Coast & Estuaries
Page 195
Derrick Bridge over the Port Adelaide River), the Lefevre Transport Corridor
upgrade, Defence SA's Techport Warfare destroyer precinct and new marinas
at Largs North and the Inner Port area.
The seagrass and mangrove ecosystems of the Gulf St Vincent are of
enormous ecological and economic importance, providing a basis for much of
the region’s commercial and recreational fisheries. Mangroves and shallow
water seagrasses support a variety of juvenile fish and crustacean species. The
Barker Inlet system is home to a range of uncommon marine fauna including
the pygmy squid (Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources
Management Board 2006).
The Port Adelaide River and Barker Inlet is a marine environment, not a
freshwater system. Freshwater flows into the Inlet from a range of land-based
stormwater catchments - the water quality from these catchments is discussed
in the chapter on Inland Waters.
Barker Inlet, Port Adelaide River and Coast - Environmental
Indicators
Trends - Port Adelaide River, Coast & Estuaries
•
Nitrogen (N) load DECLINED by 25% in 2008 relative to 2003 load levels
along Adelaide Coastline.
•
Seagrass extent along the Adelaide metropolitan coast is still DECLINING.
•
Exotic seagrass
Caulerpa taxifolia
growth in the Port Adelaide
River/Barker Inlet has remained STABLE.
Goals
Target 71: Marine biodiversity
Maintain the health and diversity
of South
Australia’s unique marine
environments
(South Australia's Strategic Plan
2011)
Indicators
Environmental indicators support quantitative reporting that enable more
informed and accurate decision making and policy development.
Condition indicators
•
EPA Water quality & sediment classification of Port Adelaide River-Barker
Inlet Waterways
•
EPA Results of monitoring of Heavy Metals and PCBs in Dolphins,
sediments, and fish of the Port Adelaide River.
•
Results of Waterwatch community monitoring in the Port Adelaide River.
