Reef Catchments Annual Report 2022 - 2023

Note from the Chair

Julie Boyd

Reef Catchments released its Strategic Plan 2023-26 which will guide the organisation going forward. This plan builds on the last one, but we are also looking to new investment into the sector so that we can value add to the work that we do with our stakeholders. Being reliant on Governments has served the organisation well, but we need to bring in innovation and look to opportunities in the Environmental, Social and Governance space - and this doesn’t fit neatly into Government priorities.

The past year has been exceptionally busy. A number of major projects concluded and as always, the teams have done remarkable work and completed the projects and reporting on time. We have been fortunate that RCL has not been impacted by Covid 19 and that our engagement with all stakeholders has been maintained and strengthened.

The Federal Government has now been in place for more than a year and there had been an expectation that funding through the Natural Heritage Trust would continue, with projects commencing in the early part of the 23/24 financial year. However, although the rhetoric from the Government has been positive to the NRM sector, the reality is quite different. We continue to advocate strongly for the sector and are hopeful that contracts can be negotiated, and new or continuing projects commence.

I’d like to thank the Board for their ongoing support and commitment, and to Katrina and the team - you continue to make the Board very proud of the work that you do.

Sustainable Agriculture

The Sustainable Agriculture team is a dedicated team passionate about prioritising the responsible use of natural resources to ensure the long-term viability of food production. We collaborate closely with farmers and landholders to instigate transformative actions and practices on their properties.

Our goal is to boost on-farm productivity and profitability while promoting sustainability.

These efforts span various industries and encompass a range of practices, including holistic farm management, best practices in grazing and cane farming, as well as water quality monitoring and reporting through the Paddock to Reef program.

Current Projects

Click on the headings to explore our projects in greater depth.

• Mackay Whitsunday Water Quality Program
• National Drought Resilience Planning
• National Resource Recovery Program
• Paddock to Reef Program

Recently Completed Projects

• Reef Trust VII
• Major Grants Program
• Regional Agricultural Landcare Facilitator (RALF)
• Holistic Farming Program

Waterways

Waterways comprises a small team within Reef Catchments, dedicated to working with landholders to achieve big outcomes within the waterways space. Our moto is:

We get things done, they're done to a high standard, and we work closely with our local landholders to ensure that our goals and their goals align.

For a number of years our streambank remediation works have been carried out within the O’Connell Basin. This area has been identified as a moderate to high priority for reducing fine sediment from reaching the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. The team has dedicated many hours to writing grant applications and supporting landholders in other catchment areas to try and secure funding for streambank remediation works across the entire NRM region. It’s our hope that the region wide streambank stability assessment completed under the Preparing Australian Communities (PAC) project will help us to achieve this goal. In the meantime, the team continues to look for ways to further support our local graziers and growers, and bring further investment to the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region.

Waterways Projects

• Reef Trust IV
• Reef Trust VII – O’Connell & Proserpine Basins water quality project
• Preparing Australian Communities (PAC) – Nature based solutions to build regional resilience
• Reef Assist 2.0 – Streambank Stewardship Program
• Estuary Pesticide Monitoring
• Catchment Loads Monitoring Program

2022/2023 was a big year for the Waterways team with the final 12 months of the Reef Trust VII – O’Connell and Proserpine water quality project to be completed, the commencement of the PAC project and the Reef Assist 2.0 streambank stewardship project.

The team has done a brilliant job in ensuring that all deliverables of the Reef Trust VII were over-achieved and delivered on time.

Year in review

The PAC project achieved great traction over the last 12 months. The regional erosion identification, prioritisation and remediation study carried out in partnership with Neilly Group Engineering has been an enormous body of work and provided many learning and adaptive management opportunities. The study was completed by June 30th 2023, with final results to be presented to stakeholders by late 2023. The study identified over 500 potential erosion sites, opportunities to save over 34,000 t/y of fine sediment from reaching the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, evidence to show that there are opportunities for streambank remediation work and sediment savings in all four basins across the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region.

Work on the Reef Assist 2.0 project also commenced in January 2023. The Waterways team have been busy planning and implementing the remediation of a major gully site and two streambank sites within the O’Connell River catchment. The works completed this year include the installation of engineered designs for the gully site and commencement of construction works at one of the streambank sites. Completion of construction works at both streambank sites and revegetation of all sites will be carried out in the second half of 2023. The gully site required 2,500 tonnes of rock to remediate, and all three sites are estimated to save a combined total of 2,586 t/y of fine sediment from reaching the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

Conservation and Communities

The Conservation and Communities team is one of the largest teams within Reef Catchments with eight staff (including Coordinator). We strive to partner with a range of community groups, Traditional Owners, students, landholders, Mackay, Whitsunday and Isaac Regional Councils and local residents that are keen to protect and preserve the unique flora and fauna of the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region.

We have a broad scope of works and are generously supported by a range of funding agencies including the Australian Government through the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Queensland Government through the Department of Environment and Science and the Department of Resources, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation as well as generous in-kind support provided by a range of local partners.

Current projects

• Turning rubble into reef in the Mackay Whitsundays
• Koala Habitat Restoration in Sarina Central QLD Coastal Area
• Tropical North Qld Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub - Extension
• Mackay Regional Pest Management Group (MRPMG)
• Conservation Action Plan (CAP) Leader
• Regional Wetlands Working Group
• Protecting and Improving the Health of Mackay Whitsunday Wetlands ( Walking the Landscape Workshops, Treatment of invasive species, Cane Treatment Train)
• Carmila Cat’s Claw Creeper Control
• Koinmerburra Healthy Country Plan
• Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Traditional Owner Reference Group (MWI TORG)

Recently completed projects

• Prioritisation of eastern curlew habitat in the Mackay region

• Management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (Islands) within the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region (Seagrass monitoring, Marine Debris removal and audits, Marine Turtle Monitoring on Mackay and Whitsunday islands, Weed Management of Mackay Islands (Goldsmith Island), Youth Ambassador program)

• High priority coastal and island restoration for the protection of significant ecological communities and species (Fishways- (including fish barrier prioritisation report, Sandringham Lagoon Complex, Threatened Ecological Communities (TECs), Marine Turtles Habitat, Bushy Island African Big-Headed Ants)

"The fish ladder project was a great learning experience. I learnt about Cultural Heritage from the elders; and about the construction, function and purpose of the fish ladder from Trent and the Reef Catchments staff." Leighton Bickey, Koinmerburra Aboriginal Corporation

Highlights

Flaggy Rock Fishway

Flaggy Rock Creek, located south of Carmila, has a total of 161 recorded waterway barriers, in a catchment area of 190km2. The Flaggy Rock Creek fishway was ranked as a number two high-priority barrier in the region . The rock and concrete channel at the bottom of the fishway washed away in the 2010/2011 floods, which caused the bed to scour below the outlet and the tailwater level (waters immediately downstream of fishway) to drop, thus creating a physical fish barrier.

This project sought to repair the fishway by filling the scour erosion up to the natural bed and bank-level, which reinstates the tailwater level, as well as reinstate the rock/ concrete channel at the fishway entrance, protecting against future scour erosion.

Read more on the case study below.

Marine Debris Clean Up

Reef Catchments conducted three marine debris removal trips from the islands off the coast of Mackay across May and June 2023. The aim of theses trips were to remove marine debris from turtle nesting beaches, to assist with turtle conservation.

Over the three trips, we were assisted by 70 volunteers who managed to remove approximately 100 kg of marine debris from St Bees and Scawfell Islands. The top five items collected were: hard plastic remnants, lids/bottle caps, aluminium cans, broken glass and plastic drink bottles.

Youth Ambassadors 2023

This video was created by Reef Catchment's Youth Ambassador 2023 cohort. The students from Proserpine State High School wanted to focus on marine turtle conservation and created this video to raise awareness about turtles in our region, and the threats they are facing. The students obtained their footage from a day trip with Ocean Rafting to Eco Barge/Whitsunday Turtle Rescue Centre. The students really enjoyed their time in the program and meeting such dedicated people from both organisations.

This year has been a big year in the Whitsundays Reef Islands Initiative. The Coral Nurture Program sites were all set up in August-September 2022, with three nurseries built and stocked at Blue Pearl Bay, Black Island and Luncheon Bay. Kiana Sail & Dive, Red Cat Adventures and Ocean Rafting are looking after the three sites (respectively).

Reseeding trials at the Pioneer Bay seagrass meadow have begun, with three different methods of seed dispersal being tested by CQUniversity. Two Traditional Owners have began traineeships with the University, learning how to propagate seagrass in our ex-situ seagrass nursery at Coral Sea Marina.

The coral spawning in November 2022 was the best we’ve had to date in the Boats 4 Corals program, with a coral slick providing good collection conditions. Approximately 52 million coral eggs were collected by tourism operators and after days of fertilisation and growth, the larvae were released at Black Island.

In the Whitsunday Healthy Heart project, Whitsunday Regional Council have secured more than 40 partners from the tourism industry, the majority of which have finished benchmarking their ecological footprint and are actively working on pathways to decarbonise and reduce their ecological impact.

Image: Luncheon Bay, Johnny Gaskell

Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership

The Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership is a strong network of diverse organisations who collaborate to improve and inform on water quality. This year, thanks to Partner investment, we have been able to actively address regional data gaps, implement action and engage with a wide-reaching range of stakeholders and community. With thirty four organisations on board, the Partnership released the 9th waterway health report card for the Mackay-Whitsunday and Isaac area, reporting on waterway health data collected between July 2021 to July 2022. We are proud to work with the Traditional Owners of our Partnership region.

2022 Report Card

The 2022 Report Card revealed a range of waterway health scores from B to D across the region’s 17 environmental grades in ten zones. Results highlighted where more information is needed, where achievements can be celebrated, and where more work and investment is needed.

Stewardship

Our Partners go above and beyond when it comes to waterway health and the actions they are taking. This year the 2021-22 Above and Beyond Stewardship Report was publicly released, sharing important narrative and information on the projects our Partners are undertaking to improve waterway health.

Ongoing funding for Southern Inshore Marine Monitoring

Thanks to industry Partner, Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal Pty Ltd (DBCT P/L), and Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure (DBI), we can now report comprehensively on data for the Southern Inshore Zone.

Previously a missing piece of our region’s waterway health puzzle, we now have data for water quality, coral and seagrass across multiple years, providing capacity to inform future management action.

Excitingly, DBCT P/L and DBI have committed to fund the program for an additional three years from FY24-26, showing what can be achieved as part of a Partnership-led initiative.

Valuing our partnerships

We remain committed to developing authentic relationships, valuing our current partnerships, and building new ones. To maintain and value our current relationships we’ve:

• developed Memorandum’s of Understanding with valued partners
• ensured we continue to meet at a range of levels with partners to hear their priorities, ideas and opinions
• broadened our collaboration and discussions with First Nations people through opportunities such as Walking the Landscape.

This approach helps us to hear your views, acknowledge your position and develop shared priorities for improving the condition of the natural resources across this region.

Reef Catchments is one of twelve natural resource management organisations in Queensland who connect and share as part of NRM Regions QLD.