Industry

Wooden boat festival displays

Cockle Train at goolwa station

Murray Mouth Sand Pumping Project sign at the Murray Mouth

Since October 2002, two sand dredges have been working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in both the Goolwa and the Coorong Channels. The sand is pumped as a slurry and piped over the sand dunes in the mouth onto the ocean beach, where the currents move the sand around again.

Recently the milestone of three million cubic metres of sand was reached, and yet the dredging is only just managing to keep the mouth of this once major river open. The cause of this problem is the lack of environmental flows in the river because far too much water is being taken by irrigators and dairy farmers in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB). Tidal movement through the mouth must occur if wading birds, many of which are migratory and from the Northern Hemisphere (and protected supposedly by the Ramsar Convention), are to be able to feed on the exposed mudflats in the estuary, particularly between the Goolwa and the Tauwitcherie Barrages.

Ornithologists monitor the bird numbers in the Coorong

Ornithologists monitor the bird numbers in the Coorong and lakes on a fortnightly basis between October and May, when the migtatory waders are resident in the area. The survey results give us a better idea of how many birds there are, what species are present and which parts of the Ramsar site they find most valuable for roosting and foraging.

The Coorong and lakes Alexandrina and Albert are a wetland of international importance, also known as a Ramsar site. They are also one of the six significant ecological assets of the Murray-Darling Basin. The site is valuable internationally because it provides a home to tens of thousands of migratory waders who fly from Siberia to Australia each spring to feed and fatten up, before returning to Siberia in the northern summer to breed. The major issue for the Ramsar site is the lack of flows down the River Murray, which is depriving the Coorong of much needed fresh water, mud and other detritus. It is also causing severe constriction of the Murray Mouth, which is only prevented from closing by a non-stop sand dredging program. In the long term the Coorong and lakes Ramsar site needs environmental flows to keep the Murray Mouth open naturally and to improve the health of the Coorong.

Fishways on the Goolwa barrage

Management of the Ramsar site isn't just about birds. Fishways have been installed on the barrages to improve the connection between the Coorong and estuary and the lakes, allowing fish to move between the Coorong and the lakes, as happened before the barrages were installed.

The Coorong and lakes Alexandrina and Albert are a wetland of international importance, also known as a Ramsar site. They are also one of the six significant ecological assets of the Murray Darling Basin. The site is valuable internationally because it provides a home to tens of thousands of migratory waders who fly from Siberia to Australia each spring to feed and fatten up, before returning to Siberia in the northern summer to breed. The major issue for the Ramsar site is the lack of flows down the River Murray, which is depriving the Coorong of much needed fresh water, mud and other detritus. It is also causing severe constriction of the Murray Mouth, which is only prevented from closing by a non-stop sand dredging program. In the long term the Coorong and lakes Ramsar site needs environmental flows to keep the Murray Mouth open naturally and to improve the health of the Coorong.

The Coorong and lower lakes Ramsar site, around Goolwa

The Coorong and lower lakes Ramsar site, particularly around Goolwa, is experiencing a boom in urban development. Such development needs to be well designed to ensure that the ecological character of the Ramsar site is not degraded.

The Coorong and lakes Alexandrina and Albert are a wetland of international importance, also known as a Ramsar site. They are also one of the six significant ecological assets of the Murray Darling Basin. The site is valuable internationally because it provdes a home to tens of thousands of migratory waders who fly from Siberia to Australia each spring to feed and fatten up, before returning to Siberia in the northern summer to breed. The major issue for the Ramsar site is the lack of flows down the River Murray, which is depriving the Coorong of much needed fresh water, mud and other detritus. It is also causing severe constriction of the Murray Mouth, which is only prevented from closing by a non-stop sand dredging program. In the long term the Coorong and lakes Ramsar site needs environmental flows to keep the Murray Mouth open naturally and to improve the health of the Coorong.