TROUBLED WATERS: Fish market owner Ted Whittingham says he will not be compensated for losing most of his business. Picture: Murray Ware Source: The Courier-Mail

Queensland Fisheries and Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority staff will meet with fishers next month to determine compensation payments.

Fishermen and associated industries had sought $22 million in compensation but the port had offered $3.9 million.

Queensland Seafood Industry Association president Michael Gardner said the Gladstone Ports Corporation and the State Government had limited compensation payments to fishers who worked only in the immediate dredging area.

The payments did not consider development impacts from the 35km dredge plume, pile driving, increased boat traffic, loss of access to other areas due to barge and boat traffic, bund walls and reclamation areas.

Dr Gardner said: "Trawlers can't even work near where the barges run to the spoil grounds because of the muck they drop.

"If impacts are restricted to only those immediate areas of dredging, how come in September the Government closed the entire 500sq km harbour to fishing after the fish disease outbreak and health impacts on fishers?

"The scope of development impacts is a major sticking point."

Fishers and conservationists have blamed the port's huge dredging program for a major diseased fish outbreak last year.

The port - and the Government - say the outbreak was more related to wet season issues.

Gladstone Fish Market owner Ted Whittingham said he had lost 70 per cent of his business and would not be compensated because his outfit was not within the dredging area.

But Gladstone Ports Corporation chief executive Leo Zussino said the compo package was not related to fish disease issues.

Mr Zussino said a further $1.5 million would be used to restore the Gladstone seafood brand.

He could not say how big the package would be until the fishers documented the extent of fishing in the dredge area.

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AN independent panel appointed to oversee State Government scientists investigating Gladstone fish diseases is expected to find no clear link to dredging.
IRATE commercial fishermen and shop owners are suing the Queensland Government for more than $20 million in business losses, but Premier Anna Bligh says compensation is already in the pipeline.
Dr Gardner said: "Trawlers can't even work near where the barges run to the spoil grounds because of the muck they drop.
"If impacts are restricted to only those immediate areas of dredging, how come in September the Government closed the entire 500sq km harbour to fishing after the fish disease outbreak and health impacts on fishers?
"The scope of development impacts is a major sticking point."
Fishers and conservationists have blamed the port's huge dredging program for a major diseased fish outbreak last year.
The port - and the Government - say the outbreak was more related to wet season issues.
Gladstone Fish Market owner Ted Whittingham said he had lost 70 per cent of his business and would not be compensated because his outfit was not within the dredging area.
But Gladstone Ports Corporation chief executive Leo Zussino said the compo package was not related to fish disease issues.
Mr Zussino said a further $1.5 million would be used to restore the Gladstone seafood brand.
He could not say how big the package would be until the fishers documented the extent of fishing in the dredge area.

Aquatic disease specialist Dr Matt Landos has highlighted a toxic mix of "multiple stressors" in Gladstone Harbour and has called for immediate controls to minimize the re-suspension and spread of dredging sediments.
In his third and final report on the health of marine life in and around the harbour, Dr Landos has noted adverse effects on a wide variety of fish and other species including turtles, mudcrabs, sharks, stingrays, scallops and even corals, with a detailed historical time frame dating back to the start of major dredging activity.
A director of Future Fisheries Veterinary Service (FFVS) which conducted  the wide-ranging survey and multiple tests, Dr Landos has discounted the theory maintained by Gladstone Ports Corporation and various government departments that the disease  is linked to flooding which occurred almost two years ago.
He says that re-suspension was currently spreading sediments over "tens of kilometres" around the dredging and disposal operations in and outside the harbour.
"Some of these sediments contain high loads of metals, metalloids and nutrients. These sediments and associated contaminants are likely to be harming reproduction of a range of local species including seagrass. ..
"FFVS observed the absence of silt curtains around the dredging and disposal activities. Plumes of sediment were observed extending from the operating dredges which were clearly contributing to the increased harbour turbidity.
"Silt curtains have the capacity to minimise the size of the resuspension plume and thereby minimise the impact/distribution of the resuspended sediments. "
"Best practice dredging utilises silt curtains to reduce impacts.  They have not been used in the Gladstone dredging project…"
Dr Landos states ongoing harm is being reported by local media outlets (including the Queensland Telegraph), and commercial fishermen.
"To minimise further harm to the aquatic animal inhabitants and productivity of Gladstone Harbour, controls should be immediately put in place to minimise resuspension and re-distribution of sediment".
He is also critical of the timing and extent of metals testing, particularly around the time when sick marine life was first reported.
" DERM/GPC monitoring for metals was infrequent. Hence numerous time points were not sampled. As such, peak values around the times when aquatic animals were reported to be sick, may not have been documented.
"The DERM monitoring did not use the appropriate metal analysis method for dissolved metals, until after aquatic animals were already being reported to be sick. As soon as monitoring commenced, elevations over ANZECC guidelines in several dissolved metals were reported," Dr Landos states.
His report states the contrary view that a freshwater influx led to the observed impacts on aquatic animal health was "scientifically unsupportable".
"The reality is that Queensland coastal estuaries have for centuries received large freshwater influxes. The types of diseases observed recently in Gladstone have not been a feature of previous freshwater influxes.
"The timing of onset of disease is consistent with the ramp-up of Australia's largest ever dredging project for Harbour development from May 2011 (dredging 25 million cubic metres of sediment, and ocean spoil disposal of 5 million cubic metres of sediment)".
Besides the major  Western Basin Dredging and Disposal Project (WBDDP) Dr Landos points to dredging associated with the Curtis Island LNG developments starting as far back as September/ October 2010.
He states the  distribution of disease in Gladstone Harbour was consistent with the distribution of resuspended sediments from dredging and disposal based on interpretation of satellite images., referring  to the recent study by JCU scientists (Petus and Devlin, 2012) which showed  dredge plumes extending up to 35 km from the dredging site.
There was a "synchronous outbreak of disease" in a wide range of aquatic species  -fish, sharks, rays, crabs, shellfish, turtles, dolphins and dugong – as well as humans, from May 2011 onwards, the report says.
"The extent and intensity of disease did not, and is not, occurring at the reference sites of Future Fisheries Veterinary Service (FFVS), nor those of Fisheries Queensland…
Gladstone aquatic animals and water were compared to samples of similar species at  the reference site, Stanage Bay, 250km north of Gladstone. This was selected because it had significant freshwater influx at the same time as Gladstone, but there are no harbour development activities there.
The study concluded that the increased rates of disease and lesions observed in Gladstone fish, in comparison with the reference site, were "highly likely" to be due to exposure to environmental conditions in Gladstone Harbour including toxicants (mainly metals and metalloids), elevated suspended sediment loads and increased noise based stressors which are primarily the result of the Western Basin  project (WBDDP).
Parasitic infestations observed were likely to be a secondary sequel to the stress and immunosuppression of the host from exposure to poor water quality, rather than causal.
"… It is the opinion of FFVS that the resuspension of sediments, in particular potential acid sulphate soils (PASS), which was present in large areas of dredged sediments in Gladstone Harbour, has facilitated the release of large loads of metals and metalloid compounds into more bioavailable dissolved forms.
"The measured elevations of metals in late 2011 (including zinc, copper and aluminium) by DERM, compared to historical levels,  provide evidence of these elevations taking place after the commencement of dredging.
According to the report, toxic algal blooms such as lyngbya were also facilitated by the dredging operations, creating conditions ideal for them to bloom .
"FFVS concludes that in some areas of the harbour, very substantial concentrations of metals and  metalloids were available to be resuspended and depending on a range of other conditions, leading to mobilisation in association with dredge plumes…

The criteria for the listing of exotic and non-exotic diseases includes that they have the potential for significant economic impact if introduced to the Union. The decision was taken as the impact of the disease was deemed pose no impact to a low impact on aquaculture in the Union.
It was also concluded that the disease was likely to have entered the Union repeatedly via ornamental fish and considering the fact that no outbreaks of EUS have been reported in the Union, there is no evidence to suggest that EUS has the potential for detrimental environmental impact.
Further Reading
- Find out more information on Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome (Red Spot Disease) by clicking here.
TheFishSite News Desk
Fish Health, Biosecurity and Hygiene, Government and Regulatory, General, AQUACULTURE, SUSTAINABLE FISHING

"It was very red, had lesions all over the fish - typically what we've been seeing now for the last nine, 10 months," he said.

"For the fisherman that caught it - a huge impact.

"He's obviously been working for quite considerable time, all his expenses, and this fish is going to be taken to the dump and disposed of."

The ABC has tried to contact the Raptis Fish Markets for comment.

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More stories from Queensland



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AUSTRALIA - Fisheries Queensland has expanded its investigation into fish health issues in Gladstone with an enhanced sampling programme that is examining fish health across seasons and locations.

Fisheries Queensland habitat and assessment manager Dr John Robertson said the programme was more intensive than previous monitoring.

"The independent Scientific Advisory Panel recommended that we build on our previous sampling to provide more rigorous baseline information inside and outside the harbour to further assess possible causes of fish health issues," Dr Robertson said.

"To do this, we need to intensify our sampling to record how the variations in seasons and locations of fish compare scientifically between sites.

"The expanded sampling programme will run at least until September 2012 so that we get a full 12-month cycle of monitoring.

"Well be sampling in April, July and September, with each trip running for around three weeks across ten locations.

"The April sampling trip has been going for two weeks, with mud crab sampling due this week.

"Initial observations of fish health are consistent with reports to date. The Boyne River remains the worst area with some barramundi showing signs of emaciation or exhibiting red patches on the body.

"However no fish exhibited the eye problems seen last year and there were no visible external parasites on the barramundi caught.

"Some other barramundi had quite severe physical abrasions, which are likely injuries from coming over the Awoonga spillover earlier this year when the dam overtopped. Similar injuries have been observed in fish that have been washed over spillways elsewhere in the state.

"In other areas in Gladstone, fish appear to be in overall good condition with only some with parasites."

Dr Robertson said the sampling was concentrating on specific sites within and outside the harbour.

"We will be monitoring and collecting fish from significant waterways including The Narrows, Graham Creek (Curtis Island), Calliope River, Boyne River, Hamilton Point and Rodds Bay, as well as within the Gladstone Harbour," he said.

"Data from this main study area will be compared with data from the nearby Fitzroy River to the north, Bundaberg with its adjacent coastal waters to the south, and other sites throughout the state.

"During the sampling we will be targeting specific fish and crustaceans that have been identified as key species for the area, have a range of life cycles and are good biological indicators of fish health.

"Those target species include barramundi, sea mullet, banana prawn, mud crab, bull shark, queenfish and trawl species such as grinner, Australian threadfin and herring.

"Biosecurity Queensland is working alongside us in the field so that fish samples collected can be processed immediately and sent for laboratory testing.

"All of the data collected throughout the investigation since it began in September last year will be very valuable in understanding fish health in Gladstone now and in the future.

"We will continue to publish data from the investigation on www.qld.gov.au/gladstoneharbour as soon as it is available."

Further Reading

- Go to our previous news item on this story by clicking here.

TheFishSite News Desk

The Gladstone Ports Corporation says the 2010 floods were responsible for the outbreak of disease in fish and that sick fish were not found where dredging was being carried out.
Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney says its detailed tests cannot link dredging with the problem.
"The work that's going on in Gladstone Harbour trying to identify why there are ill effects on the fish has to continue but there's nothing in the water testing data to suggest that these are a result of the dredging," he said.
"The only parameter that's changed markedly in those water tests is the salinity level."
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A pathogenic fungus, Aphanomyces invadans causes EUS. Infection occurs EUS was first seen in the Northern Territory in 1986 on mullet from the Mary River .

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The tests say red-spot disease and a parasitic flatworm are some of the causes of sick fish in Gladstone.

Committee chairman Dr Ian Poiner says it is planning to give a report to the State Government next month.

"Clearly there's issues with the parasitic and skin symptoms on fish in the harbour," he said.

"We recommended the Queensland Government should continue to focus on identifying environmental causes of these observed high parasitic infections and high levels of skin symptoms.

"We provided advice on how they could progress that over the next few weeks and months."

He says it has a complex task ahead in identifying the causes of the fish disease outbreak and more needs to be known about the environmental causes.

"The complex environment normally [is] also compounded by the fact that the extreme events of last summer - which has clearly caused stress in the harbour, which can be seen for example in the seagrass decline - also compounded by the fact that there's been quite historical and current development in the harbour," he said.

Topics:
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First posted November 17, 2011 08:16:02

More stories from Queensland

Stingrays in central Queensland could be showing signs of the same illness that is killing fish in the Gladstone harbour.

The government banned fishing in the harbour after sick fish with cloudy eyes and sores were found.

Biosecurity Queensland say initial tests found red-spot disease and a parasite were the cause.

Capricorn Conservation Council co-ordinator Michael McCabe says two stingrays have been found about 90 kilometres north of Gladstone harbour at Emu Park and Yeppoon with similar red spots.

'There is a lot of anxiety in the community about what is causing this,' Mr McCabe told AAP.

'We've got photos of a dead stingray with a red rash.

'Our concerns are it could be linked to what's happening to the fish at Gladstone.'

Fisheries Queensland says it has not received samples of any stingrays with lesions and cannot confirm whether they are also diseased.

A spokeswoman said red spot disease had been found in a range of native fish species in Queensland, including mullet, bream, whiting, pikey bream, eels and catfish, but not stingrays.

'There is no evidence that red spot disease occurs in sharks and stingrays,' she said.

The Gladstone Ports Corporation has said there is no link between massive dredging work being undertaken in the harbour and the diseased fish.

Mr McCabe is urging the community to take photos of any sick marine life and send it to authorities.

He said his attempts to obtain monitoring information on marine life from port authorities and industry groups to understand the bigger picture have been unsuccessful.

The processor also declared that until, these Officials get some guaranteed confirmations regarding the controversy; they should not declare any ban announcements.
Meanwhile, the issue came to limelight after the region's health experts and several prominent scientists affirmed that that the Gladstone fish disease was speedily mounting.
However, immediately after the declaration all the scientists began to spotlight their planned medical strategies related with the parasitic flatworm.
The scientist stated that last year, due to heavy rains about 300 tones of barramundi's were dropped into the Boyne River and after that due to the lethal common saltwater parasite, several fish were found dead.
In the meantime, the regional fishery authorities were forced to perform a swept operation so that all the left alive fish could be saved.
Moreover, after the sweep operation, the area fishermen sold the fish at about 18 times greater than the original sale process.
Sharing his views about the issue, John Robertson, Queensland Fisheries scientist commented that yesterday instantly after the drop up and the unexpected temperature changes, the fish become more strained and vulnerable against the lethal diseases and parasites.
He added, "We think animals might be getting itchy with the parasite and trying to rub themselves, which opens up the skin (causing red rash-like marks and opening up a pathway for bacteria). Further testing will verify that."
On the other hand, the Gladstone Ports Corporation's Officials continued their protest against the regional authorities as they believed that at any cost, the ban judgment should not be changed at all.