Had the opportunity during recent spring tides to explore the Fingers in Roebuck Bay with marine scientist Jason Fowler. The area has 14 creeks (including Crab Creek) and the largest mangrove forests in the bay, as such is a huge fish nursery and feeding area for nearshore dolphins. Amazing to see the life in the creeks, Spoonbills, Herons, Egrets, Oyster Catchers, Cormorants, Stilts, Avocets, Kingfishers, Ibis, Terns, birds of prey and large flocks of migratory shorebirds. Then along the edge of the flooded mangroves, schools of pop eyed mullet leaping out of the water, and fish and turtles breaking the water regularly. Another remarkable feature of the Fingers is the enormous volumes of nutrient-rich freshwater that floods off Roebuck Plains into the Bay during the wet season. This sparks an explosion of life and fuels immense bait-fish schools that wash out to sea. Four creeks are included in a proposed marine sanctuary zone which is 19 km East of Entrance point and 10 km from Fall point boat ramp.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 07:24:23 +0000
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