Mapping Australia’s tropical shellfish reefs June 2026 – spatial data (NESP MaC 4.13, Griffith University)

Updated: 2026-10-12

This dataset consists of all spatial products developed for NESP MaC project 4.13 Mapping Australia’s tropical shellfish reefs. It includes maps and shapefiles (point) of historical and present-day shellfish reefs across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia, a shapefile (polygon) of a majority of shellfish reefs in Queensland, and all associated spatial attribute tables. * This dataset is currently under embargo. Methods: Historical rock oyster reefs were located using data collected by Richardson et al., (2022), where the terms “oyster beds” and “oyster reefs” were searched in archived newspapers from coastal Queensland towns through the National Library of Australia Trove database (http://trove.nla.gov.au/). This data was supplemented with literature that reported Saccostrea shells in archaeological middens (see references section for sources) and “Oyster” place names following the methods of Gillies et al., 2018. Historical pearl oyster reefs were mapped using data provided by Dr. Brad Martin (https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7429-1724). Present-day reefs were primarily located via satellite imagery captured at low tide (Queensland Globe and Google Earth), which were validated through site visits and site photographs submitted via OzFish Unlimited’s “Great Shellfish Hunt”. A resolution of 20 cm at a scale of 1:1000 was most successful for locating reefs. Point layers: All historical and present-day point layers for oyster reefs were created from CSV tables containing coordinates using ArcGIS Pro. The coordinates were originally obtained from Google Maps in decimal degrees. The dataset was saved in WGS 1984 (EPSG:4326), the geographic coordinate system used by Google Maps. Retaining this coordinate system ensured that the points were accurately placed and preserved their original positional integrity, even though it differs from the coordinate systems used by other layers in the project. Note that the shapefile for these points uses WGS 1984 (EPSG:4326) but for visualisation purposes, maps are projected in WGS_1984_Web_Mercator_Auxiliary_Sphere. Polygons were generated for shellfish reefs in Queensland where evidence was strong, exact locations were known, and satellite imagery was freely available for download into ArcGIS. High-resolution aerial imagery of the study area was obtained via the Queensland Spatial Imagery Services Program (SISP) time-series ImageServer (Queensland Government). This imagery was added to ArcGIS Pro as an image service, providing access to the full available spatial resolution, which exceeds that of standard Esri base maps or statewide WMTS products. Polygons representing oyster reefs were manually digitised using this imagery as the primary base layer in ArcPro V3.5.0 at a scale of 1:500. Individual polygons were merged to make a single multi-polygon for each site. Polygons separated continuously by >100m were considered to be separate reefs. Polygon features were exported from ArcGIS Pro using the Export Features tool to a shapefile (.shp). The dataset was saved in WGS_1984_Web_Mercator_Auxiliary_Sphere, as this was the coordinate reference system in which the polygons were originally created. Data presented in Attribute Tables for present-day reefs include: reef co-ordinates, site name, evidence (photographs or high resolution satellite imagery = strong, reference in literature with no photograph or low resolution satellite imagery = weak, anecdotal or remnant shells = data deficient), common name, primary species, secondary species, cultural significance (fish traps), Traditional Owners (https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/map-indigenous-australia, noting that some spelling may differ to reflect active Aboriginal Corporations), reef shape (patchy or continuous), primary settlement substrate (rock, shelly sediment, or a combination), benthic depth (intertidal or subtidal), relative relief (cm), reef profile (>= 15 cm reef height = high, < 15 cm reef height = low), protection (GBRMPA zone, Fish Habitat Area, Indigenous Protected Area), data source (site photograph, satellite, characterised, visited or literature), credit (citation, Queensland Globe, Google Earth, or persons), and scale of visibility (1:500). Attributes for historical reefs include: reef co-ordinates, location, primary species, common name, and data source (Trove https://trove.nla.gov.au, literature or persons). Gillies, C.L., McLeod, I.M., Alleway, H.K., Cook, P., Crawford, C., Creighton, C., Diggles, B., Ford, J., Hamer, P., Heller-Wagner, G., Lebrault, E., Le Port, A., Russell, K., Sheaves, M., Warnock, B., 2018. Australian shellfish ecosystems: past distribution, current status and future direction. Australian shellfish ecosystems: past distribution, current status and future direction. PLoS One 13, e0190914 Richardson, M.A., Zhang, Y., Connolly, R.M., Gillies, C.L., McDougall, C., 2022. Some like it hot: the ecology, ecosystem benefits and restoration potential of oyster reefs in tropical waters. Some like it hot: the ecology, ecosystem benefits and restoration potential of oyster reefs in tropical waters. Front. Mar. Sci. 9. Limitations of the data: There are several limitations in this data set: 1. Subtidal reefs are not visible in satellite imagery and therefore were unable to be extensively mapped. The subtidal sites mapped here are evidenced by washed up shells of known subtidal reef-building oysters. The locations mapped are where shells were found, and these maps are not evidence of a complete lack of subtidal reefs. 2. Reefs in the Northern Territory and Western Australia relied on poorer resolution satellite imagery (Google Earth). While we are confident that reefs mapped are indeed reefs, there are likely to be reefs that have been missed and these maps should therefore not be considered to be comprehensive. 3. Historical evidence often reported plural reefs in broad regions. For example, Rodds Bay was said to contain multiple reefs without specifying the exact number, and current mapping shows at least 10 individual reefs in this region. Our historical estimates are therefore extremely conservative, as it is impossible to determine exactly how many reefs were present in regions. 4. The polygon layer of present-day shellfish reefs in Queensland was unable to include reefs in the Gulf of Carpentaria, as this satellite imagery was not freely available for download in ArcGIS which means that it was impossible to produce accurate polygons. Format of the data: This dataset consists of the following folders and files: Maps > Historical_Australian_shellfish_reefs.tif Historical_QLD_shellfish_reefs.tif Historical_NT_shellfish_reefs.tif Historical_WA_shellfish_reefs.tif Present_Australian_shellfish_reefs.tif Present_QLD_shellfish_reefs.tif Present_NT_shellfish_reefs.tif Present_WA_shellfish_reefs.tif Past_and_present_reef_attribute_tables > Historical_QLD_point_attributes.xls Historical_NT_point_attributes.xls Historical_WA_point_attributes.xls Present_QLD_point_attributes.xls Present_NT_point_attributes.xls Present_WA_point_attributes.xls Present_QLD_polygon_attributes.xls Past_reef_shapefiles > QLD > Past_tropical_QLD_reef_points.shp NT > Past_tropical_NT_reef_points.shp WA > Past_tropical_WA_reef_points.shp Present_reef_shapefiles > QLD > Present_tropical_QLD_reef_points.shp NT > Present_tropical_NT_reef_points.shp WA > Present_tropical_WA_reef_points.shp Tropical_QLD_reef_polygons > Tropical_QLD_reef_polygons.shp Data dictionary: List item format: attribute table column name – shapefile attribute name (type) - description Historical_NT_point_attributes.xls, Past-tropical-NT-reef-points shapefile, Historical_QLD_point_attributes.xls, Past-tropical-QLD-reef-points shapefile, Historical_WA_point_attributes.xls, Past-tropical-WA-reef-points shapefile: - OBJECTID - n/a - Unique system-generated identifier assigned to each point or polygon in the attribute table - Coordinates_Y - Coord_y (number) - The latitude of the feature’s location - Coordinates_X - Coord_x (number) - The longitude of the feature’s location - LOCATION - LOCATION (text) - Location of the individual point or polygon. Multiple reefs in a common area are numbered (i.e. Allen_Island1, Allen_Island2 etc) - PRIMARY_SPECIES - PRIMARY_SP (text) - Scientific name of main reef-building shellfish species - COMMON_NAME - COMMON_NAM (text) - Common name of main reef-building shellfish species - DATA_SOURCE - DATA_SOURC (text) - How the reef was located (Satellite imagery, photograph, literature) Present_NT_point_attributes.xls, Present-tropical-NT-reef-points shapefile, Present_QLD_point_attributes.xls, Present-tropical-QLD-reef-points shapefile, Present_WA_point_attributes.xls, Present-tropical-WA-reef-points shapefile: - OBJECTID - n/a - Unique system-generated identifier assigned to each point or polygon in the attribute table - Coordinates_Y - Coord_y (number) - The latitude of the feature’s location - Coordinates_X - Coord_x (number) - The longitude of the feature’s location - SITE - SITE (text) - Location of the individual point or polygon. Multiple reefs in a common area are numbered (i.e. Allen_Island1, Allen_Island2 etc) - EVIDENCE - EVIDENCE (text) - Strength of evidence of reef presence. Strong = characterised, high-resolution satellite imagery, or site photographs. Weak = low-resolution satellite imagery. Data deficient = anecdotal, shell evidence or aggregations of reef-building species - COMMON_NAME - COMMON_NAM (text) - Common name of main reef-building shellfish species - PRIMARY_SPECIES - PRIMARY_SP (text) - Scientific name of main reef-building shellfish species - SECONDARY_SPECIES - SECONDA_SP (text) - Scientific name of secondary reef-building shellfish species (Present-tropical-QLD-reef-points only) - CULTURAL_SIGNIFICANCE - CULT_SIG (text) - Any known cultural significance of the site to Traditional Owners (Present-tropical-QLD-reef-points only) - TRADITIONAL_OWNERS - TRAD_OWN (text) - Traditional Owner Group whose Sea Country reefs occur on (from https://digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/images/map-indigenous-australia) - REEF_SHAPE - REEF_SHAPE (text) - Whether the reef is a continuous structure, a series of small reef patches, or both (Present-tropical-NT-reef-points shapefile and Present-tropical-QLD-reef-points only) - PRIMARY_SETTLEMENT_SUBSTRATE - PRIM_SETTL (text) - The underlying settlement substrate supporting oyster settlement and reef formation - BENTHIC_DEPTH - BENTHIC_DE (text) - Whether the reef is intertidal or subtidal - RELATIVE_RELIEF - REL_RELIEF (text) - Vertical reef height measured from the bottom to the top of reefs (Present-tropical-QLD-reef-points only) - REEF_PROFILE - REEF_PROFI (text) - Whether the reef is high or low in profile (≥ 15 cm or < 15 cm vertical height respectively) - PROTECTION - PROTECTION (text) - Whether the reef occurs in any known marine protected areas, including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Par, Fish Habitat Areas, or Indigenous Protected Areas. (Present-tropical-QLD-reef-points only) - DATA_SOURCE - DATA_SOURC (text) - How the reef was located (Satellite imagery, photograph, literature) - CREDIT - CREDIT (text) - Who is credited for locating the reef (Queensland Globe, Google Earth, individual persons, or literature details) - SCALE - SCALE (text) - Scale at which reefs are visible via satellite imagery Present_QLD_polygon_attributes.xls, Present-tropical-QLD-reef-polygons shapefile: - OBJECTID - n/a - Unique system-generated identifier assigned to each point or polygon in the attribute table - SITE - SITE (text) - Location of the individual point or polygon. Multiple reefs in a common area are numbered (i.e. Allen_Island1, Allen_Island2 etc) - EVIDENCE - EVIDENCE (text) - Strength of evidence of reef presence. Strong = characterised, high-resolution satellite imagery, or site photographs. Weak = low-resolution satellite imagery. Data deficient = anecdotal, shell evidence or aggregations of reef-building species - COMMON_NAME - COMMON_NAM (text) - Common name of main reef-building shellfish species - PRIMARY_SPECIES - PRIMARY_SP (text) - Scientific name of main reef-building shellfish species - SECONDARY_SPECIES - SECONDA_SP (text) - Scientific name of secondary reef-building shellfish species. - CULTURAL_SIGNIFICANCE - CULT_SIG (text) - Any known cultural significance of the site to Traditional Owners. - TRADITIONAL_OWNERS - TRAD_OWN (text) - Traditional Owner Group whose Sea Country reefs occur on (from https://digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/images/map-indigenous-australia) - REEF_SHAPE - REEF_SHAPE (text) - Whether the reef is a continuous structure, a series of small reef patches, or both. - PRIMARY_SETTLEMENT_SUBSTRATE - PRIM_SETTL (text) - The underlying settlement substrate supporting oyster settlement and reef formation - BENTHIC_DEPTH - BENTHIC_DE (text) - Whether the reef is intertidal or subtidal - RELATIVE_RELIEF - REL_RELIEF (text) - Vertical reef height measured from the bottom to the top of reefs. - REEF_PROFILE - REEF_PROFI (text) - Whether the reef is high or low in profile (≥ 15 cm or < 15 cm vertical height respectively) - PROTECTION - PROTECTION (text) - Whether the reef occurs in any known marine protected areas, including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Par, Fish Habitat Areas, or Indigenous Protected Areas. - DATA_SOURCE - DATA_SOURC (text) - How the reef was located (Satellite imagery, photograph, literature) - CREDIT - CREDIT (text) - Who is credited for locating the reef (Queensland Globe, Google Earth, individual persons, or literature details) - SCALE - SCALE (text) - Scale at which reefs are visible via satellite imagery References: Mapping methods • Gillies, C.L., McLeod, I.M., Alleway, H.K., Cook, P., Crawford, C., Creighton, C., Diggles, B., Ford, J., Hamer, P., Heller-Wagner, G., Lebrault, E., Le Port, A., Russell, K., Sheaves, M., Warnock, B., 2018. Australian shellfish ecosystems: past distribution, current status and future direction. Australian shellfish ecosystems: past distribution, current status and future direction. PLoS One 13, e0190914 • Richardson, M.A., Zhang, Y., Connolly, R.M., Gillies, C.L., McDougall, C., 2022. Some like it hot: the ecology, ecosystem benefits and restoration potential of oyster reefs in tropical waters. Some like it hot: the ecology, ecosystem benefits and restoration potential of oyster reefs in tropical waters. Front. Mar. Sci. 9. Present reefs • Gillies, C. L., C. Creighton, and I. M. McLeod. 2015. Shellfish reef habitats: a synopsis to underpin the repair and conservation of Australia’s environmentally, socially and economically important bays and estuaries. Page 68. Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER) Publication, James Cook University, Townsville. • Lukehurst, S. S., S. K. Tan, K. S. Tan, J. Dehm, C. Hewavitharane, and F. E. Wells. 2026. Clarifying the identities of Saccostrea scyphophilla (Péron & Lesueur, 1807) and S. mordax (Gould, 1850) (Bivalvia: Ostreidae) from the Indo-Pacific. Zootaxa 5799:1–31. Historical reefs • Bicho, N. F., Haws, J. A., & Davis, L. G. (2011). Trekking the shore: Changing coastlines and the antiquity of coastal settlement. New York: Springer • Bourke, P., S. Brockwell, B. O. Foghlu, and R. C. Wilan. 2023. Rounded toothed pearl-shell mounds at Elizabeth River near Darwin, Northern Territory. Australian Archaeology 89:261–269. • Bourke, P. M. 2004. Three Aboriginal shell mounds at Hope Inlet: Evidence for coastal, not maritime Late Holocene economies on the Beagle Gulf mainland, northern Australia. Australian Archaeology 59:10–22. • Gillies, C. L., C. Creighton, and I. M. McLeod. 2015. Shellfish reef habitats: a synopsis to underpin the repair and conservation of Australia’s environmentally, socially and economically important bays and estuaries. Page 68. Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER) Publication, James Cook University, Townsville. • Harrison, R. 2009. The archaeology of the Port Hedland coastal plain and implications for understanding the prehistory of shell mounds and middens in northwestern Australia. Archaeology in Oceania 44:81–98. • Litster, M., A. Barham, J. Meyer, T. R. Maloney, C. Shipton, S. Fallon, R. C. Willan, and S. O’Connor. 2020. Late Holocene coastal land-use, site formation and site survival: Insights from five middens at Cape Leveque and Lombadina, Dampier Peninsula, Kimberley, Australia. Australian Archaeology 86:118–136. • Manne, T., and P. M. Veth. 2015. Late Pleistocene and early Holocene exploitation of estuarine communities in northwestern Australia. Quaternary International 385:112–123. • Moss, P. T., S. Ulm, L. Mackenzie, L. A. Wallis, D. Rosendahl, and L. Steinberger. 2019. Robust local vegetation records from dense archaeological shell matrixes: a palynological analysis of the Thundiy shell deposit, Bentinck Island, Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 11:511–520. • O’Connor. 1996. Where are the middens? - An overview of the archaeological evidence for shellfish exploitation along the northwestern Australian coastline. Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Bulletin 15 2. • O’Connor, S., and M. Sullivan. 1994. Distinguishing middens and cheniers: a case study from the southern Kimberley, W.A. Archaeology in Oceania 29:16–28. • Richardson, M. A., Y. Zhang, R. M. Connolly, C. L. Gillies, and C. McDougall. 2022. Some like it hot: the ecology, ecosystem benefits and restoration potential of oyster reefs in tropical waters. Frontiers in Marine Science 9:1–15. • Rosendahl, D., S. Ulm, C. Sloss, L. Steinberger, F. Petchey, G. Jacobsen, E. Stock, and R. Robins. 2015. Mid-Holocene Aboriginal occupation of offshore islands in northern Australia? A reassessment of Wurdukanhan, Mornington Island, southern Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. Quaternary International 385:145–153. • Shiner, J. S., P. C. Fanning, S. J. Holdaway, F. Petchey, C. Beresford, E. Hoffman, and B. Larsen. 2013. Shell mounds as the basis for understanding human-environment interactions in far north Queensland, Australia. Queensland Archaeological Research 16:65. • Ulm, S., and J. Reid. 2000. Index of dates from archaeological sites in Queensland 12. • Ward, I. 2016. Archaeological assessment of coastal and marine development sites: case study from James Price Point, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. eAtlas Processing: Due to shapefile limitations the following attributes were renamed: - Coordinate to Coord_y - Coordina_1 to Coord_x - SECONDARY_SPECIES to SECONDA_SP - CULTURAL_S to CULT_SIG - TRADITIONA to TRAD_OWN - PRIMARY_SE to PRIM_SETTL - RELATIVE_R to REL_RELIEF And in "AU_NESP-MaC-4-13_GU_Oyster-Reefs_Past-tropical-NT-reef-points.shp" and "Historical_NT_point_attributes.xls" the reefs in Port Essington were renamed to "Port Essington 1" and "Port Essington 2" as according to the data dictionary. No modifications to the underlying data were performed. Data Location: This dataset is filed in the eAtlas enduring data repository at: data\custodian\2024-2027-NESP-MaC-4\4.13_Mapping-tropical-shellfish