Moreton Bay Marine Park Monitoring Program

Coverage

The map below highlights drainage basins where sampling has occurred for this program.

Click on map if further drainage basin information is needed.

 

Logan-Albert

Maroochy

Moreton Bay Islands

Pine

South Coast

Program start date

May 2008

Program end date

June 2011

Objectives of the program

To monitor the effects of zoning on key components of Moreton Bay ecosystems and human uses of Moreton Bay. This includes:

• specific projects on crab numbers, fish numbers and human activity around zoning areas
• shorebird monitoring on ocean exposed sandy beaches in the Moreton Bay Marine Park
• socio-economic monitoring of re-zoning Moreton Bay Marine Park
• effects of marine reserves on community structure and ecological processes
• assessing the value of spatial closures to exploited crustacean communities in southern Queensland.

Who is involved?

Lead organisation

Department of Environment and Resource Management

Contact details of lead organisation: water.data♲derm.qld.gov.au

Partner organisations

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Griffith University, University of the Sunshine Coast, University of Queensland and the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation

List of indicators monitored

• Assessing whether green zones have greater abundance of commercially and recreationally important adult fish and invertebrates than before proclamation and non-protected areas
• Assessing whether Moreton Bay has a greater abundance of commercially and recreationally important adult fish and invertebrates as a result of spill-over from the green zones compared with before proclamation
• Assessing whether there is less fishing pressure in green zones than there was prior to the changes to zones
• Determining other external drivers of fish diversity, size and abundance in Moreton Bay, including catchment processes and management. This is essential for data to be interpreted in the long term.
• Determining the effects of the no take zones on commercial and recreational fish catches and the subsequent effects on the secondary businesses which rely on trade from these professions
• Comparing the condition of key habitat types that have been influenced by activities affected by the new zonings
• Identifying and prioritising key species of concern that should be monitored and reported on. This includes iconic species of interest to various stakeholders, which are also likely to be indicative of changes to the marine park. Examples include dugongs, turtles, shorebirds, sharks and rays, syngnathids and some reef fish species.
• Determining the distribution, abundance and condition of vulnerable species, vulnerable habitat and vulnerable life-stages of species within the bay to enable comparison of the effectiveness of the Marine Park to be assessed
• Determining whether the implementation of 'go-slow' zones has resulted in greater abundance and better condition of turtles and dugongs
• Determining whether the 'no-anchoring' zones have led to an improvement in the condition of reef habitats
• Determining whether closures which affect the aquarium fishery have led to increased numbers of target species in green zones, and whether the displacement of effort has affected fish numbers in sites where aquarium fish collection is permitted

Scale of program

Regional scale

Brief description of sampling locations

Moreton Bay Marine Park: Zones MNP01 – MNP33

Frequency of monitoring

The frequency of monitoring varies with specific projects within the program.

Where is the program reported?

Moreton Bay Park Marine Park Monitoring Program