Seagrasses in Port Curtis and Rodds Bay 2018: Annual long-term monitoring

[Extract] Seagrass monitoring in Port Curtis and Rodds Bay commenced in 2002, and has been conducted annually since 2004. Fourteen monitoring meadows are assessed and their condition reported annually based on variations in three key seagrass metrics - biomass, area and species composition. Monitoring meadows represent the range of different seagrass community types in the Gladstone region. In addition all seagrass has been assessed across intertidal and shallow subtidal waters in the Port Curtis monitoring area between 2009 and 2018, while Rodds Bay assessments are limited to the three monitoring meadows. Seagrass condition in 2018 was satisfactory among the 14 monitoring meadows, an improvement following several years of poor condition. The total area of seagrass mapped in the Port Curtis monitoring area continued to increase above the long-term average for the second year. Ten monitoring meadows were in very good to satisfactory condition, and only four remained in poor or very poor condition. South Trees, Inner, and Mid Harbour monitoring meadow condition remained the same. Western Basin and The Narrows meadows either improved or remained unchanged, with several meadows improving more than one grade. Condition of Rodds Bay meadows improved substantially in 2018 following a decade of poor to very poor condition