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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2009 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Pied Oystercatcher Haematopus longirostris	LC	resident (1985–2007)	992 birds	A4i
Red-capped Plover Charadrius ruficapillus	LC	resident (1985–2007)	1,649 birds	A4i
Charadrius mongolus	NR	non-breeding (1985–2007)	8,461 birds	A4i
Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis	EN	non-breeding (1985–2007)	12,803 birds	A4i
Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica	NT	non-breeding (1985–2007)	43,987 birds	A4i
Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris	EN	non-breeding (1985–2007)	5,612 birds	A4i
Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis	NT	non-breeding (1985–2007)	8,100 birds	A4i
Grey-tailed Tattler Tringa brevipes	LC	non-breeding (1985–2007)	11,275 birds	A4i
Mangrove Honeyeater Gavicalis fasciogularis	LC	resident (1985–2008)	common	A2

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2008) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Pollution	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Biological resource use	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1900	Hervey Bay - Tin Can Bay	Dugong Protection Area (A) (IV)	73
1992	Fraser Island	World Heritage Site (natural or mixed) (UA)	12
1995	Great Sandy	Conservation Park (III)	1
2006	Great Sandy	Marine Park (VI)	79
2008	Maaroom	Fish Habitat Area (A) (VI)	27
2008	Kauri Creek	Fish Habitat Area (A) (VI)	8
2008	Tin Can Inlet	Fish Habitat Area (A) (VI)	2
2009	Great Sandy	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve (UA)	100
2009	Susan River	Fish Habitat Area (A) (VI)	5
2011	Great Sandy	National Park (II)	6
2014	Great Sandy 1	Conservation Park (III)	1

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Marine Intertidal	60
Forest	20	Mangroves
Marine Neritic	20

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	major (>10)
fisheries/aquaculture	minor (<10)
tourism/recreation	minor (<10)

Maryborough City, Hervey Bay, Tiaro and Cooloola Shire Councils. They are responsible for managing roosts on most of the freehold and leasehold land on the mainland. Queensland Environmental Protection Agency is the management agency for the islands in the Great Sandy Strait within national parks. The Defence Department owns a large parcel of land in the SW of the Great Sandy Strait.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Great Sandy Strait (Australia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/great-sandy-strait-iba-australia on 23/12/2024.