Reef Catchments Annual Report 2023 - 2024

2023-2024 Project Updates

The Reef Catchments Sustainable Agriculture team is focused on empowering landholders with the knowledge and skills needed to confidently implement effective management practices on their farms. Through community engagement and strategic planning, the team works to understand the challenges and motivations that influence practice change. This insight has been critical in identifying appropriate funding opportunities and developing projects that are socially, environmentally, and economically beneficial to landholders. In doing so, the team continues to support a resilient agricultural community and promote a sustainable farming future in the Mackay Whitsunday region.

Several long-standing projects, including the Mackay Whitsunday Water Quality Program and the Major Grants Program, were successfully completed last year. Additionally, the team has been actively involved in planning and securing funding for a range of new Sustainable Agriculture projects, many of which are set to be announced and launched during the 2024-2025 period.

Current Projects

• Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator
• Paddock to Reef

Recently Completed Projects

• Mackay Whitsunday Water Quality Program
• Major Grants
• National Drought Resilience Planning
• National Resource Recovery Program

2023-2024 Highlights

Mackay Whitsunday Water Quality Program

The Mackay Whitsunday Water Quality Program (MWWQP) was the largest of five sugarcane regional water quality programs under the Reef Trust Partnership. Since 2020, growers under the MWWQP have been implementing on-farm practice change with the support and agronomic advice of industry delivery providers. In total, eight projects were delivered under the MWWQP with delivery providers supporting growers to adopt new management practices. This collaboration has produced on-farm benefits to productivity and profitability, while directly contributing to important improvements in water quality flowing through to our local creeks and waterways.

The success of the MWWQP is reflected by the strong grower interest in participating, demonstrating their proactive effort towards shared environmental goals and stewardship. The program would like to acknowledge each participating grower, delivery provider and wider industry who have played an important role in the program’s success in creating improved water quality outcomes.

Outcomes

Co-Benefits (additional outcomes)

In their words

Major Grants

The Major Grants Program (MGP) accelerated the adoption of new practices by bringing forward planned upgrades and purchases by a number of years. It achieved this by providing financial incentives for eligible growers, supported by the MWWQP, to invest in equipment and technology aimed at improving water quality and meeting regional load reduction targets. By integrating agronomy support with access to grant funding, the project has accelerated practice changes and reduced financial barriers for growers. The inclusion of BMP growers expanded the program’s reach, allowing an additional 19 growers to participate in the project.

Without the funding from Major Grants, it would have taken us at least another 4 years of saving to purchase this new equipment. - Major Grant Grower

A key highlight of the MGP is its significant economic impact on the region. With over $1.8 million in grants awarded and $3.4 million in grower co-contributions, the project has generated a total regional economic stimulus of over $5.2 million. This investment not only supports water quality improvements but also ensures that the equipment funded will benefit growers for years to come.

We are passionate about being profitable and regenerative. The Major Grants Program helps us with both. - Major Grant Grower

The Mackay Whitsunday Water Quality Program and the Major Grants project are funded by the partnership between the Australian Government's Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator

The Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator program kicked off in January of 2024 and will run through to June 2028. The role provides a designated central contact point for farmers, landholders, industry, and community groups and aims to support climate-smart sustainable agriculture practices in the Mackay Whitsundays with the following objectives:

• Engage and inform
• Facilitate partnerships and connections
• Support the delivery of sustainable agriculture projects

In addition to key SAF functions, the Reef Catchments Sustainable Agriculture team was able to attract additional funding to provide targeted community support through the following projects:

1. Reef Catchments annual Grazing Forum & Field Day through Glencore’s Community Investment Program, concluding December 2024.
2. Continuation of the Breeder Management project, through the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, concluding in June 2025
3. Commencement of the Women in Agriculture (WiA) project, through the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, concluding in December 2025

Sustainable Agriculture Facilitators are supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program.

National Resource Recovery Program (NRRP)

The NRRP fostered the development of three Holistic Farm Management peer-to-peer hubs in the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region, which saw direct on-ground implementation, largely self-financed, with grant funding support.

Understand your own paradigms so you can step outside of them and learn new ones. This rings true for a lot of people that are coming to these workshops, then going home and trying something new on their properties - which could make a positive change.” - Graziers Mark and Sharon Yensh.

Reef Catchments’ Waterways team are highly experienced and dedicated to working with landholders and stakeholders to achieve significant outcomes for our region’s waterways. They foster improvements in riverine and water quality conditions by investing in streambank and gully remediation, collaborating with contractors and engaging with landholders to deliver on-ground practice change improvements.

Streambank remediation activities undertaken by the team can include engineered solutions such as pile fields, rock revetment, rock groynes, root balls and other woody debris structures. Other streambank protection activities undertaken by the team include active revegetation, weed control, riparian fencing, and installation of off-stream watering points. Additionally, the team co-designs engagement activities and practice change initiatives, providing one-on-one education for landholders and financial support for best-practice riparian management.

Current Projects

• Preparing Australian Communities (PAC) – Nature based solutions to build regional resilience
• Streambank Remediation Program – O’Connell Sites
• West Hill Creek Streambank Erosion Remediation and Protection Works
• DRFA Riverine Site Maintenance Program
• Catchments Loads Monitoring Program
• Estuary Pesticide Monitoring Project

Recently Completed Projects

• Reef Trust IV
• Reef Trust VII
• Reef Assist 2.0

Highlights

Reef Assist 2.0

As part of the Queensland Government’s Reef Assist program, the Mackay Whitsunday Streambank Stewardship Program has delivered two streambank and one gully remediation projects under the Reef Assist 2.0 project. All three project sites are located within the O’Connell River basin and have had ongoing maintenance to ensure the long-term success of the sites.

During delivery to the sites approximately 20 local contractors and suppliers were engaged. Prioritising the use of local providers has contributed to the success of these projects with strong buy-in from local contractors and landholders making the projects truly successful.

The Mackay Whitsunday Streambank Stewardship Program is funded through the Queensland Government’s $33.5 million Reef Assist program under the Queensland Reef Water Quality Program and delivered by Reef Catchments Limited

Preparing Australian Communities (PAC)

In June 2023, the regional erosion study, funded by Preparing Australian Communities - Local Stream and conducted with Neilly Group Engineering, significantly advanced strategic planning for remediation in the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac (MWI) Region. Waterways staff have utilised the study to pinpoint erosion sites and develop a pipeline for the Landscape Repair Program and other funding opportunities. The study has demonstrated the true benefit of regional wide analysis and strategic planning when addressing landscape remediation and regional water quality improvements. The project aimed to fence 150 km across the region, but the team is on track to exceed this target, completing over 168 km in collaboration with local landholders.

The PAC project’s education package has delivered events and publications that have enhanced local landholder and stakeholder knowledge of riparian zones' role in mitigating the impacts of extreme events.

West Hill Creek Streambank Erosion Remediation and Protection Works

As part of the Queensland Government’s Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) Riverine Recovery Program, the West Hill Creek recovery project is delivering important streambank erosion remediation and protection works. The project’s key goals are to rehabilitate and restore riverine, wetland, and riparian environments at sites impacted by significant rainfall and flooding events of the 2021-2022 severe weather season.

The project has completed the successful implementation of the following activities:

The West Hill Creek recovery project is funded by the jointly funded Commonwealth and State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

Landscape Repair Program

In December 2023, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust announced the $200 million Landscape Repair Program, aimed at improving water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef by addressing erosion in priority catchments. The program will focus on gully and streambank erosion control and grazing land management to reduce sediment impacts.

Reef Catchments, as part of the Federal Government’s Panel of Regional Delivery Partners, has played a key role in the strategic planning and co-design of the project for the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Region. The project’s success is expected to be announced soon.

To meet the program’s demands, the Waterways team is expanding. Two Graduate Project Officers have been recruited and are training under senior colleagues, while positions for a Principal Project Officer and an additional Project Officer are being filled. The team is gearing up for a busy year of planning, upskilling, and large-scale streambank remediation efforts.

Our Biodiversity team undertakes diverse projects aimed at protecting and preserving the rich natural environment of the Mackay Whitsunday Region.

Their key focus areas include wetland conservation, safeguarding priority species (both flora and fauna), and fostering community collaboration to manage invasive species and enhance habitat health in the face of a changing climate.

Current Projects

• Beyond Barriers: Mackay and Isaac Coastal Wetland Rehabilitation
• Koala Habitat Restoration in Sarina Central QLD Coastal Area
• Mackay Regional Pest Management Group (MRPMG)
• Mackay Whitsunday Streambank Stewardship Program & Koinmerburra Healthy Country Plan
• Prioritising the Priority Species of the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac (Red Goshawk and Eastern Curlew)
• Reducing carbon footprints through minimising school waste across the MWI
• Regional Wetlands Working Group
• Treatment Wetlands Sandringham Water Quality
• Tropical North Qld Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub
• Turning Rubble into Reef in the Mackay Whitsundays

Recently Completed Projects

• Biodiversity and Agricultural Natural Capital Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan in the Mackay Whitsundays (Isaac) Region
• Carmila Cat’s Claw Creeper Control
• Joint Collaboration to Monitor Water Quality in the Mackay Whitsunday Region
• Mackay community cleaning up marine debris to improve turtle nesting habitat
• Protecting and Improving the Health of Mackay Whitsunday Wetlands

Highlights

Protecting and Improving the Health of Mackay Whitsunday Wetlands

The Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region features a range of ecologically significant wetlands. These systems represent a key economic resource as they provide water for irrigation, commercial and recreation fishing, and eco-tourism activities, but they are at risk from weeds, feral animals, and untreated nutrient runoff from neighbouring farms.

Reef Catchments worked to mitigate these threats through:

1. constructing a new treatment train to treat nutrient runoff into wetlands
2. treating a hymenachne (aquatic weed) choke and supporting Whitsunday Regional Council and Sarina Landcare Catchment Management Association to undertake feral pig control
3. bringing together 15 Traditional Owners to learn more about what influences water movement through their country through three Walking the Landscape workshops

This project is supported by Reef Catchments through funding from the Australian Government’s Saving Koalas Fund.

Koala Habitat Restoration in Sarina Central QLD Coastal Area

The Sarina Koala Habitat Restoration project is on the way to achieving targets of improving and expanding Sarina koala habitat through the delivery of 2.5/27 ha for revegetation (planting) and 31/150 ha of weed management.

Two booklets have been created to help the community improve koala habitat: Koala-ty Habitat lists preferred local trees, while Weedy Threats identifies harmful weeds and offers treatment tips.

Excitingly, several koalas have already been spotted on the properties involved in the project. Sightings help raise awareness of Central QLD koalas by being recorded through the BioCollect app.

This project is supported by Reef Catchments through funding from the Australian Government’s Saving Koalas Fund.

Turning Rubble into Reef in the Mackay Whitsundays

With the goal of giving Reef resilience a boost, 30 Habitat Reef modules were recently installed in Mackay’s coastal waters, converting bare areas into complex fish habitats. Locally manufactured, the modules provide shelter with refuge holes and a base cave for marine species. Their roughened surface is designed to encourage the growth of sessile organisms, such as corals—organisms that permanently attach to a surface and do not move. The progress of these modules will be closely monitored over time, with confidence they will contribute to restoring habitats damaged by cyclone events.

This project is funded by the Australian Government’s Fisheries Habitat Restoration Program and delivered through the Regional Land Partnerships model.

Koinmerburra Healthy Country Plan

Koinmerburra have developed and are in the process of finalising the first Healthy Country Plan for their land and sea country. Developing this plan and having the funding to bring it to fruition has brought family members back on-country and allowed them to work collaboratively to discuss and address threats impacting traditional land. The plan also allows the Traditional Owners to establish a direction of where they want to be in five years time. Development of the plan has been led by Reef Catchments’ Project Officer Jamay Deshong and facilitated by RAIN (Regional Advisory and Innovation Network) Pty Ltd.

This opportunity to bring my family back on Country to collectively discuss and decide how we would like to take care of our resources and address threats in the next five years was really important. It was needed to help us get a better understanding of where we want to be in five years time, how we are going to get there, and who we need to partner with to achieve these goals. - Jamay Deshong, Project Officer

The Koinmerburra Healthy Country Plan is funded through the Queensland Government’s $33.5 million Reef Assist program under the Queensland Reef Water Quality Program. It has also received funding support from the Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership, through their partner BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA).

The Healthy Country Plan is proudly being developed by the Koinmerburra Aboriginal Corporation, with facilitation by Reef Catchments.

Community clean up of marine debris on Mackay islands

Reef Catchments mobilised a team of volunteers to preserve turtle nesting habitat on Mackay Island beaches through three marine debris clean-up events. Marine debris, including litter and rubbish, poses a serious threat to turtles through ingestion, entanglement, or creating obstacles for nesting and hatchlings. Over three trips to Wigton, Scawfell, and Carlisle Islands, 130 kg of debris (777 items) were removed, and details were recorded in the Australian Marine Database Initiative. Most debris consisted of broken plastic, with unusual items like a toilet seat and a TV remote. These efforts were supported by funding from North Queensland Bulk Ports Corportation Ltd and Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal Pty Ltd.

I’m always amazed at how committed and invested the community in Mackay are to protecting our environment by giving up their free time to collect marine debris from our local islands. It’s such a feel-good project seeing how local businesses and the community come together to improve turtle nesting beaches in our region” - Rachel Taylor, Project Officer organising the trips.

Jane’s Creek Treatment Train / Chain of Ponds

The Janes Creek Chain of Ponds Stage 2 project represents a pivotal enhancement in our ongoing mission to improve water quality and ecosystem connectivity. This 220m restoration transforms existing degraded cane drain into interconnected wetlands, functioning as a treatment train to capture and process fine sediments, nutrients, and some pesticides. By improving connectivity at the start of the Janes Creek catchment, this project enhances the water quality flowing into the Gooseponds wetlands in the heart of Mackay, providing essential ecosystem services, including native fish habitat and connectivity.

This project is funded by Queensland Government’s Natural Resources Recovery Program

During 2024, the Reef Team expanded to include Senior Project Officer Morgan Thomas, who transitioned from the Reef Catchments Biodiversity team. The team’s expansion reflects the importance of their work and provides more opportunities to introduce new projects focused on key marine ecosystems such as seagrass, coral, and shellfish reefs.

Whitsunday Reef Islands Initiative

The Whitsunday Reef Islands Initiative is a Great Barrier Reef Foundation (GBRF) program, supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation.

Within the Initiative, each project has its own lead, with Reef Catchments serving as the Program Manager for all. Key achievements for each of the four projects are outlined below:

Seagrass Restoration at Pioneer Bay, led by CQUniversity

• The pilot seagrass nursery and the on-ground restoration trials yielded excellent results. The seagrass nursery has been upscaled to 3x the size, significantly increasing our ability locally to produce Zostera muelleri seeds for seagrass restoration projects.
• CQU shared the results of the re-seeding trials at various national and international conferences. The ‘seed-ball method’, wherein seagrass seeds are pushed into the surface of small clay balls and placed onto the meadow, has been selected as the most promising method for future use.
• Additional funding has been secured for Reef Catchments to increase the scope of its role in this work, for example, transitioning the delivery of local events to our team.

Coral Nurture Program Whitsundays, led by University of Technology Sydney and tourism operator partners

• To date, more than 7,500 corals have been planted at Black Island, Blue Pearl Bay and Luncheon Island.
• This year new, deeper ‘refuge’ coral nurseries were added to each site. Their purpose is to be utilised in times of thermal stress as a place to relocate the highest value nursery stock to cooler, deeper waters

Boats 4 Corals, led by Australian Institute of Marine Science

• 338 million coral spawn were collected during the 2023 coral spawning event, with 260 million fertilised larvae released 5 days later at Maureen’s Cove.
• At the end of this year, for the first time, specially designed settlement devices will be utilised. Coral larvae will settle onto these devices, which have design characteristics to reduce predation by fish and competition from algae. This significant change in methodology also means that fate-tracking new corals will be much easier.

Whitsunday Healthy Heart, led by Whitsunday Regional Council

The Whitsundays Healthy Heart project will reach completion at the end of 2024. The Reef Team has been working closely with Whitsunday Regional Council on setting key milestones for this final year, as well as putting together a proposal for Phase 2 of the Healthy Heart project. A key part of Phase 2 is developing a local carbon offset project, as Healthy Heart partners strongly prefer a local solution for offsetting their carbon footprint. As a result, a local options assessment has been implemented to inform a future local carbon offsets project.

Challenges

The Great Barrier Reef faced a major challenge this year, experiencing its 5th mass bleaching event in the last eight years. Bleaching occurred in the northern hemisphere from June to August 2023 and in the southern hemisphere from December 2023 to April 2024. Collectively, these widespread bleaching incidents are considered a Global Mass Bleaching event, highlighting the extensive impact on coral reefs worldwide.

For the team, this bleaching event instigated a series of conversations and adaptive management decisions about how to refine and future-proof the work we deliver. This has resulted in a range of new work kicking off, such as the installation of refuge nurseries. It is likely that many juvenile corals released during last year’s Boats 4 Corals fieldwork experienced mortality. Stress from heat events can also affect future spawning, as corals may use their reserves to heal instead of producing eggs and sperm.

The strain is felt not only by the ecosystems but also by the people. Mass bleaching events are disheartening, and their impact is evident on staff and stakeholders.

The Whitsundays were fortunate this year. In-water observations suggest that many of the bleached corals have recovered, and mortality is low. The Reef is still a thriving ecosystem supporting a plethora of marine life. However, climate change remains the most urgent threat to the Great Barrier Reef. Many of the Reef-resilience-building activities undertaken by the Reef Team and others aim to buy as much time as possible for the Reef, but we must reduce our greenhouse gas emissions quickly to protect this precious ecosystem in the long-term.

The Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership is a leading network of organisations from all sectors, including industry, agriculture, research and science, ports, community, conservation, tourism, traditional owners, government, and more. The Partnership recognises that when it comes to waterway health, more can be done together than alone. The Partnership also recognise the high value of local waterways, economically, socially and environmentally. In FY24, through joint investment, the Partnership:

• Addressed critical data gaps
• Engaged community in the context of waterway health
• Enhanced collective understanding of our local waterways and their condition
• Facilitated collaboration to improve and monitor local waterways

In 2024 the Partnership celebrated 10 Years of working together on waterway health!

Connecting Queensland

We are proud to be one of five Regional Report Card Partnerships (RRCPs) working across Queensland to provide an annual snapshot of ecosystem health and local waterway health.

RRCPs are one of a number of activities under the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan and part of a wider framework that also includes the wider Reef Water Quality Report Card, focused on tracking towards Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan targets.

The Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership has thirty four members across industry, community, government, science and tourism who recognise that more can be achieved by working together.

Valuing our Partnerships

Over two decades ago, the first Strategic Natural Resource Management Plan and Mackay Whitsunday Regional Water Quality Improvement Plan were developed for our region. This was the first comprehensive assessment of the regional landscape, providing a detailed prioritisation of actions needed to enhance or rehabilitate the area.

The development of these early plans was done in consultation with other community stakeholders, including existing regional catchment and Landcare groups, amongst others. These plans formed the foundation and set the standard for all the planning and work that was to come after.

Over the years, Reef Catchments has remained committed to fostering meaningful relationships, strengthening our existing partnerships, and actively pursuing new collaborations. We have continued to engage with partners at various levels to understand their priorities, ideas, and perspectives. Additionally, we’ve expanded our collaboration with First Nations people through initiatives like Walking the Landscape, fostering deeper connections and discussions.