2015-11-10 - P&O Agenda - Item 7, Attach 1 - Historical Ecology of the Noosa Estuary Fisheries

From this period onwards two opposed camps emerged, one wishing to uphold
the popularity of the Noosa River as an angler’s paradise, and the other keen to
exploit the available commercial opportunities.




Figure 11. Hauling mullet at North Shore ca. 1958. Source: Courtesy of Heritage
Library, Sunshine Coast Council.



Megafauna

Large fish have occasionally been sighted and landed within the Noosa River
system. Sharks are still a common feature of the river and lakes, although it is
likely that species such as large gropers were much more abundant in the past
compared to today (Monks 2000).


While catches of large fish were not reported regularly enough to provide us
with an indication of abundance or relative change, archival reports do provide
insights into which species did occur within the river system. One of the earliest
reports found dated from 1872, and concerned the catch of a large groper:


“Newsa River is said to be alive with fish. On Tuesday last some men hooked a
gigantic rock cod (which seems to be identical with the Sydney groper, judging


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