The health of the Great Barrier Reef is inextricably linked to the actions taken inland in its vast catchment areas.
In the Mackay region, this connection is brought into sharp focus by the thousands of diadromous fish species - those that migrate between saltwater and freshwater habitats - that rely on creeks like Jolimont Creek to complete their life cycles.
For 50 years, the Jolimont Weir, built for sugarcane irrigation, acted as a 3-meter-high insurmountable barrier, severely limiting fish migration and population health.
The solution? The construction of a 110 m rock ramp fishway - currently the longest in Australia - a major engineering feat providing a set of "underwater stairs" for fish to bypass the barrier easily.
Mackay Regional Council's Coordinator for Environment and Sustainability Philip Grobler stressed the importance of local action.
"About 75% of the Great Barrier Reef Catchment is covered by councils like ours," said Mr Grobler.
"The actions we take here on land directly impacts and ensures a healthy Great Barrier Reef."
A critical role in fish ecology
The rock ramp fishway is an impressive piece of infrastructure, built using individually selected rocks - some up to 10 tonnes - to create a continuous, low-gradient path. This pathway allows even the smallest juvenile fish to rest on their journey upstream.
Fisheries Ecologist Matt Moore, who helped design and construct the fishway, said that monitoring proved the design was a success.
"This wet season we did one week of assessment monitoring by setting up a purpose-built cone entrance trap at the top of the fishway," explained Mr Moore.
"We also set the trap up at the bottom of the fishway to compare with the top, to ensure that all the size classes are making it up the fishway to determine that it works.
"During that monitoring, we recorded 15 species, and we caught 834 fish per day, on average. The median size of fish was just 22 mm. So, lots of really small baby fish."
The local benefits are significant.
"At Council we take pride in the fact that we plan and monitor the whole coastline," said Mr Grobler.
"This particular fishway in the northern part of our catchment has a critical role to play in fish ecology health.
"The local benefits from this Jolimont Creek Fishway are that it supplements the fish stock in the adjacent net free zone."
Connectivity for Reef health
Rebecca Allen, Assistant Director Strategic Engagement - Reef Guardian Council program at the Reef Authority, explained the strategic importance of the project.
"Fish don't actually see the Great Barrier Reef boundaries on a map," said Ms Allen.
"This means that quite a few species that call the Great Barrier Reef home migrate beyond the barriers of the marine park to freshwater creeks, just like this one.
"Freshwater ecosystems like this creek are critically important to the Great Barrier Reef because they are connected to the Reef."
Mr Grobler said Mackay Regional Council is proud to be a Reef Guardian Council.
"Being a Reef Guardian Council shows the commitment of our community, in our part of Queensland, towards taking care of the natural environment."
Mackay Regional Council is one of 21 councils part of the Reef Guardian Council program, an initiative of the Reef Authority which recognises local governments as key partners in the long-term protection of the Reef.
The program represents more than 1.2 million people and covers more than 76 per cent of the Reef catchment, from K-gari to Cape York.
This project is delivered under the Australian Government's Reef Guardian Council - Activating Local Councils' Reef Action Plans grant program via the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
