Daintree Estuary

The area of the Daintree estuary reporting zone can be defined by the pre-cleared extent of mangrove and saltmarsh remnant vegetation which is characterised by species that require periodic inundation of sea water. This area extends approximately 5.5 km northeast and 6.4 km south-west of the river mouth along the coastline and extends approximately 12 km inland.

The area includes several coastal tributaries that drain into the Daintree River. The assessment area of riparian extent extends further up the river than the mangrove and salt marsh communities to the upper tidal limit and includes vegetation types that are more typical of freshwater environments.

Land use within and adjacent to the Daintree estuary area is dominated by cropping with some grazing and residential development. The Daintree village is approximately 16 km north-west of the river mouth. The lower Daintree River is listed in the Directory of (Nationally) Important Wetlands.

The Daintree estuary grade has remained ‘good’ in 2023-24 and the score decreased from 68 to 64. The Daintree River, which drains into the estuary, experienced extreme flooding in December following landfall of Severe Tropical Cyclone Jasper.

Key results

• The water quality grade for the Daintree estuary remained ‘good’ and the score decreased from 78 to 70.
• Turbidity declined from ‘very good’ to ‘good’ whilst with dissolved oxygen (DO) improved from ‘good’ to ‘very good’.
• The chlorophyll a grade, declined from ‘good’ to ‘poor’ with monthly medians of chlorophyll a concentrations often exceeding guideline values. This represented substantially higher quantities of algae in the water column compared to the previous year.

The diagram below shows the detailed results for each indicator by year. Click on the timeslider to see data from previous years.