Archive: 2001

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Seagrass on menu at Kondari volunteer's update

The Chronicle, Monday, October 15, 2001, page 5

Fraser Coast residents are invited to delve into the underwater world of seagrass at a public forum in Hervey Bay tonight. The evening is the finale to the first International Seagrass-Watch Volunteers Forum which began on Friday. Seagrass-Watch is a program which monitors the size and condition of the seagrass beds at sites including the Great Sandy Strait.

A highlight of the forum was the update on the Seagrass-Watch results, Queensland Department of PrimaryIndustries Fisheries Service senior scientist Len McKenzie said.

In Hervey Bay, the seagrass had recovered from the losses in 1999 caused by floodwaters, and was now in fair-to-good condition, Mr McKenzie said. From 7 tonight at the Kondari Convention Centre, interested people can hear what is happening with seagrass in the local area and talk to experts.
Dramatic and musical entertainment also will be provided.

Picture: Some of the hundred-plus Seagrass-Watch delegates who attended the weekend's International Seagrass-Watch Volunteers Forum.

International focus on Bay's Seagrass

The Chronicle, Friday, October 12, 2001, page 5.

The first International Seagrass-Watch Volunteers Forum in Hervey Bay, this weekend, has more than 300 Seagrass-Watch volunteers and 110 scientific delegates from across the country, the Philippines and Fiji attending.

Queensland Department of Primary Industries Fisheries Service senior research scientist Len McKenzie said the seagrass watch monitoring system pioneered in Hervey Bay was catching the world's imagination. He outlined the program at an international conference in France last year and now other nations were interested in starting similar programs. To start the ball rolling they have been given funds by an American company to expand the program across the west Pacific.

Under the program volunteers collect information on the condition of nearshore seagrass which can provide early warnings of major environmental changes. Seagrass meadows in the Bay have been slowly recovering since floods in 1999. "It has taken 18 months for the meadows to recover and now they are looking good," Mr McKenzie said. At 7pm on Monday four scientists will outline their work at a public forum at the Kondari Convention Centre. People attending the forum will be able to ask the scientific panel questions about seagrass. They will also be entertained by performances by
the Pied Piper Players, Fraser Coast Anglican College and Urangan State High School.

Picture: World first .. . seagrass watch volunteers Samantha Andersen and Jerry Comans help researchers from Queensland Department of Primary Industries Fisheries Service, Dr Stuart Campbell Jane Mellors Chantal Roder and Len McKenzie, measure seagrass meadows in the Bay.

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