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Queensland Government
WetlandInfo   —   Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation

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Drainage sub-basins

Shoalwater drainage sub-basin

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Name: Shoalwater
Area type: Drainage sub-basin
Total area: 359,579 ha
% total Qld: 0.2%
Towns: Banksia, Kunwarara, Merimal, Waratah
Page table of contents
Catchment stories
Wetland observations
Wetland extents
Wetland extent changes
Australian Land Use and Management Classification (ALUMC)
Drainage divisions
Drainage basins
Regional natural resource management (NRM) bodies
Local government areas
100K map tiles
Climate zones
Bioregions
Biogeographic subregions
IBRA bioregions
IBRA subregions
Bioregional assessment areas
Marine meso-scale bioregions
Marine provincial bioregions
Regional plans
World Heritage areas
Ramsar internationally important wetlands
DIWA nationally important wetlands
National parks
Marine parks (Queensland)
Study areas
Report cards
Conservation parks
State forests
Forest reserves
Resources reserves
Timber reserves
Fish habitat areas
Coastal management district
Nature refuges
Freshwater biogeographic provinces
Aquatic Conservation Assessments (AquaBAMM) and others
Wetland (aquatic ecosystem) type—conceptual models
Wetland (aquatic ecosystem) type—management profiles
Groundwater dependent ecosystem type—conceptual models
Healthy Land and Water conceptual models
Water resource planning areas
Aquatic ecosystem monitoring programs
Point source monitoring
Wetland soil indicator case studies
Wetland management case studies
Wetland projects
Area specific conceptual model case studies
Paddock to Reef (P2R) report cards
Water Quality Improvement Plan catchments
EPP (Water) scheduled environmental values and water quality objectives
Shorebird zones
Biopassage structures
Related legislation/policies
Wildlife

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Catchment stories info

none

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Wetland observations

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Wetland extents info metadata

Based on wetland mapping version 6.0

Display areas in

Shoalwater drainage sub-basin wetland area by system 2019
System Area (ha) % wetlands area % total area
Total 56,509 100.0% 15.7%
Total excluding riverine and artificial/highly modified riverine 51,065 90.4% 14.2%
Artificial and highly modified 1,231 2.2% 0.3%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (natural) 29,213 51.7% 8.1%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (slightly modified) 0 0.0% 0.0%
Lacustrine (natural) 0 0.0% 0.0%
Lacustrine (slightly modified) 0 0.0% 0.0%
Palustrine (natural) 288 0.5% 0.1%
Palustrine (slightly modified) 20,334 36.0% 5.7%
Riverine 5,444 9.6% 1.5%

View wetland system extents for all drainage sub-basins

Shoalwater drainage sub-basin wetland area by habitat 2019
Habitat Area (ha) % wetlands area % total area
Total 45,542 100.0% 12.7%
Mangroves - Casuarina 0 0.0% 0.0%
Mangroves - other 12,920 28.4% 3.6%
Salt marsh and salt flats 12,014 26.4% 3.3%
Arid and semi-arid saline lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain clay plan lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid permanently inundated lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain rock lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (window) lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (perched) lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain soil lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid saline swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain tree swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain shrub swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain tree swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain shrub swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid Great Artesian Basin fed spring swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 38 0.1% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain wet heath swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 10 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal other non-floodplain swamp 86 0.2% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 438 1.0% 0.1%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 20,037 44.0% 5.6%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain wet heath swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal other floodplain swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal tree (palm) swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Unknown - Swamp - Arid and semi-arid 0 0.0% 0.0%
Unknown - Swamp - Coastal and sub-coastal < 1 0.0% 0.0%

View wetland habitat area for all drainage sub-basins

Disclaimer

Areas do not include marine or estuarine waters but do include estuarine wetland vegetation
(e.g. mangroves and tidal flats).

All statistics are approximate and generated based on data transformed to a customised Albers equal-area projection, thus allowing wetland extent change for different regions of Queensland to be comparable.

Areas may change over time as mapping approaches improve.

Totals may not match the sum of individually displayed figures due to the rounding of displayed figures.

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Wetland extent changes

Shoalwater drainage sub-basin wetland extent change by system
System 2019 area
(ha)		 2017 area
(ha)		 2013 area
(ha)		 2009 area
(ha)		 2005 area
(ha)		 2001 area
(ha)		 pre-clear area
(ha)		 2019/pre-clear
percentage
Total 56,509 56,510 56,491 56,336 56,194 56,169 58,575 * 94.4%
Artificial and highly modified 1,231 1,231 1,211 1,055 900 857 0 n/a
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (natural) 29,213 29,213 29,213 29,213 29,295 29,304 51,031 57.2%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (slightly modified) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a
Lacustrine (natural) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a
Lacustrine (slightly modified) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a
Palustrine (natural) 288 288 288 288 288 291 1,099 26.2%
Palustrine (slightly modified) 20,334 20,334 20,334 20,334 20,252 20,252 0 n/a
Riverine 5,444 5,445 5,446 5,447 5,461 5,465 6,445 84.5%

* Total 2019/pre-clear percentage excludes artificial and highly modified

metadata View 2019 wetland system extents for all drainage sub-basins

metadata View 2017 wetland system extents for all drainage sub-basins

metadata View 2013 wetland system extents for all drainage sub-basins

metadata View 2009 wetland system extents for all drainage sub-basins

metadata View 2005 wetland system extents for all drainage sub-basins

metadata View 2001 wetland system extents for all drainage sub-basins

metadata View pre-clear wetland system extents for all drainage sub-basins

metadata View 2019/pre-clear wetland system extent percentages for all drainage sub-basins

Shoalwater drainage sub-basin wetland extent change by habitat
Habitat 2019 area
(ha)		 2017 area
(ha)		 2013 area
(ha)		 2009 area
(ha)		 2005 area
(ha)		 2001 area
(ha)
Total 45,542 45,542 45,542 45,542 45,542 45,555
Mangroves - Casuarina 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mangroves - other 12,920 12,920 12,920 12,920 12,920 12,929
Salt marsh and salt flats 12,014 12,014 12,014 12,014 12,096 12,096
Arid and semi-arid saline lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid floodplain lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain clay plan lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid permanently inundated lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain rock lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (window) lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (perched) lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain soil lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid saline swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid floodplain tree swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid floodplain shrub swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain tree swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain shrub swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid Great Artesian Basin fed spring swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 38 38 38 38 38 38
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain wet heath swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 10 10 10 10 10 10
Coastal and sub-coastal other non-floodplain swamp 86 86 86 86 86 86
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 438 438 438 438 438 441
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 20,037 20,037 20,037 20,037 19,955 19,955
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain wet heath swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal other floodplain swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal tree (palm) swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Unknown - Swamp - Arid and semi-arid 0 0 0 0 0 0
Unknown - Swamp - Coastal and sub-coastal < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1

metadata View 2019 wetland habitat area for all drainage sub-basins

metadata View 2017 wetland habitat area for all drainage sub-basins

metadata View 2013 wetland habitat area for all drainage sub-basins

metadata View 2009 wetland habitat area for all drainage sub-basins

metadata View 2005 wetland habitat area for all drainage sub-basins

metadata View 2001 wetland habitat area for all drainage sub-basins

Disclaimer

Areas do not include marine or estuarine waters but do include estuarine wetland vegetation
(e.g. mangroves and tidal flats).

All statistics are approximate and generated based on data transformed to a customised Albers equal-area projection, thus allowing wetland extent change for different regions of Queensland to be comparable.

Areas may change over time as mapping approaches improve.

Totals may not match the sum of individually displayed figures due to the rounding of displayed figures.

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Australian Land Use and Management Classification (ALUMC) metadata

Shoalwater drainage sub-basin land use
ALUMC code and description
Area (ha)
% total area
Total 358,817 99.8%
1.3 Other minimal use 165,306 46.0%
2.1 Grazing native vegetation 161,968 45.0%
6.5 Marsh/wetland 24,729 6.9%
1.1 Nature conservation 2,691 0.7%
2.2 Production native forests 1,196 0.3%
6.2 Reservoir/dam 697 0.2%
5.8 Mining 527 0.1%
6.3 River 480 0.1%
6.1 Lake 427 0.1%
5.7 Transport and communication 358 0.1%
5.4 Residential and farm infrastructure 204 0.1%
5.5 Services 113 0.0%
3.3 Cropping 62 0.0%
3.2 Grazing modified pastures 30 0.0%
3.1 Plantation forests 20 0.0%
4.1 Irrigated plantation forests 11 0.0%

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Drainage divisions info metadata

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Drainage basins info metadata

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Regional natural resource management (NRM) bodies info metadata

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Local government areas info metadata

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100K map tiles info metadata

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Climate zones info metadata

  • map Subtropical
  • map Tropical

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Bioregions info metadata

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Biogeographic subregions info metadata

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IBRA bioregions info metadata

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IBRA subregions info metadata

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Bioregional assessment areas info metadata

none

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Marine meso-scale bioregions metadata

  • map Shoalwater Coast (SC)

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Marine provincial bioregions metadata

  • map Northeast Shelf Province

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Regional plans info metadata

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World Heritage areas info metadata

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Ramsar internationally important wetlands info metadata

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DIWA nationally important wetlands info metadata

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National parks info metadata

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Marine parks (Queensland) info metadata

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Study areas metadata

none

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Report cards metadata

none

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Conservation parks info metadata

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State forests info metadata

  • map Alligator Creek State Forest
  • map Lake Learmouth State Forest

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Forest reserves info metadata

none

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Resources reserves info metadata

none

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Timber reserves info metadata

none

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Fish habitat areas info metadata

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Coastal management district info metadata

  • map Available (all have been combined since February 2012)

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Nature refuges info metadata

none

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Freshwater biogeographic provinces info metadata

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Aquatic Conservation Assessments (AquaBAMM) and others info metadata

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Wetland (aquatic ecosystem) type—conceptual models info metadata

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Wetland (aquatic ecosystem) type—management profiles info metadata

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Groundwater dependent ecosystem type—conceptual models info metadata

none

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Healthy Land and Water conceptual models info metadata

none

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Water resource planning areas info metadata

none

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Aquatic ecosystem monitoring programs info metadata

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Point source monitoring info metadata

none

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Wetland soil indicator case studies info metadata

none

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Wetland management case studies info metadata

none

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Wetland projects info metadata

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Area specific conceptual model case studies info metadata

none

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Paddock to Reef (P2R) report cards info metadata

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Water Quality Improvement Plan catchments info metadata

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EPP (Water) scheduled environmental values and water quality objectives info metadata

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Shorebird zones info metadata

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Biopassage structures info metadata

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Wildlife

Kingdom
Class
 Native Introduced Wetland
indicator
species		 Rare or
threatened
species		 All
TOTAL 1,942 213 257 63 2,155
Animals 505 15 113 38 520
Mammals 68 9 3 9 77
Birds 292 4 78 25 296
Reptiles 70 1 6 3 71
Amphibians 23 1 12 0 24
Ray-finned fishes 14 0 14 0 14
Insects 38 0 0 1 38
Fungi 27 0 0 0 27
Plants 1,410 198 144 25 1,608

Note: Wildlife statistics are based on information that has been submitted to the DETSI WildNet database and converted to a 10km² grid. The grid information has been intersected with the mapping polygons to determine the species lists. Click here to view the species grid metadata.

Information from WildNet can also be accessed via Wildlife Online and WetlandMaps.

Rare or threatened includes species listed as extinct, extinct in the wild, critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable or conservation dependent under either the Nature Conservation Act or Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act

Disclaimer: While every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of this product, the Queensland Government and Australian Government make no representations or warranties about its accuracy, reliability, completeness or suitability for any particular purpose and disclaim all responsibility and all liability (including without limitation, liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages (including indirect or consequential damage) and costs which might be incurred as a consequence of reliance on the product, or as a result of the product being inaccurate or incomplete in any way and for any reason.

AreaType-sub-basin

This page should be cited as:

Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Queensland (2013) Shoalwater drainage sub-basin — facts and maps, WetlandInfo website, accessed 16 April 2025. Available at: https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/facts-maps/sub-basin-shoalwater/

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