Test results released today by Primary Industries and Fisheries show the presence of very low levels of agricultural chemicals at a site in the Noosa area under investigation by the Noosa Fish Health Taskforce after two-headed fish larvae were detected there earlier this year.
At the time the owners of the fish hatchery alleged that the cause of the deformity was agricultural chemicals from a neighbouring macadamia farm.
According to QPI&F, chemicals have been found at one of the three sites where passive water samplers were used to test a water way near the Sunland Fish hatchery.
The positive result was returned from two samplers in the one location where Cooloothin Creek enters Lake Cootharaba.
Chemicals found include Carbendazim at 0.4 of a nanogram per litre, Atrazine at 9.65 nanograms per litre, and Metolachlor at 14.75 nanograms per litre.
A nanogram is one billionth of a gram. For Carbendazim the level is roughly equivalent to a teaspoon of sugar dissolved in a litre of water - then divided by 2,500 million.
Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries, Tim Mulherin, said: "I'm advised that the levels of chemicals detected were extremely low, are not a risk to human health, and are well within relevant guidelines for such a setting.
"The site is about two kilometres downstream from the hatchery and macadamia farm at the centre of the Taskforce investigation.
"Samplers upstream and samplers closer to these two properties returned no detected levels of agricultural chemicals.
"The result gives the government's taskforce additional data to examine as it investigates any links between fish health problems at the hatchery with the broader ecosystem."
Mr Mulherin said the new results would be added to data already available, and would be subject of "rigorous scrutiny and analysis" by the taskforce scientific sub-committee.
The taskforce's interim report is due to be handed to Mr Mulherin next week.
Dr Andrew Langley, Public Health Physician, Central Area Population Health Unit, Sunshine Coast, said the results could be regarded as negligible.
"The results do not indicate that there is a risk to human health from drinking the water or recreational use of the water," Dr Langley said.
Sampling was undertaken by the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) over January and February this year.
Aside from agricultural chemicals, water contaminants commonly associated with human settlement were also detected.
Taskforce chairman and director of Biosecurity Sciences, Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries, Jim Thompson, said the source of the agricultural chemicals was yet to be determined.
"This new data regarding the presence of farm chemicals will be added to the mix of evidence we are already examining such as the fish stock data in the Noosa catchment for recent years," he said.
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