ENVIRONMENTAL
RESULTS
AREA: 3.62 km2
ABOUT THE ZONE
The Boyne River is dammed at Lake Awoonga to provide potable water for the Gladstone area. Large numbers of barramundi are stocked in Lake Awoonga and may be introduced into the Boyne Estuary when the dam overtops. The Boyne Estuary was the site of large-scale mortality of many of these introduced barramundi and other fish in 2011. The lower reach of the Boyne River flows from the dam through predominately agricultural land that has pockets of remnant vegetation. Before entering the south-eastern section of the Mid Harbour Zone the Boyne River flows through the residential communities of Boyne Island and Tannum Sands.
This zone has one water and sediment monitoring site, two fish monitoring sites and one mangrove monitoring sub-zone.
WATER & SEDIMENT
WATER
SEDIMENT
Boyne Estuary received an overall water quality score of 0.86 (A). This score was based on the scores for physicochemical (0.92), nutrients (0.67) and dissolved metals (1.00).
Sediment quality of Boyne Estuary was very good with an overall score of 0.99 (A).
MEASURES RESULTS
WATER
SEDIMENT
pH = acidity TN = Total nitrogen TP = Total phosphorus Chl-a = Chlorophyll-a Al = Aluminum Cu = Copper Pb = Lead Mn = Magnesium Ni = Nickel Zn = Zinc
As = Arsenic Cd = Cadmium Cu = Copper Hg = Mercury Pb = Lead Ni = Nickel Zn = Zinc
Very good (0.85-1.00)
Poor (0.25-0.49)
Good (0.65-0.84)
Satisfactory (0.5-0.64)
Very Poor (0.00-0.24)
No data available
Boyne Estuary received a very good score of 1.00 for pH indicating that the average pH was well within the guideline value range. This zone received a good score for turbidity (0.83) indicating that average turbidity was below the guideline value.
All six dissolved metals received very good scores (1.00) indicating that average concentrations were well below the water quality guideline values.
Boyne Estuary received a good overall score for nutrients (0.67). Total phosphorus had a very good score (1.00) while chlorophyll-a had a satisfactory score (0.56), indicating that average concentrations for these measures were below the guideline values for this zone. In contrast, total nitrogen had a poor score (0.46) as the average concentration was above the guideline value.
HABITATS
MANGROVE RESULTS
Very good (0.85-1.00)
Good (0.65-0.84)
Satisfactory (0.5-0.64)
Poor (0.25-0.49)
Very Poor (0.00-0.24)
No data available
The overall condition of mangroves in Boyne Estuary was 0.26 (D), indicating a poor condition. While mangrove extent (0.39) was poor both canopy condition (0.19) and shoreline condition (0.19) were very po
or.
The score for Boyne Estuary fell from 0.41 in 2018 to 0.26 in 2019. This was largely a result of changes in canopy condition where the score declined from 0.49 in 2018 to 0.19. This may reflect the impacts off decreased rainfall over the reporting year.
FISH & CRABS
FISH HEALTH RESULTS
HARBOUR SCORE
OVERALL VISUAL FISH CONDITION: HARBOUR SCORE
VISUAL FISH CONDITION: HARBOUR SCORE
FISH HEALTH ASSESSMENT INDEX: HARBOUR SCORE
Very good (0.85-1.00)
Good (0.65-0.84)
Satisfactory (0.5-0.64)
Poor (0.25-0.49)
Very Poor (0.00-0.24)
No data available
Fish Health (Overall)
The overall score calculated for fish health in 2022 was 0.80 (B), which is an average of the scores for Fish Condition 0.72 (B) and the Health Assessment Index 0.90 (A).
Visual Fish Condition:
The overall score for Fish Condition (0.72) is an average of 0.97 (A) for Fish Visual Condition (FVC) and 0.47 (D) for Fish Body Condition (FBC).
The high scores for FVC are a result of a low incidence of poor visual health. All fish species assessed for this metric received very good scores ranging from 0.90 (A) to 0.98 (A). This result was similar to the HAI scores for external measures where a very low number of external health issues were recorded.
The poor score for FBC in 2022 was a result of poor scores for yellow-finned bream (0.43), pikey bream (0.46) dusky flathead (0.43), and barred javelin (0.44). Almost all species assessed had a mean body condition below the long-term average (2003 – 2021). However, the remaining species assessed, mangrove jack, had a satisfactory score of 0.50.
Fish Health Assessment Index (HAI):
The overall HAI score for Gladstone Harbour was 0.90 (A), as data from the 2021 Gladstone Harbour Report Card was reused.
This was comprised of scores from five fish species, barramundi 0.98 (A), barred javelin 0.90 (A) and blue catfish 0.81 (B), bream 0.98 (A) and mullet 0.81 (B).
In general, the surveyed fish species showed very few signs of external health issues, a similar result to the Fish Visual Condition sub-indicator. Scores for internal organs were also low indicating good to very good fish health.
FISH RECRUITMENT RESULTS
Fish recruitment was assessed for two species: yellow-finned bream Acanthopagrus australis and pikey bream Acanthopagrus pacificus. The overall score for 2022 was 0.57 (C) similar to the 2020 score of 0.62. The final scores were measured against a 2012 to 2021 baseline. The 2022 score for fish recruitment indicates a season with higher recruitment rate (increased catch rate) relative to the mean reference level determined over the baseline period. The total number of bream caught in the 2022 reporting year was 764, 316 yellow-finned bream and 448 pikey bream.