Environmental water needs for the Mitchell River

The Australian Government has identified water-resource development in the north of Australia as a priority for the coming years and Queensland’s Mitchell River is a focus of this interest. The Queensland Government currently regulates small amounts of water extraction from the Mitchell River, meaning that flows are largely unregulated. The catchment supports existing water users including Traditional Owners as well as significant ecological assets, including wetlands of national significance, threatened species, traditional harvests, and commercial and recreational fisheries. Information on the water needs of freshwater ecosystems and their associated biodiversity is required to guide decision-making around water planning and development.

This project examined the links between freshwater flows and floodplain inundation, aquatic plant biomass accumulation, floodplain subsidies to freshwater food webs, fish movement and fisheries production. The research had five major objectives.

  1. identify the dependence of floodplain inundation and aquatic plant biomass accumulation on river flows
  2. map key ‘hotspots’ of freshwater primary production on the floodplain
  3. quantify riverine and floodplain connectivity to assess the likely impact of varying wet seasons and water-resource development on aquatic food webs and the movement of fish between river channels and floodplain wetlands
  4. quantify the importance of river flows to estuaries by examining the flow dependence of barramundi growth, population dynamics and habitat use
  5. assess the implications of flow alteration on freshwater ecological communities, including movement of fish throughout the catchment.
Mitchell River map

The Mitchell River flows west from its headwaters in the Daintree rainforest to its mouth in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

  • Mitchell River, photo Peter Negus
  • Mitchell River field work, photo Peter Negus.
  • Mitchell River field work, photo Peter Negus.
  • Mitchell River field work, photo Peter Negus.
  • Mitchell River during the dry season, photo Peter Negus.
  • Mitchell River bed during the dry season, photo Peter Negus.
  • Mitchell River field work, photo Peter Negus.
  • Field work on the Mitchell River, photo Kate Hodges.
  • Field work on the Mitchell River, photo Kate Hodges.
  • Field work on the Mitchell River, photo Kate Hodges.
  • Coal grunter (Hephaestus carbo), photo Kate Hodges
  • Field work on the Mitchell River, photo Kate Hodges.
  • Mitchell River, photo Kate Hodges.
  • Fieldwork on the Mitchell River, photo Kate Hodges

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