Princess Charlotte Bay declared Fish Habitat Area

Location and plan number

• 180 km north-west of Cooktown, across Princess Charlotte Bay between Claremont Point and Bathurst Head and tidal parts of adjoining waterways
• Plan number: FHA-043
• Cook Shire Council

Size and management level

• 122,530 ha Management A

Declaration history

• 19 November 1983:
  • original declaration
• 1 July 2010 redeclaration:
  • to cadastral boundaries and extended seaward

Management features

• Protection and conservation of barramundi habitat and associated wetlands
• Department of Primary Industries survey stations in the Marrett, Normanby, Bizant and Kennedy rivers and at Bathurst Head supported the original declaration
• Seaward boundary aligned with trawl closure boundary for ease of boundary identification

Habitat values

• Closed mixed-mangrove forests (Ceriops along tidal creeks)
• Open mangrove stands (Avicennia)
• Tall, closed mangrove stands (Rhizophora)
• Extensive salt pans and coastal seagrass beds
• Tidal sand and mud flats
• Rocky headlands at Bathurst Head have fringing reefs

Fisheries values

• Commercial, recreational and Indigenous fisheries significance
• Major recreational barramundi fishery in the hinterland
• Species:
  • Blue salmon
  • Grey mackerel
  • Queenfish
  • Grunter
  • Mangrove jack
  • Tiger prawns
  • Mud crab

Unique features

• Some of the most diverse seagrass beds are between Cairns and Cape York
• The shoreline of Princess Charlotte Bay is one of the largest tidal wetland areas in Australia
• Lies within and adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

Other values

• Adjoining freshwater lagoons and billabongs in some areas