A bay of plenty
BULL SHARKS IN Moreton Bay are a very good sign for Brisbane. The waters of this subtropical east coast waterway are as close as 14km to the city’s CBD, and the coastal lands that fringe its westerly edge have been impacted by European settlement since the late 1800s. These days there is ever-growing pressure on the natural ecosystems here, with the bay–which extends about 125km, from Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in the south, to Caloundra on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in the north–being on the doorstep of Australia’s fastest-growing urban strip.
Because they are top-order predators, bull sharks are sensitive indicators of environmental change. So having them around is a sign of a healthy ecosystem, Johan Gustafson from the Griffith Centre for Coastal Management, explains reassuringly.
The mouths of rivers feeding the popular waters of Moreton Bay comprise an important bull shark nursery area. Pregnant females arrive in the warmer months to give birth and their pups grow here, feeding on small fish in the dark estuarine waters before migrating off shore as adults. Understanding the significance to the bull shark life cycle of alternate artificial coastal habitats in the area is crucial for determining the impact of coastal development on this threatened, and potentially dangerous, species.
There have been two recent documented human fatalities attributed to encounters with bull sharks in the canal and artificial lake systems of the Gold Coast. Griffith University researchers suggest that, with increased impacts on the natural environment, artificial coastal habitats are becoming used more by large juvenile bull sharks, increasing the chance of interactions between these predators and people.
“Moreton Bay is becoming more developed especially around the mangroves, where there is also a lot of shipping and recreational fishing,” Johan explains. “By removing the seagrass and mangrove areas along the coast, we could be removing the shark’s preferred habitats.” And that means they’re likely to look elsewhere for food.
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