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New fishway opened at Sydney Olympic Park to mark World Wetlands Day

2 February 2009

The Honourable Barbara Perry MP, Member for Auburn, today opened a new fishway at Sydney Olympic Park to mark World Wetlands Day 2009.

‘Today, we join with people from more than 95 countries in celebrating World Wetlands Day as we open the Boundary Creek Fishway at Sydney Olympic Park,’ Minister Perry said.

Upstream-Downstream: wetlands connect us all – the theme of this year’s World Wetlands Day – highlights the intimate relationship between the health of the environment and people sharing a common river basin.

‘The Boundary Creek Fishway is a great local example of how the NSW Government is working with the Federal Government to improve the health of the Parramatta River basin for the benefit of the people along its shores,’ Minister Perry said.

The project was jointly funded by the Sydney Metropolitan Catchment Management Authority, the NSW Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries) and the Australian Government, with Sydney Olympic Park Authority providing financial and project management contributions.

‘The NSW Government is committed to delivering improved environmental outcomes for the people of Sydney and this is a great example of state and federal governments working closely together on an important local project,’ Minister Perry said.

‘The new fishway re-establishes the natural link between Parramatta River and the upper reaches of Boundary Creek, which had been blocked to fish by concrete supports for Australia Avenue that isolated the freshwater creek from the mangrove wetlands downstream.

‘The fishway is made up of a carefully designed pools, separated by strategically positioned rocks that allow creek water to form a gentle gradient, which can be used by fish in their passage upstream.

Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said the new fishway would help rehabilitate the upper reaches of Boundary Creek and restore it as an important feeding, breeding and nursery area for native fish including mullet, gudgeon and eels.

‘In south eastern Australia, approximately 70 per cent of coastal fish species migrate as part of their life cycles, accessing important habitat for breeding, feeding and survival. The free passage of fish within rivers, streams and wetlands is a critical part aspect of aquatic ecology in NSW,’ Minister Macdonald said.
 
The Boundary Creek Fishway is the most recent of a series of initiatives to improve the health of waterways in Bicentennial Park. In 2001, a fishway was completed on Powells Creek, connecting Parramatta River to Lake Belvedere. This has proved very successful in improving the ecology and water quality of Lake Belvedere and in allowing native estuarine fish access to its relatively protected waters for breeding.

‘With the opening of the Boundary Creek Fishway, the natural connection between the estuarine and freshwater ecosystems is once again complete and this will be of great benefit to native fish and the biodiversity of the area,’ Minister Perry said.

The Boundary Creek Fishway demonstrates Sydney Olympic Park Authority’s continuing role in protecting and managing the diverse environments of Sydney Olympic Park, said Sydney Olympic Park Authority CEO Alan Marsh.

‘Sydney Olympic Park Authority is committed to the highest standards of environmental sustainability and to the continued remediation and active management of our parklands,’ Mr Marsh said.