Annex 12 - Code 12 - Declared fish habitat area

  Performance outcomes                                   Acceptable outcomes   Response
                                                                               by a range of marine organisms which build
                                                                               ecosystem complexity.

                                                                               In 2016, Ecological Service Professionals (ESP)
                                                                               quantified the historic spatial extent of oyster beds in
                                                                               the Noosa River and concluded that it was likely to
                                                                               have been in the range of 41,530m2 to 207,650 m2,
                                                                               of which approximately 16,850m2 of old oyster beds
                                                                               and oyster rubble remain buried by sediment in the
                                                                               historical oyster lease areas.

                                                                               The works proposed is for the restoration of 3,600m2
                                                                               of oyster ecosystems in phase 1 of the project. That
                                                                               equates to between 1.7 and 9 percent of the original
                                                                               area.

                                                                               The design of the substrates, and their configuration
                                                                               on each restoration site, as the basis for ecological
                                                                               restoration, also provides structured 3-dimensional
                                                                               habitat that is known to support diverse fish
                                                                               assemblages.

                                                                               The restoration substrates are designed to fit within
                                                                               the existing mosaic of available fish habitats and
                                                                               improve connectivity between existing fringing marine
                                                                               plant and reef habitats. In short, the works help
                                                                               restore the mix of substrates and habitats that once
                                                                               occurred in the estuary, a diversity which has largely
                                                                               been forgotten against a background of estuary
State Development Assessment Provisions – version 2.6
State code 12: Development in a fish declared habitat area                                                     Page 5 of 39