A NSW Government website

Myall Lakes

These wetlands on the north coast of New South Wales were listed under the Ramsar Convention in 1999.

 

The Myall Lakes Ramsar site is 75 kilometres north of Newcastle on the north coast of New South Wales. It covers an area of 44,612 hectares and consists of 5 separate subsites:

  • Myall Lakes National Park
  • Corrie Island Nature Reserve
  • Little Broughton Island Nature Reserve
  • part of Gir-um-bit National Park
  • part of Port Stephens–Great Lakes Marine Park.
Lush vegetation around a water body

Myall Lakes became a Ramsar site in 1999.

Why these wetlands were listed as a Ramsar site

Countries that sign up to the Ramsar Convention can nominate sites to be listed as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar sites). The site must meet at least one of 9 internationally accepted criteria.

The Myall Lakes were listed as a Ramsar site in 1999 because they meet the following criteria.

Criterion 1: Representative or unique wetlands

The Myall Lakes wetlands are a large coastal brackish lake system that are in a near-natural condition.

They are one of the 2 largest brackish-freshwater barrier estuaries in the south east coast drainage division and are an excellent representative example of this wetland type in New South Wales. They contain a unique co-existence of deep and shallow-water macrophytes (a type of aquatic plant) and the organic lake-floor mud known as gyttja.

Criterion 2: Threatened species or ecological communities

The Myall Lakes Ramsar site supports 5 threatened species. These include:

The site also supports the Littoral Rainforest and Coastal Vine Thickets of Eastern Australia, a threatened ecological community under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Criterion 3: Populations of plants and/or animals important for maintaining biodiversity of a particular bioregion

The site supports a rich biodiversity, including over 900 species of plants and more than 400 species of animals. The site regularly supports a substantial number of waterbirds, including 22 migratory species listed under international agreements.

How the site is managed

Management of this Ramsar site is guided by the following:

Threats to the Ramsar site

The main threats to this site’s ecological character include:

  • nutrient and sediment loads from the catchment
  • recreational activities
  • aquatic and terrestrial weeds
  • climate change.