2022-05-16 GC Agenda - Item 7 - Attachment 1 - Report from Marine Approval Specialists

The Project is considered to the meet the purpose and overall outcomes of the Waterways works
code, therefore has been assessed as compliant with this code.



4.4 Code for Assessable Development that is Prescribed Tidal Works
The State Coastal Protection and Management Regulation 2017 also applies to prescribed tidal
works in a local government tidal area. The Project therefore requires assessment against Schedule 3
Code for Assessable Development that is prescribed tidal works.

The majority of this code is relevant to the Project, therefore an assessment was completed against
the entire code. The Project demonstrates compliance with the code by:

    •   Proposing habitat restoration works that are compatible with the character and amenity of
        the Noosa River and surrounds
    •   Installing signage and navigation aids consistent with MSQ requirements
    •   Completely avoiding disturbance to intertidal vegetation (mangroves and saltmarshes) and
        minimising impacts to seabed vegetation including seagrass beds and macroalgae
    •   Buffering of mangroves, including pneumatophores by 2m and seagrass beds by 10m
    •   Providing for ongoing public access to the foreshore, including at the proposed load-out site
        at Noosaville
    •   Allowing for the safe passage of vessels at all tides through careful consideration of gaps
        between restored reef habitats
    •   Engineering rock substrates in accordance with applicable standards, assured by an RPEQ
    •   Buffering existing tidal works (e.g., jetties) by at least 30m
    •   Generally improving the stability of the seabed at the restoration sites, and monitoring
        changes to the seabed and banks to ensure potential impacts are detected and managed
    •   Using construction materials which are clearly compatible with the marine environment, and
    •   Minimisation and monitoring of seabed sediment disturbance as a result of the proposed
        works.

The Project is considered to meet the purpose of the Code for Assessable development that is
Prescribed Tidal Works, therefore has been assessed as compliant with this code.

4.5 Applicant response to QX and winter mortality disease risk
The Project applicant, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has provided a response to an inquiry from
Shaun Walsh (Noosa Council). We understand that this was not a formal information request (IR) via
the Development Assessment process but rather a general inquiry relating to QX and winter
mortality disease risk to Sydney Rock Oysters (SROs) in the Noosa River estuary.

4.5.1 Literature review
QX disease causes mass mortalities of SROs and has severely impacted the industry in estuaries of
south-east Queensland and northern NSW since the mid-1970s. The causative agent of QX, Marteilia
sydneyi, was first identified in 1976 although the term QX has been in use since the 1960s when
mortalities were first observed in cultivated oysters in south-east Queensland when the cause was
not yet known.

QX infection in SRO’s is seasonally occurring, usually between January - April, with affected oysters
losing condition and dying through autumn and winter. While seasonal, infection dynamics are
complex, and it is not always observed each year in those estuaries where it is known to occur. M.