Coastal & marine
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Coastal & marine
Coastal and marine environments are iconic and central to recreation, tourism, and the economy of SEQ.
- High energy beaches extend from Cooloola in the north, to Coolangatta in the south, and large stretches of uninterrupted beaches occur on the eastern side of Bribie Island, Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) and Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island).
- Ramsar-listed Quandamooka (Moreton Bay) provides critical habitat for whales, dugongs, turtle and thousands of endangered migratory and resident shorebirds that roost there each year.
- It is one of Australia’s largest estuarine bays that supports many ecosystems including open ocean, sandy beaches, rocky shores, coral reefs, seagrass and sponge beds, mangrove forests, mudflats and sand banks.
- Near shore rocky reefs are an important source of refuge, nursery areas and food for marine organisms.
- And while historically the Bay has lost nearly all of its sub-tidal shellfish reefs, there is now an active program to reinstate these. SEQ is also home to the UNESCO designated Noosa Biosphere which further enhances the protection of coastal and marine values.
- Coastal and marine environments continue to be under pressure from population growth, climate change, floods and are significantly impacted by upstream activities that generate sediment and pollution.
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Coastal & marine threats and pressures
- Development pressure – developments poorly designed that clear coastal vegetation communities and impact negatively on coastal wetland values.
- Sediment, nutrients and other pollution coming from catchments.
- Extreme weather events such as cyclones and floods.
- Increase in recreational pressures and vehicle impacts.
- Coastal hazards.
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Coastal & marine current state
- The regional extent of seagrass in 1998 was 27,085 hectares. In 2019 it was 22,695 hectares but changes in mapping techniques make it difficult to know the current extent of seagrass against data from 1998.
- Reports indicate that seagrass has recovered since 2014 as well as some recovery of seagrass occurring in southern Deception Bay.
- Information on the condition of seagrass is limited.
- Mangrove and saltmarsh ecosystems have shown a slight decline in extent.
- Beaches are under increasing pressure because of urban development as indicated by the significant increase in the number of freehold properties directly adjoining coastal environments.
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Coastal & marine priority actions
The following actions will play a critical role in meeting the coastal and marine targets.
These actions have been identified by the South East Queensland community. These actions are updated regularly in the region's Natural Resource Management Plan, which is managed by Healthy Land & Water on behalf of the region's community.
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Improve coastal planning to limit development pressure and provide retreat zones from sea level rise. |
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Plan land use in areas where coastal ecosystems and critical habitats will retreat as a result of sea level rise and provide areas for natural regeneration/assisted establishment. |
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Provide greater protection from land use change for coastal ecosystem values and ensure offsets are effective in mitigating unavoidable losses. |
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Consider impacts of sea level rise on the Moreton Bay Marine Park and all coastal areas within the region, to ensure Ramsar and UNESCO designated, environmental, social and economic values are maintained. |
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Support and create processes for the community and various levels of government to work together to develop new and enhance current regional and local land use planning mechanisms to achieve SEQ NRM Plan targets. |
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Manage |
Consider managed access to beaches. |
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Manage intact dune systems to protect their values and ability to buffer communities from extreme events. |
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Reduce and avoid light pollution impacting on priority coastal areas and habitats. |
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Monitor seagrass to see which strategies are working and should be expanded. |
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Restore depleted shellfish reefs. |
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Develop citizen science activities to genuinely engage the community in stewardship of their local and environs. |
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Manage the recreational uses of coastal and marine environment to reduce ecological impacts from:
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Restore |
Provide environmentally friendly boat moorings in high density and recovering seagrass areas. |
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Actively protect and restore marine and coastal assets such as mangrove, samphire, saltmarsh and seagrass. |
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Improve water quality from catchments to reduce threats to the ecological values of downstream sites such as Quandamooka (Moreton Bay). |
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Actively restore and stabilise priority dunal systems. |
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Empower |
Identify locally relevant strategies, target groups and goals for enabling effective conservation action. |
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Provision of integration role by regional body such as Healthy Land & Water to promote the co-development of conservation strategies. |
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Coastal & marine targets
People of the region are privileged to live near one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. The natural resources of coastal areas and marine waters are vital to our way of life and are the basis for a valuable international and domestic tourism industry along with commercial and recreational fishing.
Headline targets
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By 2031, the extent and condition of seagrass and mangrove ecosystems (including saltmarsh) in bays and estuaries will be greater than or equal to those in 1998 and 2001 respectively.
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By 2031, the 2008 extent and condition of SEQ wetlands will be maintained or increased.
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By 2031, the condition of open coastlines (headlands, beaches and dunes) will be at or better than in 2006.
Summary of asset targets
- Seagrass and Mangroves
The extent and condition of seagrass and mangrove ecosystems (including saltmarsh) in bays and estuaries will be greater than or equal to that in 1988 and 2001 respectively. - Coral
The condition and spatial distribution of soft and hard corals will be maintained at least at 2005 levels. - Beaches
The condition of open coastlines (headlands, beaches and dunes) will be at or better than in 2006. - Fish Stocks
Wild fishery stock condition will be sustained at sufficiently high levels to support commercial, recreational and First Nations cultural fisheries, based on the 1995–2005 benchmarks (ten-year rolling average). - Key Species
The extent and condition of the habitat of bottlenose and indo-pacific humpback dolphins, dugongs, sharks, turtles and wader birds will be equal to or greater than that in 2001 for each species. - Coastal Algal Blooms
The extent and frequency of coastal algal blooms (CAB) will be reduced from the 2002–2005 benchmarks (five-year rolling average). - Coastal Wetlands
The condition and extent of SEQ coastal wetlands, particularly those connecting fresh and estuarine/marine habitat (including fish passage), will be equal to or greater than that in 2007.
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Coastal & marine projects
Scroll down to see the huge number of projects we are partnering on to protect South East Queensland's beautiful and biodiverse environs.
Healthy Land & Water projects
Click to see by South East Queensland Natural Resource Management Plan categories
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- Air & atmosphere
- Biodiversity Conservation
- Climate Adaptation
- Coastal & marine
- Community
- Create connections between people, place & culture
- Deliver transformative environmental & community change
- Direct the investment in SEQ’s environmental future
- Environmental Offsets
- Fire
- First Nations
- Goal 03: Good Health and Well-being
- Goal 06: Clean Water and Sanitation
- Goal 09: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
- Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- Goal 14: Life Below Water
- Goal 15: Life on Land
- Goal 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal
- Knowledge Research
- Land
- Land Restoration
- Landscapes
- Nature
- People & Culture
- Queensland Fire & Biodiversity Consortium
- Science Committee
- Strategic Science & Sustainability
- Sustainable Agriculture
- Threat - Climate
- Threat - Drought
- Threat - Erosion
- Threat - Fire
- Threat - Invasive species
- Threat - Land use
- Threat - Pollution
- Threat - Sediment
- Threat - Threatened species
- Threat - Vegetation loss
- Threat - Waterway recreation
- Urban design
- Water
- Water by Design
Healthy Land & Water
Level 11, 240 Queen St,
BRISBANE QLD 4000
Australia
Healthy Land and Water Ltd
ABN 91 115 662 989
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