One species' loss is another's gain as different types of fish move into waterway

The tidal breakthrough at Bribie Island has significantly affected fish in the Pumicestone Passage, with the departure of one species and the arrival of others.

The ocean breached the island in January 2022, shifting sand into the waterway and changing tidal conditions.

New spits essentially restricted water movement in the northern end of the passage while the current flowed free through the breakthrough and into the southern reaches of the passage.

It significantly affected the local marine population, according to Caloundra Fishing World co-owner Dave Granville.

“The water flow slowed down substantially around the Happy Valley boardwalk area,” he said.

“We used to get luderick off the boardwalk when there was a lot of current, so those fish have disappeared. They’ve gone because of the change.

“They feed on the weeds, but the weeds need lots of clean water and current to grow.

“As soon as the weed goes, the luderick go too.”

Their departure brought an end, perhaps temporarily, to a traditional fishing pastime.

“A lot of the old-timers targeted luderick there,” Mr Granville said.

“They used floats on their lines and walked along the boardwalk side by side, watching their floats.

“It was great to watch and it’s a shame that’s gone as a result of this, but it is what it is.”

But one species’ loss appeared to be another’s gain.

More species of fish have entered the passage with the strong current at the breakthrough  (also known as the Bribie Bar).

“While the fishing in the Happy Valley corner has slowed, the fishing south of the new bar seems to have improved,” Mr Granville said.

“The new bar has lots of clean water coming in every day and there are some fish you wouldn’t normally expect to see in an estuarine system that have come into the passage, because it (the bar) is quite a wide, deep opening.

“It’s allowed some species to come in, which we may not have necessarily seen in the past.

“We’ve seen traditional offshore species fish like tuna and mackerel being caught inside the passage, along with the usual whiting, bream, flathead, trevally and queenfish.”

Mr Granville said fishing in the waterway in general “has improved”, while boaties had found it easier to get offshore via the Bribie Bar, instead of the Caloundra Bar, which has silted up in the northern end of the passage.

“It’s a lot safer to access the ocean,” he said.

“You must pick your conditions of course. You don’t want to go with a big running tide, but the bar is deeper, straighter and easier to navigate than the other bar.”

The shifting sand restricted Caloundra Coast Guard in the northern section of the passage at low tide, but Mr Granville said “from a recreational boating perspective, you can now put a boat in at the power boat club and run straight out to sea (through the new bar)”.

He said the northern end of the passage was “like a lagoon” but there was still some water movement there and anglers could catch bream, whiting and flathead, as well as the odd mangrove jack and mulloway.

And there was some hope the area could come to life with fish, including luderick, again.

One of the giant sand banks that emerged in the passage and restricted water movement to the northern area last year was surprisingly broken by water a fortnight ago.

There was was optimism that water could rush back into the northern area and impact the “lagoon” and the sand-clogged Caloundra Bar.

“It’ll help,” Mr Granville said.

“It (the split) is probably going to get big and there is the probability that the Caloundra Bar could open, which would be great.

“The more water flow into the lagoon the better. Fish could take that course. They could come in through the Bribie Bar and turn right instead of always going the other way (to the south).”

Mr Granville said there needed to be water flow into the northern end of the passage, for Caloundra’s sake.

“Fish like water flow and I’d hate to see it (the northern end) turn into a landlocked area. It would be very bad for tourism and business in Caloundra,” he said.

“A lot of people wouldn’t swim there and if the run-off from the Caloundra business area wasn’t getting washed out with every tide, it would very quickly turn into not a very nice place.”

Bill’s Boat Hire co-owner Kerrie Chandler said there were promising signs and the new split in the sand bank was bringing more running water into the northern end of the passage, where her business is based.

“People were coming back empty-handed after catching undersized fish and releasing them, but the sand spit has split in two and we’ve now got current coming in at about six knots, and that’s bringing different species in,” she said.

“Word has got around because a lot of people have come to me asking if our boats are available, because they want to go fishing. I’ve never had so much enthusiasm around fishing before.”

A low, which could form into a cyclone, could move off the Sunshine Coast later this week, and that could significantly alter conditions in the passage again, perhaps opening up the waterway or shifting more sand into it.

A love of fishing

Mr Granville and his business partner Andy Orr took on Caloundra Fishing World, which has been an institution for about four decades, last year.

“We’ve totally revamped the front of the shop and put a lot more stock in,” he said.

“Andy and I have been fishing buddies our whole lives and, as passionate fishermen, we felt Caloundra needed a shop with real fishing knowledge, so we took it on.

“People go to chain stores and get really frustrated because the kids working there don’t have the knowledge.

“But Andy and I are about 50 years old and have been fishing all our lives, from bream to marlin and everything in between, so we can give informed advice to locals, and to the holiday crowd.”

Mr Granville has worked in fishing media and marketing, while Mr Orr was previously involved in tackle retail.

“So we’re both suited to the job. We’re basically passionate anglers, who wanted to work in the industry we love,” Mr Granville said.

They have lived on the Sunshine Coast for about 25 years.

Mr Granville said Caloundra was a renowned fishing hotspot.

“Mooloolaba probably gets more of the limelight for offshore fishing because it has a harbour suited to bigger boats but there are a few things happening in Caloundra that will help the offshore community.

“One is the new bar, and another is the new marina development in Pelican Waters.

“Caloundra has always been a popular holiday destination and your bread-and-butter fish species like bream, whiting and flathead are easily accessible, even for holidaymakers who don’t know how to fish. They can get a rod or reel and some live worms, and we point them in the right direction, and they come back happy as Larry because their kids have caught a couple of fish.”