Rubicon Estuary (23960)
Australia, Australasia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2009
National site name: Rubicon Estuary
Central coordinates: Latitude: -41.1813, Longitude: 146.5758
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 2
Area of KBA (km2): 13.38283
Protected area coverage (%): 22.14
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: This extensive estuarine area is on the central coast of northern Tasmania, 20 km west of the Tamar Estuary. It is bounded by the burgeoning residential complex of Port Sorell, Hawley Beach, Shearwater and Squeaking Point to the west, Narawntapu National Park to the north-east and grazing pasture to the east and south. The IBA is defined as the estuary up to the high-water mark, extending up the creeks as far as Pied Oystercatcher are found in reasonable numbers. Much of the estuarine shore has informal reserve status. The estuary has a shallow muddy substrate and is fed by a number of small streams, including the Rubicon River and Franklin Rivulet, which drain catchments of grazing pasture, forestry plantation and native production forest.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: The Eastern Curlew population is one of only four in Tasmania and all of these continue to decline. Numbers of this Palaearctic migrant at the Rubicon Estuary have declined from hundreds in the 1960s to only 18 in summer 2007/2008. Locally-significant numbers of Flame Robins (e.g. 44 on 22 Aug 2004 and 34 on 18 Jul 2007) have been recorded in damp grassland just outside the IBA (P. & H. Britton pers. comm. 2008). One sighting of a Striated Fieldwren reported in Atlas of Australian Birds surveys from 1998 to 2008 (Atlas of Australian Birds database).
Other site values: Tasmanian State Government.
Habitats
Land use: fisheries/aquaculture | nature conservation and research | tourism/recreation | urban/industrial/transport
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Intertidal | 50 | |
| Marine Neritic | 50 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The Rice Grass Task Force must continue to monitor and control spread of severe infestations upstream.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Marine & freshwater aquaculture | Industrial aquaculture | Ongoing |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Named species | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching | Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: DPIW (2008) About rice grass. http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/webpages/alir-4z57mw?open Accessed 7 April 2008.
Contributors: The nomination was prepared by Peter Britton. Hazel Britton has assisted with field work and contributed significantly in the development of this nomination. Thanks to Cradle Coast NRM and to James Shaddick, in particular, for creating and supplying a suitably layered Rubicon Estuary map for use in the field. Anthony Timmerman and other staff at Narawntapu National Park continue to have an important management/conservation role at North East Arm.