Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Mapping seagrass meadows on the reef
Scuba divers and low flying seaplanes are helping map seagrass meadows on the Great Barrier Reef just off Cooktown.
Chairman of the Cape York Marine Advisory Group Ian McCollum said it's the first time seagrass has been mapped on reefs in the region.
The project will give resource managers information about the types and amounts of seagrass growing on the Reef. It will provide a baseline for monitoring future changes in seagrass and for predicting the impacts of any changes on turtles and Dugongs.
Funding
The Australian Government has provided $32,000 for the work, with additional support coming from the State Government
One of the areas being monitored is Cairns Reef south east of Cooktown. "This reef has a big, deep lagoon which appears to have a lot of Dugongs," Ian said.
Activities
"We've taken photos from the seaplane for a preliminary look at things at very low tide, but we'll need to send divers there to investigate the area more closely to get a better idea of just what we're looking at.
"Commercial fishermen have been a big help by making their databases and knowledge available to us. In an isolated area like this, just having that local knowledge is a tremendous help.
"We've even built our own underwater camera - it was the only way we could afford to get one!"
Information collected by volunteers as part of the project will be sent to the Queensland Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries Seagrass Watch headquarters in Cairns, where it will be collated and made available to planners and natural resource managers.
The small group of monitors has also assessed 100 kilometres of seagrass on the coast, starting at Walsh Bay south of Cooktown and going north to Lookout Point above Cape Flattery.
"Our work included an aerial flight to photograph and survey the coastal region, as well as 18 days assessing seagrass meadows by boat and on foot in inter-tidal areas," said Christina Howley, an environmental scientist who has helped the group.
"We've downloaded the data from these surveys into a mapping database and produced maps that have been used by government planners to help evaluate three separate coastal development applications in the area."
More information
- Ian McCollum, CYMAG Chair: (07) 4069 5300
- Seagrass Watch
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