Fitzroy River declared Fish Habitat Area

Location and plan number

  • Parts of the Fitzroy River estuary, Raglan Creek and the wetland systems surrounding North Curtis Island and within the Fitzroy delta south-east of Rockhampton
  • Plan number: FHA-072 (Revision 1)
  • Livingstone Shire Council, Rockhampton Regional Council and Gladstone Regional Council

Size and management level

  • 77,878 ha – Management A.

Declaration history

  • 28 March 2008: Original declaration.
  • 30 September 2016: Redeclaration:
    • include Balaclava Island and areas within the Fitzroy delta.

Management features

  • Management of a highly productive fisheries area.

Habitat values

  • Extensive salt pans and saline grasslands fed by mangrove-lined creeks
  • Closed mixed-species mangrove forests dominated by:
    • grey mangrove (Avicennia marina)
    • spotted or red mangrove (Rhizophora stylosa)
    • spurred mangrove (Ceriops tagal)
  • Mud and sand flats
  • Rocky headlands
  • Brackish lagoons.

Fisheries values

  • Commercial, recreational and Indigenous fisheries resources.
  • Species:
    • Mud crab
    • Barramundi
    • Banana prawns
    • King salmon
    • Blue salmon
    • Sea mullet
    • Grunter
    • Shark.

Unique features

  • The Fitzroy River delta is the endpoint of the largest river system in Queensland.
  • Southern distributional limit of sea holly or holly mangrove (Acanthus ilicifolius).
  • Lies within and adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and the Capricorn Coast net-free fishing zone.

Other values

  • None presently identified.

References