Declared Fish Habitat Area summary - Elliott River
Location
Lower parts of the Elliott River, 14 km south of Bundaberg.
Plan number
FHA-052 (Revision 1)
Size
774 ha
Management level
A
Declaration dates
19 December 2003 (original declaration)
29 March 2024 (effective from 21 May 2024) (redeclared -revised to enlarge the exclusion areas over the water pipeline that extends from Riverview to Elliott Heads, expand the existing exclusion for the aquaculture facility at Melcer Road, exclude the area within 30 meters of the public boat ramps /boating infrastructure near Peagam and Hall Streets at Riverview and exclude some areas of non-tidal land.)
Local government
Bundaberg Regional Council
Management features
Management of important nursery grounds for local and regional fisheries; protection of a range of near pristine fisheries habitats in one of the few unimpounded systems of southern Queensland.
Habitat values
Mangrove forests (dominated by Avicennia, Rhizophora and Ceriops); seasonal seagrasses (Halophila and Zostera); intertidal sand and mud banks; rock bars.
Fisheries values
Recreational, commercial and Indigenous fishing; flathead; whiting; bream; barramundi; estuary cod; sweetlip; mullet; king, tiger and banana prawns; mud and sand crabs.
Unique features
One of the few coastal systems in southern Queensland not regulated by weirs, dams or other impoundment structures, providing unimpeded connectivity between estuarine and freshwater habitats.
Other values
None presently identified.
Further references
McKinnon, S, Lupton, C & Beumer, J 2002, Declaration of Elliott River Fish Habitat Area, Final Report for Project MPA 31420