across the region. Residents and visitors to the Whitsundays can head along to
Conway Beach on Tuesday the 20
th of September, whilst Mackay locals, visitors (and anyone who misses out on Conway) can head along to
Bucasia Beach on Tuesday, 27
th September.
Guaranteed to keep you busy, both events will provide big and little kids alike an amazing opportunity to learn about coastal processes, changing habitats and wildlife adaptations and how nature has evolved to protect our iconic beaches.
Numbers are strictly limited and guardian supervision is required.
Register Now to secure your spot!
Register your family by contacting Reef Catchments on (07) 4968 4200 or reception@reefcatchments.com
Coasts and Islands Project Update
Since January 2016, a number of amazing projects have been delivered under the Coasts and Island Projects.
Under the National Landcare Program, grants were provided to a number of organisations with creative ideas for Coastal projects focused on community engagement, monitoring ecosystem health and protecting our coastal and marine assets. Coastal projects include:
- Mackay Recreational Fishers Alliance (MRFA) monitoring the net-free zone
Image: Opening the net-free zone in November 2015 (Supplied: MRFA)
The St Helens to Cape Hillsborough net-free zone is one of 3 net-free zones implemented off the Queensland coastline in November 2015. By way of definition, net free zone means an area closed to commercial gillnetting, therefore converting to a recreational fishing haven boosting fish numbers and biodiversity, which will attract tourists and boost the local economy. The net-free zone occupies an area of 147km2 spanning from Blackrock Creek in the north to Cape Hillsborough in the south. These boundaries align with existing dugong protection areas. Many of the creeks within the boundaries rank highly for fish population diversity, habitat, water quality and flow in the 2008 Water Quality Improvement Plan and the recently updated Water Quality Improvement Plan for the Mackay/Whitsunday region. Commercial fishing is currently threatening the biodiversity of this highly valued ecosystem.
Mackay Recreational Fishers Alliance sought to establish a baseline (pre net-free zone) of target species to assess and compare predicted improvements across the region resulting from the introduction of the net-free zone. Data gathering events have been held at ramps at Victor Creek, St Helens Creek and Murray Creek over October 2015, and February-April 2016. More than 400 community members participated in data collection. Initial results indicate some positive changes; however long term monitoring is required to ascertain long-term trends of fish stocks in the net-free zone.
See the results of initial monitoring here.
- Cape Hillsborough, management of invasive weed species:
Cape Hillsborough National Park conserves a rugged section of the Mackay coastline. The geology, vegetation and associated wildlife of Cape Hillsborough is unique and important, being home to a number of MNES species and communities, including the eastern curlew
(Numenius madagascariensis), rufous fantails (
Rhipidura rufifrons), coastal sheathtail bats (
Taphozous australis) and a range of other plant and animal species.
Image: Andrews Point, photopoint transect (Source: Ranges to Reef)
The area also contains more than 10 Regional Ecosystems (RE), some of which are classified as of concern, including casurina equisetifolia woodland (RE 8.2.1) and estuarine wetlands (RE 8.1.3). Each year, more than 180 000 visitors are attracted to the broad sandy beaches, rugged landscapes and the diversity of plants and animals. The health and integrity of Cape Hillsborough National Park continues to be threatened by invasive weeds, particularly surrounding access paths. Four sites: Andrews Point; Beachcombers Track; Hidden Valley and McBrides Point which have high frequency foot traffic, were targeted for invasive weed control to mitigate weed spread.
- Improved management of Regional Ecosystems through use of appropriate fire regimes across the region:
This past year, the Coast sub-project supported a training program focused on working with Rural Fire Brigades to improve management of Regional Ecosystems through the use of appropriate fire regimes. Seaforth Town, Seaforth District, Ball Bay, Haliday Bay, Ilbilbie and Clairview Rural Fire Brigades participated in the training and review program contributing to over 3000 ha improved land management.
To find out more, check out the
Clark Connors Range Fire Management Guidelines.
In the Island space, our partners
Eco Barge Clean Seas Inc. and
Wild Mob have achieved some incredible results!
Image: Looking out into Stingray Bay through the field of grasstrees (Xanthorrhoea latifolia
subsp. latifolia) (Source: Bruce Usher)
Visiting many of our Mackay islands, Wild Mob’s passionate volunteers have controlled invasive weed species across almost 40ha of high ecological value, including patches of the critically endangered beach scrub (Regional Ecosystem 8.2.2). Island coastal ecosystems provide critical habitat to threatened and migratory shorebirds species such as the grey-tailed tattler (
Tringa brevipes), eastern curlew (
Numenius madagascariensis), whimbrel (
Numenius phaeopus), and bar-tailed godwit (
Limosa lapponica) as well as resident coastal birds, such as vulnerable beach stone-curlews (
Esacus magnirostris). Island beach and dune systems provide critical nesting areas for protected sea turtle species, including: the vulnerable green turtle (
Chelonia mydas), flatback turtles (
Natator depressus), and the endangered loggerhead turtle (
Caretta caretta). Controlling weeds in these areas fosters the natural regeneration and regrowth of native plants and provision of valuable habitat for threatened species.
Wild Mob volunteers also removed a whopping
247kg of marine debris from the beaches of these islands!
Image: Wild Mob volunteers catch a drift net during a marine debris clean up on Penrith Island, Mackay (Source: WIld Mob)
Our friends at Eco Barge have been working hard to educate volunteers about the impact of marine debris on fauna and water quality through on-ground actions. Almost 70 volunteers have been engaged through Reef Catchments funded trips to 10 different islands and over 15 bays of beaches, collecting almost
4 tonne of marine debris- what an effort!
You too can be involved with these amazing programs.
For more information on Wild Mob’s upcoming trips,
CLICK HERE.
For more information on Eco Barge trips or other opportunities to help,
CLICK HERE.
'Kids Day Out' School Holidays Program
During the Easter holidays, more than 100 lucky kids took part in the Coastcare School Holidays Program.
Image: Volunteers at the Bucaisa Beach school holidays program
The activity morning’s run at popular Mackay and Whitsundays beaches, saw a great turn out with over 100 children and their families taking part in fun filled educational activities.
With a focus on native animals, kids learnt all about special animals living in our region and the threats to these populations such as marine debris, boat strikes, clearing, feral and domestic animals.
The interactive activities offered children the opportunity to have fun, think about the issues at hand and propose solutions as to how they (their parents and the community) could make a positive difference and protect these amazing animals!
Reef Catchments Coastal Project Officer, Jess Berryman said the day was a great way for young beach-goers to learn more and explained that everyone can help protect our wildlife;
“There are easy steps everyone can take to protect native wildlife- putting a propeller guard on your outboard, picking up litter when you see it and keeping your cat indoors all help protect native wildlife.”
Thanks to all the wonderful families who came along- we look forward to seeing you again soon!
We are excited to announce we will be continuing to run the school holiday’s program, with our next events upcoming in the September School Holidays.
For details, CLICK HERE.
Under the Sea
Have you hear of plants that flower under the ocean?
Seagrasses are a special group of flowering plants which provide valuable habitat and ecosystem services,
e.g. food, habitat, nutrient sink. Growing in coastal waters, seagrasses mostly grow in soft bottomed, sheltered environments, with the depth they grow to largely limited by light penetration through the water column.
Image: Halophila ovalis and Halodule uninervis, Hydeaway Bay - Whitsundays
(Source: Jacquie Sheils)
Different species grow at different depths, and have different roles within the environment. As with land plants, seagrasses have species, which can be identified as colonisers, species that recover well from disturbance, whilst others are slower to establish and 'move in' once the colonisers have stabilised the sediment.
Seagrasses provide food for species such as green turtles, which eat the leaves, and dugongs (
Dugong dungong), which target the starch rich rhizomes buried in the sediment. Seagrass meadows also provide important nursery habitat for a variety of fish, mollusc and prawn species.Seagrass meadows are important nutrient sinks, buffering and filtering nutrient, and chemical inputs, storing carbon and assisting to capture suspended sediments. This means that as well as being important ecosystems in their own right, seagrasses are great indicators of water quality and change in condition in the marine environment.
You can get involved in monitoring with Seagrass-Watch!
Image: Seagrass Watch volunteers brave the weather during a training course in Pioneer Bay
(Source: Jacquie Sheils)
Seagrass-Watch is a scientific assessment and monitoring program, which started in Australia in 1998, and is now the largest of its kind in the world. Seagrass-Watch aims to raise awareness on the condition and trend of nearshore seagrass ecosystems and provide an early warning system of major environmental changes. It does this by involving participants from a wide variety of backgrounds, from researchers and government works, to established school and community groups. To learn more about Seagrass-Watch, go to
www.seagrasswatch.org, or contact the local Seagrass Watch coordinator here (
jsheils@internode.on.net).
