Support for the listing of Port Stephens area as a World Heritage Site is receiving interesting feedback.
Meetings are to be scheduled by the Marine Parks Association for Tea Gardens, Karuah and Foster soon.
Should NAC host a meeting as well? The Marine Parks Association are looking for members. This association can help us provide education and information programs for residents about our marine environment.
What is so special about this area?
If this bid is successful, it will be the only designated
World Heritage estuary and catchment in Australia. This
area supports an extraordinary biodiversity:
• The most extensive mangrove and seagrass ecosystems in NSW.
• Rich aquatic and marine environments with more than 600 species of fish, including endangered species such as grey nurse sharks, sea turtles, White’s seahorse, the black cod, and the newly discovered Nelson Bay anglerfish.
Approximately 120 bottlenose dolphins are resident in the estuary and an estimated 30,000 humpback whales that make their annual migration through the coastal waters of the area.
© Marine Parks Association 2019
• A colony of endangered Gould’s petrels and little penguins nest on the islands that flank the seaward
entrance to this estuary.
• The region also supports at least 50 species of mammals, 350 species of birds, and 2000 species of
plants including some of the most significant koala population in the southern part of NSW.
More information here WH Information Sheet.pdf
