Shoalwater and Corio Bays Area Ramsar internationally important wetland

Overview

In 1996, the international importance of the Shoalwater and Corio Bays wetlands was recognised with the designation of a Ramsar site over the area. The site is one of the largest and most ecologically rich coastal wetland sites in Queensland. This near pristine area covers over 200,000 hectares and stretches along 330 kilometres of coastline between Rockhampton and Mackay on the central Queensland coast. The wetlands are especially rich in wildlife because tropical and subtropical species overlap on Queensland’s central coast. Many wetland types are found in the Shoalwater and Corio Bays Area:

These include:

• fringing coral reefs
• shallow open water with seagrass beds
• rocky shores, beaches and sandbars
• intertidal mudflats and sandflats
• mangrove forests and melaleuca woodland
• freshwater lagoons, swamps and streams on elevated sandplains.

Further information about the wetland values and management of the site can be found in the documents below:

The Shoalwater and Corio Bays Area Ramsar Information Sheet (2017) (RIS) describes the legal boundary of the site and outlines justification for the listing. The RIS also describes the ecological character, threats, conservation measures and use of the site.

The Shoalwater and Corio Bays Area Ecological Character Description (2010) (ECD) describes the ecological character of the wetland at the time it was listed. The ECD is a fundamental management tool for site managers, forming the basis of management planning and action as well as including guidance on monitoring to detect changes in the ecological character of the site.

The Shoalwater and Corio Bays Area: A wetland of international importance factsheet provides a summary of the importance of the site.

The Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA) facilitates a Ramsar Management Advisory Group (RMAG) to bring together key stakeholders for site management. FBA has also developed a portal to increase awareness of the site’s significance. The portal contains educational information to highlight condition and threats and is seen as a way of providing tools to improve collaborative efforts in site management.Management is currently addressed in various plans and strategies. Much of the site is included within the Shoal Water Bay Training Area (SWBTA). The SWBTA section is managed by the Australian Government in accordance with a national Environmental Management System (EMS) for defence lands. The Ramsar listing for parts of the training area is recognised as a key aspect of site management.

Queensland manages the Corio Bay part of the site through the Byfield National Park Management Plan.

The marine and estuarine waters of the site are jointly managed by the Australian and Queensland Government. Areas below mean low water (MLW) are within the Australian Government’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. These areas are managed by agreement between the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) and QPWS in accordance with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003. The marine and estuarine waters are also within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) which was listed as a World Heritage Area in 1981.

An Inventory of Instream Structures Impacting on Ramsar Wetlands shows the location and impacts of structures on the Ramsar site and has a Response Action Plan that nominates specific actions to protect wetland values in Shoalwater and Corio Bay.

Additional resources can be found at the following links:

• Information for the East Asian-Australasian Flyway for Shoalwater Bay (PDF)
• The official map of this site is found on the RSIS site, and a digital version may viewed on WetlandMaps
• The Australian Government also provides a summary of the Shoalwater and Corio Bays Area Ramsar site on the Australian Wetlands Database
• Poster of Queensland's 5 Ramsar sites or visit the Nationally and internationally important wetlands page

Wetlands International provides a Ramsar Sites: Directory and Overview for preparing reports on specific aspects of the site.

Catchment stories

Wetland extents

Based on wetland mapping version 5.0

There are approximately 226 lacustrine/palustrine wetlands in this region.

Disclaimer

Areas do not include marine or estuarine waters but do include estuarine wetland vegetation
(e.g. mangroves and tidal flats).

All statistics are approximate and generated based on data transformed to a customised Albers equal-area projection, thus allowing wetland extent change for different regions of Queensland to be comparable.

Areas may change over time as mapping approaches improve.

Totals may not match the sum of individually displayed figures due to the rounding of displayed figures.

Wetland extent changes

Disclaimer

Areas do not include marine or estuarine waters but do include estuarine wetland vegetation
(e.g. mangroves and tidal flats).

All statistics are approximate and generated based on data transformed to a customised Albers equal-area projection, thus allowing wetland extent change for different regions of Queensland to be comparable.

Areas may change over time as mapping approaches improve.

Totals may not match the sum of individually displayed figures due to the rounding of displayed figures.

Wildlife