Fisheries Resources of Leekes Creek, Great Keppel Island Central Queensland 2014 Prepared by: Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing © State of Queensland, 2015. The Queensland Government supports and encourages the dissemination and exchange of its information. The copyright in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY) licence. Under this licence you are free, without having to seek our permission, to use this publication in accordance with the licence terms. You must keep intact the copyright notice and attribute the State of Queensland as the source of the publication. For more information on this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en Disclaimer This document has been prepared with all due diligence and care, based on the best available information at the time of publication. The department holds no responsibility for any errors or omissions within this document. Any decisions made by other parties based on this document are solely the responsibility of those parties. Information contained in this document is from a number of sources and, as such, does not necessarily represent government or departmental policy. If you need to access this document in a language other than English, please call the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450 and ask them to telephone Library Services on +61 7 3170 5470. This publication can be made available in an alternative format (e.g. large print or audiotape) on request for people with vision impairment; phone +61 7 3170 5470 or email <[email protected]>. Citation Fisheries Resources of Leekes Creek, Great Keppel Island: Central Queensland 2014. Brisbane: Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing, Queensland Government. July 2014 Fisheries Resources of Leekes Creek, Great Keppel Island Central Queensland 2014 Contents List of Acronyms and Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... 3 Executive summary ................................................................................................................................................... 4 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Fisheries management, fish habitats and fisheries ...................................................................................... 6 1.2 Regional fish habitat focus ............................................................................................................................ 7 1.3 Purpose of report .......................................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2 Defining the Leekes Creek study area .................................................................................................. 8 2.1 Leekes Creek study area description ........................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Local authority boundaries ............................................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 3 Faunal communities in the Leekes Creek study area ......................................................................... 10 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 10 3.2 Data sources ............................................................................................................................................... 10 3.3 Results ........................................................................................................................................................ 10 3.4 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................... 11 3.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 4 Fisheries of the Leekes Creek study area and surrounds .................................................................. 12 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 12 4.2 Fishery data sources .................................................................................................................................. 12 4.3 Commercial fishing ..................................................................................................................................... 13 4.4 Indigenous fishing ....................................................................................................................................... 16 4.5 Recreational fishing .................................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 5 Habitat diversity .................................................................................................................................. 19 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 19 5.2 Habitats of Leekes Creek study area.......................................................................................................... 19 5.3 Unique habitat features ............................................................................................................................... 25 5.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................ 25 Chapter 6 Riparian zone ...................................................................................................................................... 26 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 26 6.2 Riparian zones within Leekes Creek study area ........................................................................................ 26 6.3 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 27 Chapter 7 Climate, catchment flows and impoundment structures ..................................................................... 28 Chapter 8 Water quality ....................................................................................................................................... 30 8.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 30 8.2 Water quality ............................................................................................................................................... 30 8.3 Sediment quality ......................................................................................................................................... 31 8.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................ 31 Chapter 9 Land use within and adjacent to Leekes Creek study area ................................................................ 32 9.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 32 9.2 Recreation and tourism ............................................................................................................................... 33 9.3 Great Keppel Island Resort ........................................................................................................................ 33 9.4 Other land uses ........................................................................................................................................... 35 9.5 Artificial structures....................................................................................................................................... 35 9.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 36 Chapter 10 State and regional planning and management ............................................................................... 37 10.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 37 10.3 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 41 Chapter 11 Suitability of Leekes Creek study area for FHA declaration ........................................................... 42 11.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................