History
Seagrass to make a return off Mission Beach
The Beginning
Mission Beach Sea Bed Watch Inc. formed in 2003 to monitor the regrowth of seagrass in the Rockingham Bay area between Tam O’Shanter Point, Timana Island, Dunk Island and Clump Point, an area which was frequently trawled by prawn trawlers until the prawn trawl closure a few years earlier.
The group’s then President Tony Lee is a long-term member of the Local Marine Advisory Committee (LMAC) to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the group which se-cured the trawl closure.
The cause
The then Environment Minister was persuaded that the constant activities of prawn trawlers led to the degradation of the seabed to the extent that the area was virtually a marine desert.
Controlled study areas, where trawlers had never been, showed there were mature seagrass beds sustaining dugongs and turtles. By contrast the area trawled was nothing more than sand and rubble after having been frequented by up to 15 trawlers during the peak of the prawning season each year.
the Impact
Residents report that the area had large sea-grass meadows right up to the beaches, and was frequently visited by dugongs and turtles during the 1950s and 1960s.
Although we still get the occasional turtle nesting along Mission Beach, they are now fragmented and isolated events.
The Solution
Such trawling activities are restricted to the outer shore areas and deeper water off Mission, Wongaling and South Mission Beaches to give the seagrass beds the best chance of recovery.
Sea Bed Watch was established to see if seagrass would re-establish itself in the area after the trawling had ceased.
The group conducts dives at specific sites in the area to look for, identify and estimate the coverage of seagrass species.
Progress
Although some recovery was reported in 2005, with new seagrass starting to make a re-appearance off Wongaling and South Mission.
Beaches, cyclones Larry and Yasi effectively set the recovery back by dumping large volumes of silt onto the juvenile seagrass.
Even the mature beds at the control sites were virtually obliterated.
The control areas at Dunk Island are showing seagrass, but not yet to the extent of coverage that there was pre-cyclone.
The Future!
With the reinvigoration of Seabed Watch, spearheaded by Dr Adele Spire of Great Barrier Reef Safaris, the mission to gain back our wonderful seabed is underway.
We are looking for donations and volunteers to contact us and contribute to our local cause.
In addition to your contribution, you can also get involved and on the water to help with the recovery of our seabeds!