MTSRF Synthesis Report
Compiled by Michelle Devlin1 and Stephen
Lewis2
1 C2O Consulting, Townsville
2 Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research,
James Cook University, Townsville
ISBN 978-1-921359-71-2
Published July 2011
MTSRF Theme 5 -
Enhancing Delivery
Extract from Executive Summary
Research funded by the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research
Facility (MTSRF) sought to quantify the source, transport and
impact of agricultural pesticides on Queensland's aquatic and
marine ecosystems. This summary report presents the details of the
science outputs from this research over the period 2006 to 2010,
which has advanced our knowledge of pesticides in North Queensland.
This knowledge will allow for better decision making and
appropriate prioritisation of pesticide management as part of an
ongoing water quality improvement process being undertaken as part
of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan.
The report presents these findings for the Great Barrier Reef
(GBR) and its catchments under four main headings, capturing the
detection and movement of pesticides off agricultural lands into
GBR marine waters as well as potential impacts. The four categories
linking pesticides through this 'catchment to reef' continuum
are:
- Key sources of pesticides;
- Transport of pesticides;
- Exposure and risk associated with pesticides; and
- Potential ecological impacts from pesticides.
