RecFish SA join St Kilda Mangrove Alliance
RecFish SA have joined a number of private consultants, NGO’s and community groups in an alliance calling for immediate action to save the St Kilda Mangroves. We have joined the alliance to advocate on behalf of recreational fishers and to provide the valuable rec fishing perspective.
More than 10 hectares of the St Kilda mangroves, and 35 hectares of the samphire and salt marshlands has died and more is under threat from hyper saline and hyper acidic brine which is leaking from the ponds and entering the mangroves and marshlands.
Intertidal and shallow subtidal seagrass and sand habitats around the Port River – Barker Inlet support a high diversity of fish and invertebrates, with 56 species identified during a 10-year study of the Port River-Barker Inlet system. These species are extremely important to the recreational fishing sector and many of the individuals sampled were juveniles; providing evidence that the area is a nursery for a large number of these species.
Today RecFish SA joined leaders in science, industry and environment at St Kilda Mangroves in Adelaide’s north to announce the new alliance, which has been created to defend this vital ecosystem and advocate for immediate action to stop the damage.
It is imperative that the State Government steps in and takes control of this ecological disaster before it becomes irreparable.
Please head over to the official Save the St Kilda Mangroves Facebook page to stay up to date with any developments or to find out how you can help – https://www.facebook.com/Save-St-Kilda-Mangroves-100586988627714 (Twiter @MangrovesSt and Instagram St_Kilda_Mangroves)