Moresby Estuary

The area of the Moresby 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 3.3 km north and 2 km south of the river mouth along the coastline and extends approximately 12 km inland. The area includes numerous tributaries that drain into the main river channel.

Land use within the Moresby estuary area is dominated by cropping and pond aquaculture with some residential development. The Moresby locality is on the western fringe of the estuary area. The Port of Mourilyan is located near the mouth of the estuary and exports raw sugar and molasses from a loader, wharf and handling facility.

The Moresby estuary grade has improved from ‘moderate’ to ‘good’ in 2022-23, and the score increased from 60 to 63, since the previous year.  

Key results

• The water quality grade for Moresby remained ‘good’ and the score increased slightly from 67 to 71 since the previous year and for most water quality indicators the grades were unchanged.
• Dissolved oxygen improved from ‘moderate’ to ‘good’.
• Seagrass in the Moresby estuary remained ‘very poor’ but increased in score from 0 the previous year to 14.
• Overall seagrass condition in 4 of the 5 monitoring meadows improved from last year.

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