The health of the Sunshine Coast’s beaches has been unveiled in a regional-first report card.
The state of the region’s beaches, headlands, lower estuaries and coastal lagoons was put under the microscope as part of the inaugural Coastal Health Report.
All beaches were rated fair to excellent, headlands and lower estuaries were rated good to excellent, while lagoons were ranked good.
The report was the culmination of years of monitoring and analysis, in a joint project involving Sunshine Coast Council and the University of the Sunshine Coast, with input from Healthy Land and Water.
It will provide a baseline for the long-term monitoring of the coast as part of the Environment & Liveability Strategy target to maintain and improve the health of the coast to good or excellent grade by 2041.
Lower estuaries including Maroochy River and Mooloolah River were the healthiest type of coastal ecosystem overall, with excellent grades for water quality and public benefits and a fair grade for biodiversity.
Meanwhile, the region’s headlands, such as Caloundra Headland and Moffat Headland, scored highest for biodiversity, with their array of plants and wildlife.
Source: Sunshine Coast News 22/9/23
