Sydney Harbour has a spectacular view, but do you know that it is home to over 3,000 different species of marine life below the surface?
The high species richness of Sydney Harbour is probably due to combined factors, including significant tidal flushing and the high diversity of habitats.
However, the pollution and waste that is also fed into the waterways are having devastating effects.
Listen the full episode to find out:
So what new incentives are underway to restore and retain the harbour’s incredible biodiversity, and are we in time?
On today’s This Arvo In Sydney, host Sacha Barbour Gatt and LiSTNR journalist Loren Howarth found out the damages and impacts on our marine environment and what the solutions were here to help.
Haworth said that Sydney Harbour had more than 600 fish species, more than on the entire coast of New Zealand or England.
However, the view didn’t last long, with around 3,000 kilos of plastic, fuel and detergents removed from the harbour over a 12-month period.
Susan Crocetti, Principal Policy Officer NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, said:
We have species like seahorses, cuttlefish, penguins and seals, that we don’t see in the tropics but are beautiful throughout our harbour. So, we really should cherish it.”
The good news is that action is underway, with the Liberal government last year launching the Seabirds to Seascapes project to repair the harbour.
More improvements are expected to follow this year, with the Federal Government putting aside $45 million in the budget for the Harbour.
Dr Katherine Dafforn, a marine ecologist and the correlate of Project Restore, said:
We don’t want too much organic matter getting washed into the harbour because that can fuel some nasty microbes and some nasty toxins in the water.”
Hosted by Sacha Barbour, This Arvo in Sydney is a 10 to 12 minute daily news podcast made just for Sydney! Listen now on the Listnr app.