vation lopment and Inno mic Deve nt, Econo Employme nt of rtmeaDep nt of Urban fish habitat management [UFHM] research program Innovations in urban fish habitat management: balancing the needs of the community and fisheries resources © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010. Published 2005 as Urban fish habitat management [UFHM] research program 2005/6 and beyond; revised March 2007, March 2008, March 2009, March 2010. Except as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968, no part of the work may in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any other means be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or be broadcast or transmitted without the prior written permission of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The copyright owner shall not be liable for technical or other errors or omissions contained herein. 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Contents Contents 1 Overview 1 UFHM Research Program objectives 2 Table 1 UFHM Research Program research streams 3 Stream 1 – Fish habitat utilisation 4 Stream 2 – Impacts on fish habitats 4 Stream 3 – Intertidal and subtidal structures as fish habitats 4 Stream 4 – Rehabilitation of fish habitats 5 Seagrass research priorities 5 Benefits of marine fish habitat research 5 Communication of research outcomes 5 References 5 Appendix 1 Examples of projects 7 Stream 1 – Fish habitat utilisation 7 Stream 2 – Impacts on fish habitats 10 Stream 3 – Intertidal and subtidal structures as fish habitats 15 Stream 4 – Rehabilitation of fish habitats 16 Appendix 2 Summaries of completed projects 20 Acid sulfate soil status of selected intertidal habitats within the Caboolture River section of the Deception Bay Fish Habitat Area 20 Are mangrove faunal communities affected by sinking centre dieback in Moreton Bay? 20 Community structure and ecology of mangrove-associated epiphytic algae: A Moreton Bay case study 21 Duplication of Houghton/Hornibrook Highway – saltmarsh rehabilitation 21 Effects of Acid Sulfate Soils Remediation on Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality at East Trinity, North Queensland 22 Fish and other aquatic fauna use of restored fish habitats (Bulimba Creek Oxbow) 23 Halophyte vegetation distribution in a sub-tropical saltmarsh 24 Impervious coverage and land-use characteristics surrounding Lakes Weyba and Coombabah, south east Queensland 24 Louisa Creek mangrove health audit 25 Recent severe dieback of mangroves - Is ‘sinking centre’ dieback contributing to serious loss of fish habitat? 26 The effects of environmental factors on Caulerpa taxifolia growth in Moreton Bay, Australia 26 The impact of existing boat moorings on seagrass communities in Moreton Bay, Australia 27 The role of herbivorous fish in regulating algal and coral dynamics in high latitude coral reef systems 27 The suitability of native mangroves as hosts for the lantana bug Aconophora compressa 28 Trophic exchange in estuarine landscapes: the influence of different habitat mosaics on the diet of fish and prawns 28 Use of commercial product “A-Jacks” as artificial reef in front of mangroves 29 Acronyms 30 UFHM research program - Revised March 2010 Overview Fisheries Queensland, a service of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI), manages the State’s fisheries under the principles of ecologically sustainable developmenti to ensure long-term environmental, economic and social benefits. The protection of fish habitats is one of the key elements of the Queensland Fisheries Strategy 2009-14, including through: protection of marine plants declaration and management of Fish Habitat Areas (FHAs) management of waterway barriers and fish passage restoration of disturbed habitats. The Marine Fish Habitat Unit, Fisheries Queensland, has identified a number of fish habitat management issues relevant to urban areas within coastal Queensland. Research directions have been developed to address and prioritise these issues within the framework of the Urban Fish Habitat Management (UFHM) Research Program. The Research Program identifies potential and completed research projects within the prioritised areas of fish habitat research. Typical projects that have been conducted are listed in Appendix 1 with summaries of several completed projects provided in Appendix 2. Key elements of the Marine Fish Habitat Research Strategic Plan 2000-2002 (Kirkwood 2000) and recommendations from recent reviews, e.g. Cappo et al. (1998), are incorporated to the research streams and priorities of the Program. Within the program the term ‘fish’ is used in its broadest sense, as defined in the Fisheries Act 1994 and includes finfish, crustaceans and molluscs. The UFHM Research Program builds on the following Habitat and Assessment Priorities: characterisation of critical habitats for juvenile stages of key fish species proportion of habitat requiring protection through declared Fish Habitat Areas to maintain stocks fish friendly designs to incorporate into development quantification of the ecological, economic and social values of re-creating and rehabilitating fish habitats. The UFHM Research Program provides a mechanism to link smaller projects to a larger research program. It provides a research framework and direction for individual projects to integrate available funds and project objectives and timing. It also brings an opportunity to link with the Marine Fish Habitat Communication Strategy in promoting research results to key stakeholders and in exchanging information across projects. Ideally, projects may be augmented through co-operation and collaboration with other research funding programs such as Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) and the Smart State PhD funding program, This approach highlights the links with industry, research providers and stakeholder organisations. Projects meeting the objectives of the UFHM Research Program may be eligible for support from Honours scholarships under the DEEDI (Fisheries Queensland) Marine Fish Habitat Scholarships Program, established in 2005 to enhance knowledge of these habitats for fisheries management. Eligible students may apply for scholarships. i Fisheries Act 1994 and its Regulation 2008. UFHM research program - Revised March 2010 1 The objectives and structure of the UFHM Research Program are described in this document, as are links to projects, existing and proposed. The UFHM Research Program is dynamic and is regularly updated in terms of both broad objectives and individual projects. Administration and delivery of the UFHM Research Program are undertaken by Fisheries Queensland such as directing research priorities, negotiating funding, facilitating formal agreements, budgets and acquittals, and promoting the Program and its outcomes. Where appropriate, consultation with key external researchers will occur to ensure successful project selection and outcomes. Projects may be linked to offsets required where fish habitat removal cannot be avoided. Offsets are negotiated through development application assessment and are included as a condition of a development approval issued under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 and Fisheries Act 1994. Monitoring projects are not suitable for offset funding. The UFHM Research Program falls within the government Q2 vision of a strong and green state and contributes to the DEEDI strategic outcome of environmentally and socially responsible development. It promotes ecosystem-based management of fisheries systems. UFHM Research Program objectives The Program’s objectives are to: 1. promote development and improvement of best practice ‘habitat-sensitive’ technologies that will minimise the effects of urban development on fish habitats and support protecting and managing fish habitats 2. improve understanding of the impacts of urban activities on fish habitats and fishery species 3. improve understanding of the relationships between fish species and fish habitats. 4. foster post-graduate fish habitat research project opportunities with Queensland Universities. 5. articulate research priorities for the development of research projects for Honours research by Queensland Universities participating in the DEEDI Marine Fish Habitat Scholarships Program, and specifically for those research projects to: address marine plants (including mangroves, seagrasses, saltmarsh vegetation) and/or declared Fish Habitat Areas (Fisheries Act) enhance knowledge of marine fish habitat functions and contributions to fisheries productivity in Queensland promote the importance of marine fish habitats to Queensland’s fisheries through publicly available documented research provide research information to assist DEEDI and/or other stakeholders to manage and maintain healthy marine fish habitats which sustain fisheries productivity in Queensland. The UFHM Research Program is integrated to address and direct research into impacts on fish habitats throughout Queensland. The focus has been on fish habitat management in urban areas but there is also scope for looking at less urbanised/impacted areas for comparison and in setting a baseline to assess future impacts. The program also invites