Tour showcases sustainable farming and fishing practices

A Catchment to Coast tour on Friday 9th May, gave local farmers and fishermen the chance to showcase their efforts to ensure we have healthy rivers, wetlands, estuaries and seafood resources for the future.

Participants on the tour were from a broad cross section of the community including farmers, fishermen, natural resource managers, local government and state government agencies, Landcare and community groups.

The tour was part of the Tide to Table Project managed by OceanWatch Australia in Bundaberg, funded by the Australian Government through the Burnett Mary Regional Group. Significant support was provided by the Queensland Wetlands Programme funded by both the State and Federal Governments.

Participants toured the Splitter’s Ck catchment by bus learning about its significance for sustaining fish populations due to the connectivity between its freshwater and estuarine habitats and the ocean. A number of road crossings have been identified as barriers to fish migration under certain conditions and a pilot project site on the Heales road crossing demonstrated retrofitting technology to assist fish movement through culverts in medium flows where velocities through these are greater than fish swim speeds.

At Hinkler Park Plantation, participants heard from representatives of the Macadamia, Fruit and Vegetable, Sugar Cane and Beef industries who explained what their growers were doing to reduce their water consumption, pesticide use and create buffer zones around rivers and wetlands to keep these healthy.
Adrian van Boven, Hinkler Park manager, explained that their efforts to reduce their inputs were initially economically motivated but their experiences have shown that sustaining the health of natural systems makes good economic sense. The installation of owl boxes along the creek is part of an integrated pest management strategy to control rats in the macadamia plantation and reduce the use of pesticides.

DPI&F demonstrated their research electrofishing boat on the Big Lagoon where they caught bream, mullet and a number of Lungfish among other species. The lungfish were a real highlight for many people, having heard about them but not seen one up close.

A delicious seafood lunch was provided on the Bundy Belle, travelling down the Burnett River to the Port. Representatives from the seafood industry explained some of the measures they are implementing locally to address their own sustainability issues, including the development of an Environmental Management System and demonstrated a number of different by catch reduction devices used by different sectors in the industry.

Part of the aim of this tour was to establish that link between catchment use of waterways and water resources and the downstream impacts which are environmental, economic and social. As the end users of the water resources from the catchment, the seafood industry has had little input into how that resource is managed upstream. While the establishment of barrages and dams have allowed land based primary industries to boom in the Burnett River catchment, the impact of these on fisheries productivity have been serious due to habitat and flow alterations.

This is not about placing blame with particular industries or groups but highlighting how beneficial it is when all individuals do their bit as well as working in partnerships to maximize the benefits.

Two comments from participants sum up the highlights from the day:

“Stand out: the assertion from both farmers & fishers that environmental responsibility is also good economics”

“It was all new to me and it is good to see how everything relates to each other”