Saving our saltmarsh
OzFish Richmond River Chapter volunteers, Ballina Shire Council, and Jali Local Aboriginal Land Council have joined forces to restore the last remnants of saltmarsh that remain in the Richmond catchment.
Saving our Saltmarsh OzFish volunteers
Saltmarsh is critically important to the health of the lower Richmond River and its fish population. These communities are important to water quality, bank stability and as fish habitat and fish food source.
Together, using both local expertise and community, the project partners will work on a combination of both public and private lands to fence, weed, remove rubbish (small and large items), reduce or formalise access points and use vegetative buffers to protect and improve this important fish habitat.
Saltmarshes and fish
Saltmarshes are essential for healthy fisheries as they provide food, refuge, or a nursery habitat for our fish and other aquatic life including shrimp and blue swimmer crab.
In this short educational video Cass Price, the Director of Habitat Programs at OzFish explains some of the common species you can find in our Saltmarshes and why they are important to fish habitat.
Unpack habitat
Over 70% of all recreationally targeted saltwater fish species are thought to rely on saltmarshes for at least some of their life cycle.
With the support of our Growing River Stewardship program supported by the NSW Government’s Environmental Trust, we took some time to unpack saltmarshes.
What is being done
Saltmarsh assessment
OzFish have a volunteer-friendly assessment that can be completed with a walk through a saltmarsh in just a few hours. It considers the health of the saltmarsh and the human impacts that might be damaging the saltmarsh health. Take a walk through a saltmarsh and discover its values and what can be done to protect them. Use underwater video to monitor what’s in the incoming tide today and much more.
Clean-up days
Saltmarshes are targets for waste dumping, they are also a place where a lot of flotsam and jetsam ends up settling when the tide returns to the estuary. Pull on some gloves and help us keep our saltmarshes in a healthy state.
Weeds and plants
Sometimes saltmarsh can use more protection around the edges, we’re working on stopping the weeds from taking over and giving saltmarshes the best chance to thrive. Planting around the edges can also help filter any water coming from the land before it ends up in the saltmarsh where our fish are feeding.
Access management and fencing
Help to identify tracks and access points for fishing that reduces damage to sensitive saltmarsh, but allows great fishing access where the best fishing spots are.
Feral pests
OzFish Director of Habitat Programs Cassie Price explains how to monitor fish habitat with trail cameras. You can use trail cameras to track down feral animals, toads, foxes, cats, pigs and deer who are feeding on the native species of the saltmarsh or trampling the sensitive plants. Some saltmarsh plants can take 20 years to recover after being trampled.
Project news
How and why we monitor saltmarsh
Unpack Habitat – Saltmarsh
Preserving our saltmarshes
OzFish Richmond River Saves Saltmarsh for better fishing
Get involved and make a difference
Become a member of OzFish Richmond River Chapter to be part of Saltmarsh Restoration projects to improve the future of fishing.
The program is being funded by the NSW Government through a partnership between the Saving Our Species program and the Environmental Trust.
