Coffs%Harbour%Marina% % Marine%Debris%And%Biota
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Report'by'SURG'Inc.' Coffs%Harbour%Marina% % Marine%Debris%and%Biota%surveys% ! Conducted!by!members!of!the!Solitary!Islands!Underwater!Research!Group!Inc.! (SURG)!on!behalf!of!TierraMar!environmental!consultancy!for!the!Northern! Rivers!Catchment!Management!Authority!(NSW)! ! Marina%Complex% ! Figure!1.!Aerial!view!of!Coffs!Harbour!inner!harbour.! ! ! ! Marine%Debris%Surveys% ! On!the!2/7/2011!9!SURG!members’!surveyed!3000m2!of!substratum!within!the!confines!of! the!inner!harbour!at!Coffs!Harbour.! ! The!map!below!indicates!the!sites!surveyed.!At!each!site!4!replicate!belt!transects!of! dimensions!25m!x!5m!were!assessed!for!marine!debris,!i.e.!items!that!had!an!anthropogenic! provenance.!Each!transect!enclosed!an!area!of!125m2;!thus!500m2!was!surveyed!at!each! site.! ! The!sites!were!selected!on!the!basis!of!whether!they!were!associated!with!recreational! activities!or!commercial!activities.!The!recreational!areas!surveyed!included!the!waters! adjacent!to!the!5!arms!in!the!marina!complex!and!were!designated!Arm!1!(westernmost),! Arm!2,!Arm!3,!Arm4/5!(these!2!arms!were!combined!due!to!their!shorter!lengths).!The! 1!! Report'by'SURG'Inc.' commercial!areas!surveyed!were!located!along!the!southern!wall!of!the!inner!harbour!and! were!designated!Commercial!West!and!Commercial!East.!The!location!of!the!surveys!are! indicated!in!Figure!2.! ! Figure!2.!Location!of!marine!debris!surveys,!roving!diver!fish!surveys!and!BRUV!surveys.! ! ! ! ! Table!1.!Composition!of!debris!items! ! Composition! No.!of!Items! Cloth! 7! Fibreglass! 2! Glass! 21! Metal! 72! Paper! 6! Plastic! 159! Rubber! 4! Grand%Total% 271% ! ! ! ! ! 2!! Report'by'SURG'Inc.' Table!2.!Items!sorted!by!Usage!Category! ! No. of Items Items Apparel! 9! Cap! 1! Cloth!Hat! 2! Rag! 1! Shirt! 1! Sunglasses! 2! Towel! 2! Boating! 4! Aluminium!channel! 1! Rope! 3! Container! 17! Plastic!Bag! 17! Domestic! 9! Bucket! 3! Camera!battery! 1! Carpet! 1! Clothes!peg! 1! Laundry!basket! 1! Rubber!glove! 1! Sponge! 1! Fibreglass! 1! Fibreglass!^!piece! 1! Fishing! 115! Bottle! 3! Fish!net! 1! Fish!trap! 4! Fishing!Rod! 1! Hand!spear! 1! Knife!^!fishing! 3! Lead!Sinker! 2! Lobster!pot! 2! Monofilament! 95! Rubber!fishing!lure! 1! Wire!trace! 1! Hook!^!fishing! 1! ! ! 3!! Report'by'SURG'Inc.' Food!or!drink! 67! Aluminium!can! 27! BBQ!Fork! 1! Bottle! 18! Bottle!lid! 1! Bottle!top!(jar)! 1! Coffee!container!lid! 1! Cup! 2! Ice!cream!container! 3! Paper! 1! Plastic!bottle! 3! Plastic!cap!of!bottle! 1! Plastic!container! 1! Plastic!cup! 1! Plastic!plate! 1! Cigarette!filter! 5! Metal! 27! Shears! 1! Shopping!Trolley! 4! Steel!cable! 7! Steel!drum! 1! Steel!frame! 1! Steel!Pipe! 3! Steel!plate! 4! Steel!rod! 6! Other! 2! Rubber!band! 1! Rubber!tubing! 1! Packaging! 1! Plastic!container! 1! Plastic! 19! Cable!tie! 1! Plastic!^!piece! 12! Plastic!conduit! 3! Plastic!hose! 3! Grand%Total% 271% ! ! ! ! ! ! 4!! Report'by'SURG'Inc.' Table!3.!The!number!of!items!in!each!usage!category!sorted!by!commercial!and!recreational! activity.!Note:!1000!m2!was!surveyed!in!commercial!areas!compared!to!2000!m2!in! recreational!areas.! ! Usage! Grand! Category! Commercial! Recreational! Total! Apparel! 2! 7! 9! Boating! 1! 3! 4! Container! 11! 5! 16! Domestic! 2! 7! 9! Fibreglass! 0! 1! 1! Fishing! 106! 9! 115! Food!or!drink! 44! 23! 67! Metal! 8! 19! 27! Other! 0! 2! 2! Packaging! 0! 2! 2! Plastic! 1! 18! 19! Grand%Total% 175% 96% 271% ! Figure!3.!Mean!number!of!debris!items!(±SE!per!transect.!! ! 45.! 40.! 35.! 30.! 25.! 20.! 15.! Mean%No.%of%Items% 10.! 5.! 0.! Arm!1! Arm!2! Arm!3! Arm!4/5! Commercial! Commercial! East! West! LocaGon% ! ! ! ! ! ! 5!! Report'by'SURG'Inc.' Biota%Surveys% ! Biota!surveys!were!designed!to!produce!representative!lists!of!the!species!observed!in!the! inner!harbour!complex.! ! Sessile!biota!using!piers!as!substratum!were!assessed!using!high!definition!video.!A!video! camera!was!lowered!to!the!seafloor!and!then!very!slowly!raised!to!the!surface!at!a!distance! of!40!cm!from!each!pier.!Biota!‘captured’!using!this!this!technique!were!identified!during! playback!of!the!video!footage!on!a!computer.!To!aid!in!the!identification!of!taxa!‘stills!grabs’! were!analysed!where!needed.!Piers!assessed!using!these!techniques!are!indicated!in!!!!!!! Figure!4.! ! Additionally,!opportunistic!sightings!of!sessile!biotas!were!recorded!as!SURG!members! conducted!both!roving!diver!fish!surveys!and!debris!transects.!! ! Figure!4.!Locations!of!video!transects!of!piers!(green!coloured!‘stars’).! ! % % % Two!techniques!were!used!to!assess!fish!species.! • Roving!Diver!Surveys:!A!buddy!pair!of!divers!followed!the!boundary!wall!of!the!inner! harbour!starting!on!the!northern!side!of!the!harbour!as!indicated!in!Figure!2.!The! wall!was!followed!in!a!clockwise!direction!until!reaching!the!entrance!to!the!inner! harbour!on!its!southern!side.!All!species!of!fish!observed!during!the!survey!were! 6!! Report'by'SURG'Inc.' recorded.!This!was!followed!by!a!similar!swim!under!each!of!the!arms!of!the!marina! complex,!taking!particular!note!of!any!cryptic!species!living!upon!the!piers.! • Baited!Remote!Underwater!Video!surveys.!Two!BRUVS!were!deployed!at!4!locations! within!the!inner!harbour.!Each!BRUV!was!deployed!for!a!30^minute!period!on!soft! sediment!habitat!as!indicated!in!Figure!4.!A!total!of!2!hours!of!video!footage!was! obtained.!Pilchards!were!used!in!a!bait!bag!to!‘attract’!any!fish/invertebrate!species! inhabiting!this!habitat!type.!A!further!4!‘drops’!were!conducted!on!soft!sediment! habitat!in!an!area!between!the!inner!harbour!and!jetty!–!fish!identified!in!the!outer! harbour!are!not!included!in!the!fish!species!list!below.! % % Taxa%lists% % Invertebrates% Solitary!ascidian!^!Pyura'stolonifera! Compound!ascidians!! Crustaceans:! • Blue!Swimmer!Crab!^!Portunus'pelagicus! • Red!Bait!Crab!^!Plagusia'chabrus! • Barnacles! Polychaete!worms:! • Sabellidae!–!feather!duster!worms! • Terebellidae!–!fan!worms! • Serpulidae'<'Galeolaria'caespitosa' Coral!–!Psammocora'superficialis! Anemones:!! • Cerianthus!anemone!most!likely!the!Banded!Tube!Anemone!^!Pachycerianthus' delwynae!observed!in!soft!sediment! • Small!anemones!attached!to!the!surface!of!piers! Molluscs:! • Rock!Oyster!^!Saccostrea'glomerata!! • Small!bivalve!molluscs!–!Chama'sp.! • Large!bivalve!mollusc!^!Pinctada'sp.! • Striped!Conniwink!^!Bembicium'nanum! • Zebra!Winkle'–'Austrocochlea'porcata' • Whelks!^!Cabestana'spengleri!! • Limpets!^!Siphonaria'denticulata! • Gloomy!Octopus!–!Octopus'tetricus! Bryozoans! Hydroids! Sponge!^!Purple!branching!finger^like!growth!habit! % % % % 7!! Report'by'SURG'Inc.' Fish%(Chondrichthyes%and%Osteichthyes)% % Family! Species!Name! Common!Name! Acanthuridae% Acanthurus'dussumieri' Pencil!Surgeonfish! Antennariidae% Histrio'histrio' Sargassum!Fish! Carangidae% Pseudocaranx'dentex'' Silver!Trevally! Carangidae% Trachurus'novaezelandiae' Yellowtail!Scad! Chaetodontidae% Chaetodon'auriga' Threadfin!Butterflyfish! Cheilodactylidae% Cheilodactylus'vestitus' Crested!Morwong! Dasyatidae% Dasyatis'thetidis' Black!Stingray! Diodontidae% Dicotylicththys'punctulatus' Threebar!Porcupinefish! Fistularidae% Fistularia'sp.' Flutemouth! Gerreidae% Gerres'subfasciatus' Common!Silverbiddy! Gobiidae% Istigobius'decoratus' Decorated!Sandgoby! Kyphosidae% Girella'tricuspidata' Luderick! Labridae% Pseudolabrus'guentheri' Gunther’s!Wrasse! Labridae% Notolabrus'gymnogenis' Crimsonband!Wrasse! Lutjanidae% Lutjanus'quinquelineatus' Five^line!Snapper! Lutjanidae% Lutjanus'argentimaculatus' Mangrove!Jack! Lutjanidae% Lutjanus'russelli' Moses'!Snapper! Monodactylidae% Monodactylus'argenteus' Diamondfish! Monodactylidae% Schuettea'scalaripinnis' Eastern!Pomfret! Mugilidae% Liza'argentea' Goldspot!Mullet! Mullidae% Parupeneus'spilurus' Blacksaddle!Goatfish! Platycephalidae% Platycephalus'fuscus' Dusky!Flathead! Plotosidae% Cnidoglanis'macrocephalus' Estuary!Cobbler! Pomacentridae% Abudefduf'bengalensis' Bengal!Sergeant! Pomacentridae% Abudefduf'sexfasciatus' Scissortail!Sergeant! Scorpididae% Atypichthys'strigatus' Mado! Scorpididae% Microcanthus'strigatus' Stripey! Scorpididae% Scorpis'lineolata' Silver!Sweep! Siganidae% Siganus'nebulosus' Black!Rabbitfish! Sillaginidae% Sillago'ciliata' Blue^nose!Whiting! Sparidae% Acanthopagrus'australis' Yellowfin!Bream! Sparidae% Pagrus'auratus' Snapper! Sparidae% Rhabdosargus'sarba' Tarwhine! Tetraodontidae% Arothron'hispidus' Stars^and^stripes!Puffer! Tetraodontidae% Arothron'stellatus' Starry!Puffer! Tetraodontidae% Torquigener'pleurogramma' Weeping!Toadfish! Tetrarogidae% Centropogon'australis' Eastern!Fortescue! Tripterygiidae% Trinorfolkia'clarkei' Common!Threefin! Urolophidae% Tyrgonoptera'testacea' Common!Stingaree! % ' ! % ! ! ! ! ! 8!! Report'by'SURG'Inc.' Reptilia! Green!Turtle!–!Chelonia)mydas! ! Aves! Osprey!–!Pandion'haliaetus! Black!Cormorant!–!Phalarocorax'carbo! Pied!Cormorant!–!Phalacrocorax'varius! Silver!Gull!–!Larus'novaehollandiae! Crested!Tern!–!Sterna'bergii! Pelican!–!Pelecanus'conspicillatus! % Protista! Heterokontophyta!(Brown!Algae)! • Sargassum'sp.' • Padina'crassa' • Lobophora'varigata' • Didophus'marginatus' ! Rhodophyta!(Red!Algae)! • Champia)compressa) • Gigartina)sp.) • Hypnea)sp.) ! Plantae% Chlorophyta!(Green!Algae)! • Cladophora'sp.' • Enetromorpha'sp.' • Ulva'lactuca' ! Magnoliophyta! • Oval!Paddlegrass!^!Halophila'ovalis! ! ! Contribution%from%SURG% Members!of!SURG!devoted!126!man^hours!to!the!winter!surveys!of!the!marina.!At!a!rate!of! $30/hr!this!contribution!is!valued!at!$3,780.! ! 9!!.