Baffle Creek declared Fish Habitat Area

Location and plan number

  • Baffle Creek and tributaries, 58km north-west of Bundaberg
  • Plan number: FHA-031 (Revision 1)
  • Gladstone Regional Council

Size and management level

Total size: 2,308.7 ha:

  • 2,308 ha – Management A
  • 0.7 ha – Management B.

Declaration history

  • 21 September 2001: Original declaration.
  • 29 March 2024: Redeclaration, effective from 21 May 2024 revised to:
    • change the area adjacent to the Flat Rock picnic area to Management B
    • exclude some areas of non-tidal land
    • expand the existing exclusion for the aquaculture facility at Rosedale
    • adjust the boundary around the Baffle Creek Conservation Park at Boaga to align with the General Use zone boundary of the Great Sandy Marine Park
    • exclude the area within 30m of the public boat ramps at Rocky Point Road, Winfield, near Long Island and at Flat Rock Road.

Management features

  • Protection of highly-connected, near-pristine estuarine and riverine fish habitats that support recreational and commercial fisheries.
  • Region experiencing increasing urbanisation.

Habitat values

  • Mangrove forests with at least 9 species
  • Small patches of seagrass (Halophila)
  • Intertidal sand, gravel and mud banks
  • Rock bars.

Fisheries values

  • Recreational and commercial fisheries.
  • Species:
    • Barramundi
    • King salmon flathead
    • Bream
    • Mangrove jack
    • Whiting
    • Mullet
    • Estuary cod
    • Mud crabs
    • Various prawn species.

Unique features

  • One of the few river systems in the region that is unimpeded by weirs or dams, providing uninterrupted connectivity between estuarine and freshwater habitats.
  • Recognised as being one of the few near-pristine estuaries in Southern Queensland.

Other values

  • None presently identified.