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

which largely occurred a decade or so later with the introduction of bag limits
and the increasing popularity of catch and release fishing.


The historical data collated present a picture of a highly productive estuarine
environment. Despite fundamental changes to the mouth of the river and much
greater population pressure today, the Noosa Estuary still supports a popular
recreational fishery and commercial quantities of many of the species it
historically supported. The exception to this is the oyster fishery. It is difficult to
say with certainty how the loss of oyster beds from the Noosa River affected the
wider food chain, but studies from other locations suggest that oysters play an
important role in the provision of food and shelter for fish and other
invertebrates, and contribute to improved water quality (Diggles 2013).




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