Seagrasses in Port Curtis and Rodds Bay 2025: Annual long-term monitoring survey

Seagrass monitoring in Port Curtis and Rodds Bay commenced in 2002 and has been conducted annually since 2004. Fourteen monitoring meadows are assessed annually, and the condition of the meadows evaluated are based on variations in three key seagrass metrics - biomass, area and species composition. The current program has been developed to meet Gladstone Port Corporation’s (GPC’S) obligations pertaining to the Long-Term Maintenance Dredging Management Plan and includes annual mapping and monitoring of 14 coastal seagrass monitoring meadows and five-yearly mapping of all coastal and deep-water seagrass in Port Curtis and Rodds Bay. In 2025, assessments were conducted on the annual monitoring meadows (Figure 1). Seagrass condition in 2025 was good overall for the third year in a row. There were improvements in seagrass meadow biomass and area for many meadows and zones in 2025. Twelve of the 14 monitoring meadows were rated as being in good or very good condition in 2025 (Figures 2, 3 and Section 3 for more details). The Western Basin (Meadow 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 52.57) and meadows north up to The Narrows (Meadow 21), all had seagrass in good or very good condition. Seagrass meadows to the south in Rodds Bay (Meadow 94, 96, 104) were also in a good to very good condition. Seagrasses in the Inner and Mid Harbour were in a satisfactory condition with declines in biomass at Pelican Banks (Meadow 43) and the Inner Harbour meadow (Meadow 58). Rainfall and river flow from the Calliope River in 2025 were mostly below average which likely resulted in increases in benthic light allowing favourable growing conditions for seagrass to improve in biomass and build resilience.

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