Declared Fish Habitat Area summary - Baffle Creek
Baffle Creek declared Fish Habitat Area
Location
Baffle Creek and tributaries, 58km north-west of Bundaberg.
Plan number
FHA-031 (Revision 1)
Size
2,308.7 ha
2,308 ha management A
0.7 ha management B
Management level
A and B
Declaration dates
21 September 2001 (original declaration)
29 March 2024 (effective from 21 May 2024) (redeclared and revised to change the area adjacent to the Flat Rock picnic area to Management B, exclude some areas of non-tidal land, expand the existing exclusion for the aquaculture facility at Rosedale, adjust the boundary around the Baffle Creek Conservation Park at Boaga to align with General Use zone boundary of the Great Sandy Marine Park and exclude the area within 30 meters of the public boat ramps at Rocky Point Road, Winfield, near Long Island and at Flat Rock Road.
Local government
Gladstone Regional Council
Management features
Protection of highly connected, near pristine estuarine and riverine fish habitats that support recreational and commercial fisheries; region experiencing increasing urbanisation.
Habitat values
Mangrove forests with at least nine species; small patches of seagrass (Halophila species); intertidal sand, gravel and mud banks; rock bars.
Fisheries values
Recreational and commercial fisheries; barramundi; king salmon flathead; bream; mangrove jack; whiting; mullet; estuary cod; mud crabs and various prawn species.
Unique features
One of the few river systems in the region unimpeded by weirs or dams, providing uninterrupted connectivity between estuarine and freshwater habitats; recognised as being one of the few near pristine estuaries in Southern Queensland.
Other values
None presently identified.