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South East Local Land Services (SELLS) encouraged Shire fishers, and members of the wider community, to attend an information session where a variety of speakers in the environmental industry will talk about improving fish habitat.
The information session will be at Corrigan's Cove Resort, Batehaven, at 6pm on Friday, November 15.
The Eurobodalla Shire is home to many estuaries. SELLS land services officer Sonia Bazzacco said estuaries are a mosaic of different habitats including seagrass, mangroves, saltmarsh, sand, mud and oyster and rocky reefs.
"Each of these habitats plays an important role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem that can support the needs of the environment, of recreational users and of local industries like fishing and tourism," she said.
"We're particularly keen to get local fishers involved in this project as they have a wealth of knowledge about the water ways, existing and historical fish habitat and species."
Dr Troy Gaston, a senior lecturer at the University of Newcastle's School of Environmental and Life Sciences, will talk about how our understanding of what is required for productive estuaries has greatly improved over the last decade, and where we can focus on-ground rehabilitation efforts to improve habitat.
"We already know the importance of this vegetation type (coastal saltmarsh) as habitat and food source for prawns and numerous commercial and recreational fish," Mr Gaston said.
"Our appreciation of the importance of saltmash and the potential outcomes from habitat repair will be further improved by examining these relationships for other species."
The night will also feature talks from Jillian Keating of NSW DPI's Threatened Species and Coastal Systems unit, Sherrie Nye of Mogo Local Aboriginal Land Council and Chris Weire of NSW DPI's Recreational and Aboriginal Fisheries Unit.
"It is a great opportunity to get everyone in the room, hear from a range of voices and perspectives, united by the desire to make sure these habitats are healthy and sustainable for future generations to enjoy," Ms Bazzacco said.
For more information please contact Ms Bazzacco on 0429 998 585.
The Climate Proofing Coastal Saltmarsh project is supported by South East Local Land Services through funding from the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.
