2017-04-11 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                      11 APRIL 2017


The first FHAs were declared in Moreton Bay in 1969 in response to increasing development
impacts on fish habitats and their dependent fisheries in south-east Queensland. There are now
70 declared FHAs in coastal Queensland, protecting over 1.15 million hectares of critical fish
habitats.
FHAs impose two management levels (A and B) with A being the strictest, to protect all fish habitats
such as sand bars, mud banks, rocky outcrops, mangroves, saltmarsh and seagrass etc. and allow
for legal commercial, recreational and indigenous fishing.
The FHA network in Queensland comprises 82% management A and 18% management B areas.
In the Noosa River system, the FHA network includes 5,974 hectares of management A (98.4%)
and 100 hectares of management B (1.6%).
A total of 6,074 hectares of critical fish habitat encompasses parts of the lower and upper Noosa
River estuary, Weyba Creek, Lake Weyba, Doonella Lake and Lakes Cooroibah, Cootharaba,
Como and tributaries (refer Attachment 2).
The proposed jetty infrastructure at Elanda Point is located in the Noosa River management A
FHA.
3.     DEVELOPMENT IN DECLARED FHa
A challenge outlined by the Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing in the Declared Fish
Habitat Area Strategy 2015-20 is to maintain the integrity of the declared FHA network and
individual declared FHAs, in particular with increased population growth, associated development
pressure and response to natural disasters.
Any FHA boundary amendment proposals to facilitate development are subject to careful
assessment, must be adequately justified and must not affect the integrity of the declared FHA,
the network or the ability to provide comprehensive, adequate and representative protection of fish
habitats in Queensland.
The main differences between FHA level A and FHA level B are set out in the section below.
In management A critical fish habitat areas development is limited to activities like:
   constructing public fishing infrastructure;
    ensuring public health and safety;
    maintenance of existing structures;
    constructing temporary structures;
    installing underground public infrastructure;
    managing fisheries resources or fish habitats (e.g. installing a boardwalk for access);
    research and education; and
    environmental restoration.
In management B areas the following may also be allowed:
    construction of some private structures (e.g. pontoons, boat ramps, revetments, buoy
      moorings); and
    beach replenishment.
Protecting and maintaining Noosa’s extent of management A declared FHA is a matter of State
environmental significance in the State Planning Policy and other State planning instruments. It is
also a desired environment outcome articulated within the Noosa Plan and the Noosa River Plan
(2004).
4.     PROPOSED SUBMISSION
It is recommended that Council make a submission to the Eco Camp proposal based on the draft
submission outlined in Attachment 3.



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