Friday, 7 August, 2020
Making a difference.
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Celebrating 100 years of camaraderie
Meet the bloke who decked Brando
They’re right at home among the horses
32-page liftout Property Guide
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PR OP ER TY
Chill out with surf code By Phil Jarratt It was more than a bit chilly when three Noosa teenaged surfers starred in Surf Code - Feel the Stoke, filming for which concluded at First Point this week. The “infotainment“ video series is being made for the Noosa World Surfing Reserve by Tewantin’s Panga Productions to teach beginner surfers safety and courtesy in the waves. Because it’s summer all year round in Noosa, director Shaun Cairns insisted that Ben Lorentson, playing the villain, leave his wetsuit on the beach. Tough call on a cold day, but that’s show biz. Full story in Life of Brine, page 46.
Surf code crew Coco, Ben and Kaimana shivering on Main Beach. Picture: PANGA
Drowning in mud Too much sediment is killing the small marine life in the Noosa River that feed the fish and prawns, a groundbreaking study of the Noosa River ecosystem has revealed.University of Queensland Professor Greg Skilleter joined project stakeholders beside Noosa River on Tuesday to release his report on a study which repeated an investigation in the Noosa River he had conducted 20 years before, enabling a direct comparison. The professor led a research team that studied the benthic layer to measure the “little critters“ that live in the mud and provide the major food source for fish and
prawns and included a study of the activities conducted on land along the catchment. The study found a 30-65 per cent decline in the organisms compared to findings in 1998. Dr Skilleter said some species were on the fringe of being locally extinct and bivalves that used to be there in their hundreds per square metre were “gone completely“. “We could barely find a prawn in the system,“ he said. He said the team couldn’t find enough prawns to study their abundance while 100 years ago prawns were being pulled from the river by the ton. “For any effective management we need to
have data to tell us about changes and to fix any problem detected,“ he said. Dr Skilleter said the significant decline was “a serious concern“ indicating something has to be done if the river was to be maintained. “There are solutions,“ he said. “This is reversible. It will take commitment and funding. It’s not simple.“ Dr Skilleter said from a water quality perspective the river had no heavy pollutants. Sediment was a physical thing that could be moved. Reducing the amount of sediment entering the river system from erosion along the
catchment and opening up the river mouth to enable it to flush out will help prevent it from being trapped, he said. Bringing back oysters will help filter the water and reestablishing mangroves and seagrass would help contain the sediment, he said. The study was the third component of the Bring Back the Fish research program, a joint initiative of the Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation (NBRF), Noosa Parks Association and The Thomas Foundation, aimed at understanding how to improve biodiversity in the Noosa River. Continued page 6
Every Sunday 6am to Midday It’s a way of life.
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By Margaret Maccoll