The words of the Southern Rivers Catchment Authority already being heard and now the Northern Rivers CMA’s aquatic program catchment co-ordinator Peter Corlis says they were called to give evidence on their activities relating to river health. They said right at the start that they were starting to realise the relevance of the catchment management authorities were doing within the catchments and the link to the estuary and marine environment especially.
Corlis informed the committee about flood events have on the region. He told that many of them have stood on a headland and looked out at the big plume of turbid water that comes out of our coastal rivers and creeks and they sort of nodded their heads about having observed that. Committee chair Robert Brown says the threats to marine biodiversity from catchment inflows are more significant than the concerns of recreational fishing’s access to marine parks.
According to Brown the evidence presented by the CMA will be reflected in their report due to be handed down in November. The committee also heard from the Clarence River Fishermen’s Co-operative and the Professional Fishermen’s Association.
