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Coastal management

As part of the Mackay Coastal Project, which is a partnership between council and Reef Catchments, coastal management guidelines have been developed to guide management activities in coastal environments in the Mackay Region.

The next step in the project involves the preparation of individual beach plans for beaches in the Mackay area, which will identify priority issues and actions for each coastal community.  The plans will provide a clear and responsible direction for the future management of coastal land, to ensure the protection of our valuable coastal environments.  The on-ground activities needed at each beach will be identified and community input will be sought to determine priorities for implementation.  Community members will have the opportunity to get involved with on-ground activities at their beach, once the management plans have been finalised.

View the draft beach management plans developed in 2009:

Further plans are scheduled for release in 2010, and will be available from this site in draft form next year.

Feedback

Beach BBQs were held with coastal communities, to give local residents an opportunity to discuss the draft beach plans with staff from Mackay Regional Council and Reef Catchments.  The BBQ's were well attended with over 300 people taking the time to discuss the draft plans and provide feedback.

 

The consultation period for the first eight draft plans has now closed. Nearly 100 written responses were recieved and are now being collated and considered for inclusion in the final beach plans.  Thank you to everyone who read and commented on the plans.

Beach plan summaries

Sarina coast

Coastal management guidelines have been prepared for beaches in the Sarina area.  As part of this process, individual plans have been developed which are used to guide the sustainable management of coastal areas. 

Beach protection

Council employs two beach protection teams to undertake coastal management and protection work in Mackay.

The teams undertakes a variety of tasks including access track construction and maintenance, swimming enclosure maintenance, protective fencing, weed control and revegetation.

Recent projects include:

Swim enclosure repairs

Council maintains four swimming enclosures in the Mackay area.  The structures require periodic maintenance, particularly after storms and extreme tides.  

They are unfortunately also often subject to vandalism.

Access tracks and fencing

Coastal vegetation plays an important role in protecting and stablising beaches and dunes, as well as providing important habitat for wildlife. 

Fencing can help to protect coastal vegetation by limiting access to sensitive areas and minimising damage caused by trampling  and unauthorised vehicle access. 

Council has an ongoing program to fence coastal vegetation and provide designated walkways and access tracks.