Site: The Coorong, Lake Alexandrina & Lake Albert

Designation date: 01-11-1985

Coordinates: 35°25'S 139°18'E

Elevation: 0 m - 0 m

Area: 140,500 ha

Location: The site is located near the mouth of the Murray River, in South Australia.

Criteria: 1 ,2 ,3 ,4 ,5 ,6

Importance: The combination of ocean beaches and river mouth associated lakes and estuaries, provides a wide range of habitats from freshwater to hypersaline, which are mostly in a natural state. The site contains endemic plant communities of Lamprothomium populosum. The threatened parrot Neophema chrysogaster over-winters in the reserve, and the threatened plover Charadrius rubricollis and duck Stictonetta naevosa are also recorded in the site. The site holds a diversity of waterbird species. The Coorong is an important breeding area for pelicans, crested terns and fairy terns, and Lake Alexandrina for egrets, ibises, cormorants and the heron Nycticorax caledonicus. Large numbers of waders visit the area. The 1981 count of the Australasian Wader Studies Group of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union estimated the summer population of waders for the area at 122,000, compared with a South Australian population of 200,000 and an Australian population of 403,000.

Wetland Types: Q ,O ,M ,J ,F ,E (dominant types shown in bold)

The site comprises the area Coorong, a long shallow saline to hypersaline lagoon, and the freshwater lakes Alexandrina and Albert. The site is a narrow wetland complex extending from the Murray Mouth to parallel coastal dunes and consisting of saline marshes, samphire, freshwater soaks and open water with a hypersaline area at the southern end.

Biological/Ecological notes: The wetland consists of ocean beach, together with the mouth of the River Murray and associated lakes and estuaries. In 1982, an estimated 45,000 ducks visited the area. Spectacular numbers of Cygnus atratus are present at times (in excess of 5,000) and approximately 2,000 Cereopsis novaehollandiae normally summer within the wetland. The area also supports large numbers of Anas gibberifrons, A. superciliosa and Tadorna tadornoides. Other noteworthy birds include Anas castanea, A. rhynchotis, Aythya australis, Biziura lobata, Calidris alba, C. acuminata, C. ferruginea, C. canutus, C. ruficollis, Casmerodius albus, Cecropis ariel, Charadrius ruficapillus, Chenonetta jubata, Chlidonias hybrida, Circus aeruginosus, Cladorhynchus leucocephalus, Erythrogonys cinctus, Haematopus fuliginosus, H. longirostris, Himantopus himantopus, Hirundo neoxena, Hydroprogne caspia, Larus novaehollandiae, Limosa lapponica, L. limosa, Malacorhynchus membranaceus, Numenius madagascariensis, Oxyura australis, Pelecanus conspicillatus, Phalacrocorax carbo, P. melanoleucos, P. sulcirostris, P. varius, Platalea regia, P. flavipes, Plegadis falcinellus, Pluvialis dominica, P. squatarola, Poliocephalus poliocephalus, Recurvirostra novaehollandiae, Sterna bergii, Threskiornis spinicollis, T. aethiopicus, Tringa hypoleucos, T. stagnatilis, T. nebularia and Vanellus miles.

Hydrological/Physical notes: The Coorong is a long, shallow saline to hypersaline lagoon more than 100 km in length that is separated from the Southern Ocean by a narrow sand dune peninsula. The Lakes Alexandrina and Albert form the mouth of the Murray River and are comprised of fresh to saline waters. These lakes form a natural wetland system with associated shoreline marshes and are connected with the Coorong wetland complex. The area also contains a number of ephemeral salt lakes and examples of ephemeral carbonate lakes of national and international significance.

Human Uses: The area is mostly Crown Land, National Park and Game Reserves. Lakes Alexandrina, including Tolderol, Mud Islands and Currency Creek, and Lake Albert are surrounded mainly by private property. The Coorong is surrounded mainly by National Park and Game Reserve. Most of the edge of Lakes Alexandrina and Albert is used for farming, with tourist development in several areas. Development is otherwise restricted under the State Planning and other Acts and most of the area is in its natural state. Within the site, conservation and recreation takes place. Recreational activities include fishing, camping, walking, boating, duck hunting (in game reserve only) and wildlife observation. It is estimated that in excess 200,000 people per year visit the area. Access to important wetland sites, particularly waterbird breeding areas, is restricted. In the surrounding areas grazing and farming is practised. Professional fishing occurs both along the beach and in parts of the wetland complex. The site and particularly the Coorong, is noted for its extensive aboriginal (traditional and archaeological), historic and geological areas. Some of the northern islands within the Coorong lagoon are not part of the Coorong National Park or Game Reserve, but are reserved for use by Aboriginal people. The South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service has a visitor centre at the Coorong and rangers are available to provide information and interpretation programs. The South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service maintains on-going monitoring of habitats and wildlife associated with the Coorong and adjacent areas in accordance with objectives established in the management plan.

Conservation Measures: The Coorong is designated as a National Park and Game Reserve. Management plans for parts of the site including a management plan for Lake Coorong, which has been implemented. The draft Coorong and Lower Lakes Ramsar Management Plan proposes strategies to mitigate and utilise flows from the Murray River and through drainage works arising from the Upper South East Dryland Salinity and Flood Management Plan.

Adverse Factors: The lack of peak flows from the Murray River, together with regional land clearance and drainage schemes, leads to increased salinity.

Site Management: South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, GPO Box 1782, Adelaide, South Australia 5001.

External Link:

Based on the 1998 Ramsar Information Sheet.