Seagrass in the Wuthathi Sea Country: state of current knowledge, September 2019 (QLD, Australia)

Seagrass meadows in the Wuthathi Sea Country play a vital role in supporting coastal marine communities and in maintaining diverse flora and fauna. It has been estimated from mapping surveys over the last three and a half decades that there is as much as 76.9 km² of seagrass in the Wuthathi sea country waters shallower than 15 m and at least an additional 33.6 km² of meadows in waters deeper than 15 m. Eight seagrass species are reported to occur within Wuthathi sea country, mostly in the sheltered areas of bays and on reef flats. Monitoring of seagrass condition was established in Shelburne Bay in 2012 as part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authorities’ Marine Monitoring Program and Seagrass-Watch. Monitoring sites are dominated by Halodule uninervis and Halophila ovalis, with some Thalassia hemprichii. Macro-algae abundance is generally low at the sites and epiphyte abundance has remained very low since 2014. No long-term (2012-2018) trend in seagrass abundance is apparent and seagrass condition has remained stable in a Fair state over the last four years.