Declared Fish Habitat Area summary - Balban Dara Guya (Leekes Creek) Fish Habitat Area

Chocolate Rocks, Leekes Beach

Chocolate Rocks, Leekes Beach

Location

Leekes Creek is on Great Keppel Island, 50km north

east from Rockhampton and 22km south east from

Yeppoon.

Plan number                                                 

FHA-076 (PDF, 171.6KB)

Size

876ha
875ha management A
1ha management B

Management level

A and B.

Declaration date

30 September 2016 (original declaration).

Local government

Livingstone Shire Council.

Management features

Management B areas are in place to provide for future limited infrastructure for the Keppel Island Traditional Owners, the Woppaburra.

The management A area is to protect the essential and interconnecting habitats of Leekes Creek, Half Tide Rocks, Passage Rocks and Big Peninsular.

Habitat values

Diverse array of essential fish habitats; rocky structure; intertidal flats; coral; mangrove communities and saltmarsh. Leekes Creek is likely to be an important spawning area in summer and an important migratory pathway for fish using offshore reefs.

Fisheries values

Conservation of commercial, recreational and Indigenous fishing grounds; barramundi; bream; estuary cod; flathead; garfish; mangrove jack; sea mullet; golden trevally; moses perch; spotted javelinfish; whiting; penaeid prawns; mud and blue swimmer crabs.

Other values

Protects important cultural heritage sites within its boundaries.

Further references

Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing 2014, Fisheries resources of Leekes Creek, Great Keppel Island: Central Queensland (PDF, 2.6MB) .

frc environmental 2015, Leekes Creek estuary and adjacent inshore waters: Habitat assessment (PDF, 662.6KB) , report prepared for Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing.

frc environmental 2015, Leekes Creek estuary: Seasonal fish surveys and seagrass assessment (PDF, 4.8MB) , report prepared for Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing