Seagrass communities in the Shoalwater Bay region, Queensland: Spring (September) 1995 and Autumn (April) 1996

Abstract

The Commonwealth Commission of Inquiry into Shoal water Bay (Commission of Inquiry 1994) recommended equal priority be given to conservation and defence force training use in the Shoalwater Bay area, and that integrated management plans be developed for the terrestrial and marine environments. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) was given responsibility for developing management plans for a special Shoalwater Bay Marine Park. The GBRMPA commissioned a number of studies of marine resource inventories and use patterns in the Shoalwater Bay area for marine park zone planning. The present Spring and Autumn baseline surveys of seagrass resources is one of these studies. Seagrasses have seasonal differences in distribution and abundance, so two baseline surveys Spring (pre-wet) and Autumn (post-wet) - were recommended. This report presents the results of the two surveys conducted September 1995 and April 1996. The objectives were: to map the distribution of seagrass meadows in Shoa/water Bay during the Spring and Autumn periods; to estimate seagrass species biomass for the major seagrass meadows; to identify juvenile prawn and fish species present on selected seagrass areas; and to provide quantitative data 011 seagrass communities of Shoalwater Bay for use as a baseline for future monitoring of seagrass species composition, area or biomass.