Lucinda - 4850

A group of young sailors spending their school holidays on an eight-day tall ship voyage have helped pluck two stranded kayakers from dangerous waters near Hinchinbrook Island.

Nicholas Lubitz witnessed the remarkable emetic incident during a three-year project that saw hundreds of marine creatures tagged off the Queensland coast.

Wildlife officers were called in to capture the 3.9 metre crocodile on a property on the Herbert River in North Queensland.

It's a high-adrenaline hobby with its fair share of risks, but even those who've witnessed shark attacks are still spearfishing.

In Lucinda the humble power pole is a blank canvas for an artist who is immortalising local legends big and small.

In a beaten-up ute, David Rowe is a familiar sight in the Queensland town of Lucinda, where he splashes colour and humour onto roadside canvases one power pole at a time. 

In another life, Pelican Bob was a cabaret singer and signwriter. But it was making the move to a small coastal town in north Queensland that helped the 78-year-old find his joy.

New catch limits for east coast Spanish mackerel have inflated costs for North Queensland fishers, forcing many out of the industry.

When Liza Putzka's husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer they were forced to wind down their Spanish mackerel fishing business. She always thought she could sell their licence and boat and retire comfortably — but that is not the case.

Further delaying changes to the way the East Coast Spanish Mackerel Fishery is managed is increasing uncertainty for the commercial sector and the species' survival, fishers and conservationists say.

Commercial fishers fear mismanagement of Spanish mackerel stocks by Fisheries Queensland is about to cost them their livelihoods, but the state government insists no decisions have been made.

Cocaine found washed up on Hinchinbrook Island earlier this year is being forensically compared to samples from packages seized off the New South Wales coast in 2018.

Tropical Cyclone Niran intensifies to a category 3 off the north Queensland coast this morning, but is no longer a threat to coastal communities in North Queensland.

Cyclone Niran is expected to intensify into a category three storm within the next 24 hours, bringing gusts of up to 100kph to coastal and island communities.

Tropical Cyclone Niran intensifies to a category two storm off the Far North Queensland coast, and is bringing powerful winds, heavy rainfall and potential flooding to coastal communities.

A tropical cyclone is expected to form on Tuesday morning off north Queensland and could reach category 3 strength, but the weather radar in Townsville is currently out of action, and could remain offline for days.

Demand to trek Australia's largest island national park is so high, there are investigations to increase its tourism capacity. But experts warn it could have consequences on the environment and on tourists' experiences.

Tropical Cyclone Kimi is downgraded to a tropical low overnight and is no longer expected to cross the north Queensland coast, but the system could still reform in the coming week, the Bureau of Meteorology warns.

The Bureau of Meteorology says it is now unlikely the weakening Tropical Cyclone Kimi will significantly impact the north Queensland coast.

Diana McKinstry pitched her tent near the ocean about five months ago in a bid to aid her recovery from depression. The community is now working hard to find her shelter as Tropical Cyclone Kimi approaches.

Authorities warn Tropical Cyclone Kimi could be "unpredictable" with residents from Cooktown to Lucinda warned of destructive winds, heavy rainfall, high tides and flash flooding.

A doctor who helped treat shark attack victim, Richard Bettua, off the north Queensland coast yesterday recalls the frantic efforts to save him as he drifted in and out of consciousness.

A 59-year-old man is undergoing surgery after being bitten by a shark at Britomart Reef, 120 kilometres north of Townsville, in North Queensland.

The case against Queensland man Ronald John Toft, who was accused of trying to kidnap a six-year-old girl at an Adelaide caravan park earlier this year, is dropped.

An emergency warning is issued for Ingham and Halifax in north Queensland as the rising Herbert River floods streets and cuts off access to the towns in the area's second major flood in three weeks.