Why are mangrove wetlands so important in Australia?
Coastal mangrove wetlands in Australia’s tropics provide important nursery habitat for many of our favourite target fish and crustacean species including prawns, mud crab, mangrove jack and barramundi.
Sadly, mangrove wetlands have been impacted by coastal development, with land clearing, physical barriers to water flow and changes to water quality reducing mangrove health which is bad news for fish.
That’s why our OzFishers are hard at work, improving flow to the mangroves which in turn will improve habitat connectivity and help our fish get where they need to go.
Progress and Next Steps
Habitat improvement work around Cairns airport and Saltwater Creek is ongoing. In collaboration with our project partners and stakeholders, we’ve identified multiple barriers that require remediation to improve water flow and fish passage. Over the past year, we have completed background environmental surveys, as well as commissioning survey levels, hydrological modelling and engineering drawings of the identified sites. We are continuing to work to secure permits and approvals and we expect to complete remediation of the first barrier by June 2024.
This project is supported by Terrain NRM through funding from the Australian Government’s Fisheries Habitat Restoration Program.
