Amended Noosa Project Restoration Plan V12_5

                                                                                       Simon Walker, ESP




Figure 3.9: Bare sand adjacent to Goat Island. Source: Simon Walker, ESP

Matters of State environmental significance (MSES) – Goat Island

The Goat Island site is within the following MSES:

    •   High Ecological Value Waters (wetland)
    •   Declared FHA (A and B areas)
    •   Protected Area (estates)

High Ecological Value Waters (wetland)

The oyster ecosystem restoration works are designed to enhance the values of the wetland by restoring
a complex ecosystem to what is currently a degraded aquatic environment.

Marine plants are not within the footprint of this project and will not be impacted.

A small stand of mangroves is shoreward of the proposed restoration footprint. Mangrove areal roots
extend into the intertidal zone adjacent to the proposed restoration footprint. Mangrove roots are
excluded from the restoration footprint at a minimum distance of 2m. Seagrass is found outside of the
restoration footprint and is excluded from the footprint at a minimum distance of 10m from the
footprint.

The proposed oyster reef patches are designed and certified by engineers. The oyster reef patches are
spaced (1-4m apart) so as not to not impede fish passage, cause significant erosion or impact negatively
on natural hydrological processes of the waterway. The oyster reef patches are set away from the
shoreline and will not interfere with overland flow and runoff as a result of floods.

Water quality will be maintained at the restoration sites during the construction phase in accordance
with the sediment management protocol outlined in the Restoration Plan (Section 6.4: Sediment
Management). The restored oyster ecosystems will enhance water quality by filtering estuarine water,
removing algae and particulate matter from the water column and converting nutrients, such as




                                                                                                           31