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Recovery of fish and crustacean communities during remediation of tidal wetlands affected by leachate from acid sulfate soils in north-eastern Australia

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Abstract

In the 1970s, acid sulfate soils (ASS) distributed within about 720 ha of predominantly mangrove and salt pan wetlands at East Trinity in north Queensland were developed after the area was isolated from tidal flooding by a surrounding seawall and the installation of tidal gates on major drainage creeks. Following drainage and oxidation of these estuarine acidic sediments, resultant acid leachate caused considerable, ongoing environmental problems including regular fish kills. A rehabilitation program covering much of these former tidal wetlands commenced in 2000 using a lime-assisted tidal exchange management regime. Changes in the established populations of estuarine fish and crustaceans were monitored in the two creeks (Firewood and Hills Creeks) where tidal flows were reinstated. In Firewood Creek between 2001 and 2005, there was a progressive increase in fish species richness, diversity and abundance. The penaeid prawn Fenneropenaeus merguiensis was a major component of the cast net catches in the lower sections of both Firewood and Hills Creeks but its relative abundance decreased upstream of the tidal gates on the seawall. Well established stocks of predominantly juvenile, male Scylla serrata resident upstream of the tidal gates indicated suitable habitats with acceptable water and sediment quality and adequate availability of food. The regular fish kills that occurred prior to the management regime abated and, overall, the implementation of the rehabilitation program is yielding positive benefits for the local fisheries.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the technical assistance given by Messrs Steve Bailey, Paul Leeson, Greg Hopgood and Mal Pearce. We also wish to thank Dr John Beumer and his team in the Marine Habitat Group of Fisheries Queensland for their support and for comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. Drs Fredereike Kroon and Angus McElnea also provided advice on ways to improve the manuscript. The Queensland Acid Sulfate Soils Investigation Team, particularly Messrs Col Ahern, Bernie Powell and Doug Smith and Ms Michelle Martens, were instrumental in developing and implementing the rehabilitation strategy for East Trinity and provided much encouragement and support for this project. We would also like to thank the referees of an earlier version of this paper who provided very detailed and helpful comments. This research was partially funded from a grant from the Commonwealth Acid Sulfate Soils Program and from Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation development offset funding. © The State of Queensland through the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation [2010].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northern Fisheries Centre, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, PO Box 5396, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia

    D. J. Russell & K. M. Preston

  2. Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, PO Box 1085, Townsville, QLD, 4810, Australia

    R. J. Mayer

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  1. D. J. Russell
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  2. K. M. Preston
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  3. R. J. Mayer
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Correspondence to D. J. Russell.

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Russell, D.J., Preston, K.M. & Mayer, R.J. Recovery of fish and crustacean communities during remediation of tidal wetlands affected by leachate from acid sulfate soils in north-eastern Australia. Wetlands Ecol Manage 19, 89–108 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-010-9203-1

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