Archive: 2000

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Alage levels spark concern for seagrass

The Times, Thursday, December 21, 2000, page 13

Seagrass beds in Pioneer Bay are under threat from high levels ofalgae, according to a fisheries expert. Department of Primary Industries marine scientist Warren Lee Long said the site had considerably higher algae cover" than other areas in the Whitsundays."The grass under the algae is still growing but we don't know whether the algae loads may topple grass over in the near future.
"This has the potential to greatly effect the area's dugongs and marine turtles who feed on the seagrassa and it could possibly effect the whole fishery' s productivities.

There are two main sources of nutrients which are causing the problem inthe Bay, MrLee Long said.
"sewerage from the Pigeon Island outfall and effluent, untreated human waste from Abel Point Marina,' he said.

"We need to collect information on how much nutrients are occurring in the Bay."If the information shows adverse impacts then it is a warning something should be done and a positive change to
nutrient managemenits required. "A co-operative approach between the Whitsunday Shire Council and other govemment agencies is required."

Mr Lee Long is monitoring the seagrass in the area as part of the Department of Primary Industries
Seagrass Watch program. "The data coming from the project is scientifically proven," he said.
"The Seagrass Watch program provides information to the Environmental Protection Agency who are the
lead agency in managing the seagrass."If there is enough public will and support then change is likely to come to the area."

Picture: Margaret Parr and Warren Lee Long will be monitoring the level of nutrients in Pioneer Bay

Life at sea starts at bottom

The Chronicle, Wednesday , November 15, 2000, page 3

IT'S GREEN, largely unseen and one of the most important building blocks of marine life in the Great Sandy Strait. Seagrass has been measured and monitored for the past week across the Fraser Coast at sites including Burrum Heads,Hervey Bay, Boonooroo and Tuan.

Yesterday researchers braved cold and windy weather to trek across the mud flats at Poona. The group was made up of two Department of Primary Industries scientistsfrom Cairns, Len McKenzie and Stuart Campbell, university student Leigh Bulkeley from the United States and Queensland Parks and Wildlife senior ranger coastal management Steve Winderlich.

The program monitors seagrass at permanent,pegged sites every three months. The presence or absence of seagrass is recorded along with its size and prevalence. This information builds a database of
the cycles and characteristics of seagrass. It is used to make coastal management decisions and to help explain why seagrass is sometimes wiped out. Floods usually kill seagrass but suburban
and urban run-off, tree clearing and pollution could worsen the effect.

Mr Winderlich said seagrass was not only important as food for dugongs but was integral to the health of the whole marine system. It created a nursery for young fish and prawns and also provided food for green turtles.

Mr McKenzie said data collected so far showed that seagrass was stable and areas wiped out by floods in recent years were recovering. However, he was unsure if the large meadows remembered by old fishermen would return. Volunteers are welcome to help the researchers.

If you would like to help phone Mr Winderlich on 4121 1800.

Picture: Here one day, gone the next ... Cairns DPI scientist Len McKenzie looks for seagrass at Poona yesterday along with (from left) Stuart Campbell, Steve Winderlich and Leigh Bulkeley.

Article by: Christina Maynes

Monitors join forces

The Whitsunday Times, October 19, 2000

Seagrass-Watch members have joined Whitsunday Shire Council to monitor seagrass meadows in the region.

Seagrass, near Abel Point Marina, is being monitored by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Whitsunday Volunteers as part of the Whitsunday Seagrass-Watch program.

Seagrass-Watch monitors four sites across Pioneer Bay at low tide four times a year to assess any changes in the coral or seagrass communities.

In addition, Whitsunday Shire Council has monitored the area and the sewage outflow in Pioneer Bay for the past two years.

Whitsunday shire mayor Mario Demartini and councillor Lew Tuck recently visited the area.

Both programs have the same objective of ensuring that our marine environment is as healthy as possible to maintain the natural integrity of the Whitsundays.

QPWS Whitsunday Volunteer Seagrass-Watch co-ordinator Margaret Parr said recent observations had detected excessive algal growth within the area, that has the potential to impact on seagrass.

WSC and Seagrass-Watch have agreed to share information and results to monitor the seagrass more effectively.

Ms Parr said the group was concerned the algae was affecting the abundance and growth of important seagrass meadows in the bay.

"Seagrass meadows are important as the health barometers for coastal and catchment environments reflecting water condition in near shore areas," she said.

"As well as being the essential food source for dugong and green sea turtles, they are home to juvenile prawns, fish and crabs in the area. They also act as stabilisers of sediment and filters of pollutants. "

The cooperative between council, QPWS and the Seagrass Watch team to monitor the health of the Pioneer Bay seagrasses aims to develop a more pro active approach to protecting one of the region's major natural attributes.

Photo: Volunteers Alderd Lenting, Lynda Ostler and Dean Richardson are part of Seagrass Watch, monitoring the region's seagrass areas.

Reef seagrass program wins national environment award

The Premier of Queensland Website, June 2000

A Queensland Government program to map, monitor and protect the State's coastal seagrass resources, which provide food for dugongs and other marine life, has won a national environment award, the Primary Industries Minister, Henry Palaszczuk, has announced.

Mr Palaszczuk said the Department of Primary Industries' Seagrass-Watch team based at the Northern Fisheries Centre in Cairns, won the Prime Minister's Environment Award in the Natural Heritage Trust for Rural and Regional Leadership category.

"The team has navigated, dived, and flown the Queensland coast to establish the first ever inventory of the State's seagrass resource," Mr Palaszczuk said.

"Queensland boasts more than 4000 kilometres of coastal seagrass. It is an essential resource for dugong and other marine life."

The Seagrass-Watch is a joint initiative between DPI, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the CRC for Reef Research, Coast and Clean Seas, and community groups in the Whitsundays and Hervey Bay regions.

More than 260 volunteers in Hervey Bay and The Whitsundays take part in the Seagrass-Watch program.

Mr Palaszczuk said the project was a perfect example of the Queensland Government and local communities working together for the State's environmental benefit.

"Through working with DPI scientists, communities can now identify a seagrass species and map and measure change in seagrass population," he said.

"The Seagrass-Watch project is a wonderful success story and highlights what can be achieved when resources are pooled and people fight for the same goal."

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Eco awards to Far North

The Cairns Post, Tuesday, June 6, 2000, page 7

A CAPE York Peninsula Aboriginal community and a group of Cairns-based seagrass researchers have won national awards marking World Environment Day yesterday.

Local conservationists used the day to hold a public protest against delays to tough new anti-land clearing legislation in Queensland.

The remote Hope Vale township, near Cooktown, and Department of Primary Industries fisheries staff in Cairns were among 10 recipients of the prestigious Prime Minister's Environment Award.

Hope Vale was recognised as a community leader in developing a management plan to control traditional hunting for dugongs and turtles. The DPI officers, from the Northern Fisheries Centre at Portsmith, won an award for the Seagrass-Watch program, mapping and monitoring seagrass
along the Queensland coast.

Hope Vale Aboriginal Council chairman Phillip Deemal yesterday expressed his delight at the prize, saying it represented a triumph for his people. The management plan aimsto balance the rights of
indigenous people to hunt dugongs and turtles with the need to protect the rare species. It was developed over three years with help from the Great Banier Reef Marine ParkAuthority, James Cook University and the Cape York Land Council.

DPI senior principle scientist Rob Coles said his staff's award - in the National Heritage Trust category for rural and regional leadership -was evidence of the success ofthe seagrass program.
In Cairns yesterday, about 50 conservationists held a rowdy protest outside the city's Department
of Natural Resources offices in Lake St.

Cairns and Far North Environment Centre co-ordinatorHenry Boer said widespread land clearing was the most significant environment issue facing the State. Tens of thousands of hectares of native trees were being flattened while the State Government delayed the introduction of tough new anti-land clearing legislation for freehold and leasehold land, he said.

In the Far North, vegetation was being cleared at a fast rate on properties around Cardwell,
Palm Cove and Clifton Beach as well as the Atherton Tableland.

Other World Environment Day activities included a large expo at Malanda featuring presentations by government agencies and community groups, a Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service display at
Cairns Central shopping centre and guided tours along the mangrove boardwalk near the Cairns airport.

Picture: PRIZEWINNING work: DPI Seagrass researchers (from left) Dr. Rob Coles, Len McKenzie and Mandy Ross. Picture by Mike Watt
Article by Peter Wex

Seagrass watch wins PM's award

June 2000

The Department of Primary Industries has won a major national environmental award for protecting the state's coastal ecosystem. The Prime Minister's Environmental Award was presented to Seagrass-Watch representatives, including National Parks and Wildlife district manager Artie Jacobson, in Adelaide last week.

DPI Marine Park Ecology Research Team program leader Robert Coles said the award was tremendous recognition fort he highly successful coastalenvironmental monitoring and education program.

Mr Jacobson said the local Seagrass-Watch program saw many Whitsunday and Midge Point community members spending their time studying seagrass habitats. He said seagrass was an important food source for dugongs and turtles in the area.

"Through working with the DPI scientists, communities can now identify seagrass species and map and measure change in seagrass population," Dr Coles said.

Dr Coles said there were now more than 260 members involved in Seagrass-Watch and training had also been conducted in Thailand and the Philippines.

He said in 1992, 1000 square kilometres of seagrass died in Hervey Bay as a result of floods from a heavily developed catchment. "Projects like Seagrass-Watch will ensure that this will never happen again and the future of Queensland's coastal ecosystem is protected," Dr Coles said.

"The Seagrass-Watch projectis a wonderful success story and highlights what can be achieved when we pool our resources and fight for the same goal," he said.

Article by Belinda Glindemann

Volunteers rewarded

The Times, Thursday, June 29, 2000, page 9

Volunteers working with the Seagrass-Watch program were presented with a National Environmert Award at the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) office on Monday night.

The Seagrass-Watch program is conducted by Whitsunday volunteers and the Order of Underwater Coral Heros (OUCH) in association with the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and QPWS.

The volunteer groups monitor local seagrass beds to provide information that may aid government departments manage seagrass ecosystems.

DPI research scientist Stuart Campbe11 said the award would give local volunteers a sense of Ownership of the seagrass program. " It gives them them recognition of all the hard work- they've put in a lot of their own hours for no pay what-so -ever," Mr. Campbell said.

"It also shows that this is not just a government run program, but a community based program with volunteers at the forefront. The award acknowledges strong community government links and the success of such such projects," he said.

Whitsunday volunteer CoralSalmon said it was wonderful thatthe seagrass watch project had received national recognition. ''I think the award reveals that a small group of people can make a difference by binding together with the DPI and QPWS," Ms Salmon said. "The fact that we have been recognised will encourage others to become involved because it is worthwhile," she said.

The award was originally presented to Whitsunday environmental groups by Prime Minister John Howard at a ceremony held in Adelaide on June 5.

Picture: Warren Lee Long and Stuart Campbell, of the Department of Primary Industries, left, present the National Environment Award to Whitsunday volunteers Margaret Parr, Robin Salmon and Jackie Sheils, as Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services' district manager Artie Jacobson, right, looks on.

Article by Alicia McMillan

Environmentalists honoured

Proserpine Guardian, Thursday, June 29, 2000, page 7

Two leading local environmental groups, Whitsunday Volunteers and Order for Underwater Coral Heroes (OUCH) have recieved recognition from the prime minister following extensive study into local seagrass paddocks under the program Seagrass-Watch. The award, for rural leadership, was presented to Seagrass-Watch representative and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service district manager Artie Jacobson by John Howard in Adelaide earlier this month. Mr Jacobson held his own presentation ceremony at the QPWS Jubilee Pocket office on Monday night in front of dozens of local volunteers.

Department of Primary Industries project co-ordinator Stuart Campbell said the local presentation ceremony was held to give the people behind the program recogni tion for their time and effort. "This is an opportunity to give our volunteers due creditfor the valuable work they are doing," he said.

Mr Jacobson said the monitoring program saw many residents from Midge Point and around the Whitsunday Shire study various seagrass habitats. He said seagrass was a valuable food source for dugongs and turtles that were prevalent in the area.

"This award shows what can be achieved through the co-operation of government departments and local volunteer groups," Mr Jacobson said.'The Seagrass-Watch program is so important for the conservation of seagrass habitats in the local area."

DPI representative Warren Lee Long said the Seagrass-Watch program began around two years ago and volunteers have since produced a comprehensive data set. "The community groups are very enthusiastic," he said. "Far more enthusiastic than we were able to handle."

The volunteers are currently undertaking the next round of community monitoring surveys in local waters.

Picture: HONOURED BY PM: DPI representative Warren Lee Long, Seagrass-Watch co-ordinator Stuart Campbell, Whitsunday Volunteers members Margaret Parr and Robin Salmon, OUCH member Jackie Shiels and Queensland Parks and Wildlife district manager Artie Jacobson with the Prime Minister's Environmental Award
Article by Belinda Glindemann

Team monitors seagrass beds

whitsunday Times, March, 30, 2000.

The seagrass beds in Pioneer Bay were monitored again recently as part of the National Heritage Trust-funded Seagrass Watch program.

Members of the Whitsunday Volunteers Association, which is attached to the Queensland Parks
and Wildlife Service, sample the sites regularly to provide information that may aid government
departments manage seagrass ecosystems.

Local coordinator of Seagrass Watch Margaret Parr said it was important the health of the seagrass
was looked after. "seagrass is a nursery for fish and prawns," Ms Parr said. "It's also the main diet of the dugong, and a good indicator of the health of the marine environment out there," she said. Prior to the monitoring, an information session was conducted by Seagrass Watch Queensland
coordinator - Dr Stuart Campbell and senior fisheries biologist Warren Lee Long.

Picture: Seagrass Watch Queensland coordinator Dr Stuart Campbell, vice-president of Whitsunday Volunteers Association Aileen Gleeson, Seagrass Watch local coordinator Margaret Parr and Seagrass-Watch marine biologist Warren Lee Long monitor seagrass on Cannonvale's foreshore.

Group wanders through Dundowran seagrass meadows

The Observer, Friday Feb 18, 2000, page 1

Checking out the seagrass meadows at Dundowran were DPI Seagrass-Watch co-ordinator Dr. Stuart Campbell with students from the Fraser Coast Anglican College Year ll environment group Trent Bowtell and Paul Greenham.

Seagrass beds across the Fraser Coast went under the microscope yesterday by community volunteers, school students and researchers from the Department of Primary Industries Marine Plant Ecology Group .

The survey is part of a regular monitoring program to map and study changes in the extensive coastal seagrass meadows which provide shelter, nursery grounds and food to many fish, prawns, turtles and dugongs. The DPI team from Carins will be surveying seagrass at Dundowran, Boonooroo, Poona and Urangan as well as Woongoolbuer Creek on Fraser Island.

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