Maaroom declared Fish Habitat Area

Location and plan number

  • Great Sandy Strait between the mainland and K’gari, south of the mouth of the Mary River, 22km east of Maryborough
  • Plan number: FHA-056 (Revision 1)
  • Fraser Coast Regional Council

Size and management level

  • 23,846 ha – Management A.

Declaration history

  • 22 January 1976: Original declaration.
  • 24 March 1984: Redeclaration:
    • exclude a small barge area at Wanggoolba Creek.
  • 28 March 2008: Redeclaration:
    • redeclared to cadastral boundaries.
  • 29 March 2024: Redeclaration, effective from 21 May 2024 revised to:
    • more accurately identify the limit of tidal land, particularly along the eastern Fish Habitat Area boundary within the national park tenure
    • exclude some areas of non-tidal land
    • exclude area around the marked navigational channel within Wanggoolba Creek.

Management features

  • Protection and conservation of fishing grounds and seagrass meadows supporting adult and juvenile fish and prawns.

Habitat values

  • Great Sandy Strait is a transition zone between temperate and tropical plant ecosystems with extensive mangrove zones, islands, banks and 11 species of mangroves (Avicennia, Ceriops and Aegialitis)
  • Saltmarsh along the estuary
  • Muddy shoals
  • Extensive seagrass meadows with 7 species present:
    • Cymodocea serrulata
    • Halodule uninervis
    • Halophila ovalis
    • Halophila spinulosa
    • Halophila decipiens
    • Syringodium isoetifolium
    • Zostera capricorni.

Fisheries values

  • Mary River estuary is the southernmost barramundi gillnet fishery.
  • Tropical and temperate fish species.
  • Species:
    • Bream
    • Estuary cod
    • Lathead
    • Garfish
    • Grunter
    • Luderick
    • Mangrove jack
    • Sea mullet
    • Tailor
    • Whiting
    • Banana prawns
    • King prawns
    • Tiger prawns
    • Mud crabs
    • Oysters.

Unique features

  • Part of the most extensive seagrass area in south-east Queensland.
  • Part of one of Australia's most diverse estuarine systems.
  • Most southerly example of a north-east coastal estuary.
  • Lies within the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar Wetland.

Other values

  • Very important dugong habitat supported by extensive seagrass beds.

References

  • Beumer, J and Halliday, I 1994, Effects of habitat disturbance on coastal fisheries resources of Tin Can Bay/Great Sandy Strait, Report to the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.
  • 2016: Enhanced management of Ramsar site wetlands within the Great Sandy Strait catchments.
  • Kirkwood, J M and Hooper, J N A 2004, Technical paper: Burnett Mary regional assessment coastal, marine biodiversity, Burnett Mary Regional Group for Natural Resource Management.
  • Lee Long, W J and O’Reilly, W K 2007, Ecological character description for the Great Sandy Strait RAMSAR site July 2007, Report for the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency.
  • Mackenzie, J and Duke, N C 2001, State of the Mangroves Report 2008: Condition assessment of the tidal wetlands of the Burnett May Region, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane.
  • McKenzie, L J 2000, Seagrass communities of Hervey Bay and the Great Sandy Strait December 1998, Queensland Department of Primary Industries Information Series.