Port of Gladstone (Port Curtis) long-term seagrass monitoring (B1.30)

Task leader: .Dr Michael Rasheed, Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries

Task associate: 3rd Party Contract

Large areas of seagrass were first identified in the Port Curtis region as part of broad scale statewide seagrass surveys conducted in 1988 (Coles et al. 1987). Seagrass meadows in Queensland are known to provide a valuable nursery habitat for juvenile prawns and commercial fish as well as an important food resource for dugong and sea turtles. Recently the value of seagrasses in the Port of Gladstone area to dugong has been recognised by the declaration of the Rodds Bay Dugong Protection Area (DPA). Central Queensland Ports Authority (CQPA) is committed to maintaining the health of the marine environment within the port limits, and recognise that seagrass meadows comprise an important and sensitive component of the marine habitats within the port. As part of this commitment, CQPA commissioned the DPI&F/CRC Reef Marine Ecology Group (MEG) to conduct a base line, fine scale survey of seagrass resources within the Port Limits and nearby Rodds Bay in 2002.

This base line survey identifies large areas of seagrass within the port limits, with seagrass communities often occurring adjacent to port facilities and infrastructure. Seagrasses within Port Curtis and Rodds Bay appeared to be healthy and detailed historical comparisons were not possible as this was the first fine scale survey of the complete area. Further monitoring of seagrasses in the port was considered to be valuable given the proximity of meadows to port infrastructure and possible impacts associated with future port and coastal developments. The ability of seagrasses to show measurable growth responses to changes in water quality and their extensive distribution through the port makes them an ideal candidate for monitoring marine environmental health in Port Curtis. Regular seagrass monitoring would give a better picture of the health of seagrass meadows and an overall indication of environmental health in the port.

At the request of Central queensland Ports Authority we have developed this proposal for long term monitoring of seagrasses in Port Curtis, The proposed study will provide information required to aid in planning of port development and maintenance programs that will have minimal effects on the marine environment as well as a tool to assess the health of Port Curtis' marine environment. The proposed long-term seagrass monitoring program uses the information collected in the baseline survey to develop an appropriate monitoring strategy. The monitoring strategy meets the recommendations for seagrass monitoring outlined in recent SKM monitoring review conducted for the Port Curtis Integrated monitoring Program (PCIMP). Methods used in the program are based on those developed by the DPI&F/CRC Reef Marine Ecology Group (MEG) for seagrass monitoring programs in a number of Queensland ports including Mourilyan, Karumba, Weipa, Thursday Island and Cairns. These programs have been successful in monitoring seagrass health, detecting local and regional changes in seagrasses, discerning natural changes from human induced or port related change and have led to successful conduct of port maintenance and development programs that have a minimal impact on the marine environment.