‘Turn the bottom over’: How restoration is improving the health of turtles and dugongs in the Far North

Critical habitats for Far North turtles and dugongs are still recovering following catastrophic damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Yasi more than a decade ago, a new study has revealed.

A lack of seagrass meadows following Tropical Cyclone Yasi in some Wet Tropics waterways has been an ongoing concern for some conservationists. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Critical habitats for Far North turtles and dugongs are still recovering following catastrophic damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Yasi more than a decade ago, a new study has revealed.

Wet Tropics Waterways graded seagrass meadows in the Moresby Estuary, near Innisfail, and South Inshore towards Cardwell as “very poor” and “poor” in their annual report card released this week.

The Great Barrier Reef is home to one of the world’s most important dugong populations.

But restoration work undertaken by James Cook University and volunteers aims to reverse the trend, bringing marine life back to the region, WTW chair Phil Laycock said.

FILE PHOTO: A green turtle feeding on sea grass at Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, located 270 kilometres (167 miles) north of the city of Cairns. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

“Due to significant weather events, including Yasi, somewhere like Mourilyan Harbour, we lost pretty much the sea base,” Mr Laycock said.

“Over 8000 seagrass fragments have been planted there and we’ve seen some really positive outcomes from that.

“We’ve also seen great recovery of seagrasses in the Cairns area, on the Esplanade and Trinity Inlet over the last eight years which is very good.”

An aerial view of flooding along the Barron River in Cairns, taken on the morning of Tuesday, December 19th, 2023. Picture: Facebook / Cockatours

While the impact of Tropical Cyclone Jasper will likely be seen in next year’s report, Mr Laycock said it paled in comparison to the impact of the category five cyclone – which crossed the coast at Mission Beach in early 2011 – had on the region.

“The difference between this most recent weather event and Cyclone Yasi is that we didn’t get the wave action as well,” he said.

“We didn’t turn the bottom over, so to speak.

“So, while we might see some reduction in the density of seagrass beds in somewhere like Cairns and Trinity Inlet due to the heavy cloud cover and freshwater flow, we shouldn’t have lost the seed base like we did with Yasi.”

The establishment of fishways, which facilitate marine life’s natural migration in areas where artificial or natural barriers may exist, had improved the health of several waterways, Mr Laycock said.

“In the last 12 months fishways in the Herbert catchment area have opened up to 100km of waterways to fish migration, so that the fish can more effectively complete their life cycle,” he said.

“Over half of the fish that we find in the Wet Tropics need to be able to move between saltwater and freshwater environments to complete their life cycle.”

The Herbert River flowing into the Hinchinbrook Channel with Hinchinbrook Island in the background. Photographs taken by Christiane Birkett aboard a gyrocopter piloted by husband Dan Birkett. Picture: Christiane Birkett

Environment Minister Leanne Linard said the data would be used as a “benchmark” to improve water quality across the region.

“It is fantastic to see that most waterways in this region are in good condition,” Ms Linard said.

Wet Tropics Waterways partnership is supported by the state and federal government, local councils, industry, community and other partners including the host of the partnership, Terrain NRM.

Originally published as ‘Turn the bottom over’: How restoration is improving the health of turtles and dugongs in the Far North