Gladstone Harbour:
A working port, rich in marine resources
The Port of Gladstone is Queensland’s largest multi-commodity port and the world’s third largest coal exporting terminal. It is a working harbour that supports a significant mining and gas industry.
Land use around Gladstone Harbour includes urban areas, industry, grazing and conservation on areas. Gladstone Harbour is also unique because it is a working port and part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, supporting a range of marine plants and animals as well as an important fishing industry.
The Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership (GHHP)
are proud to release the Gladstone Harbour Report Card 2016.
Following the release of the first Gladstone Harbour Report Card in 2015, GHHP has been working to improve the delivery of the report card by introducing new indicators and measures.
The Gladstone Harbour Report Card 2016 reports on 95 measures across the four components of harbour health, with the addition of the new indicators, fish recruitment (environmental) and cultural heritage (cultural).
A breakdown of each of the grades at a component, indicator and measure level is available on the report card page on this website. The 2016 Technical Report is also available on this page for a comprehensive breakdown of grades, including the methodologies used to compile data.
About the science and the technical reports
The 2016 Technical Report provides comprehensive details and statistics to support the Gladstone Harbour Report Card 2016. The technical report contains detailed results and explanations for grades and scores, as well as how the grading system is applied to determine the results for each component.
The technical report not only explains the drivers and pressures that could influence monitoring and testing, but it also includes the reporting period in which testing was undertaken.
The report contains a full overview (including maps) of all 13 zone environmental grades and scores for each of the measurement levels.
Scores and grades for social, economic and cultural indicators are all included in the technical report, as well as each individual score for the extensive environmental indicators.
Stewardship of the Harbour
Stewardship has been defined by GHHP as ‘responsible planning and management actions’ and is intended for this purpose to capture information on management efforts by industries and port operators to maintain or improve water quality and Gladstone Harbour health.
The information reported through the stewardship framework (and associated report card) will be provided to the public as transparent information about management efforts to maintain a healthy working harbour. It will also help inform future management and investment decisions by showing where leading and innovative practice is already in use and where there may be room for improvement.
Connectivity
Connectivity of water bodies is an important driver of productivity in marine ecosystems that helps to maintain ecosystem function. It contributes to the health of habitats found within Gladstone Harbour (such as seagrass beds, mangroves and coral reefs) by cycling nutrients, facilitating biological and genetic connectivity and diluting and flushing contaminants.
See the overall connectivity score for Gladstone Harbour in 2016
Barry and Jenny,
the second edition
Barry and Jenny are off on another journey around Gladstone Harbour, exploring iconic local sites and presenting the results of the 2016 report card.
Barry and Jenny meet up with their old friend, Dougie Dugong, as well as many other species that are unique to Gladstone Harbour.
The aim of their new expedition to help everyone understand the grades from the 2016 report card and how they were calculated.
GHHP Science Education Resources
The Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership are excited to release the GHHP Education Resource Kit.
The GHHP Education Resource Kit contains activities and assessment pieces that will form part of the school curriculum and will be provided for all year levels from prep to grade 12.
The education resources aim to provide students with an understanding of the testing of the health of Gladstone Harbour at a level that is suitable for each age group.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
The Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership acknowledges the traditional owners of the land and sea in the Port Curtis Coral Coast region, the Gurang, Gooreng Gooreng, Taribelang Bunda and Bailai people, and pays respect to the ancestors, the Elders both past and present, and to the people.
