Salt marshes are home to a variety of invertebrates including crabs, molluscs and insects. These animals provide tasty meals for fish such as yellowlin bream when the saltmarsh is inundated by high tides, as well as food for birds, bats and other animals. Some water birds that use saltmarsh for food and habitat and migrate from as far away as China! One recent discovery is that crabs living in saltmarshes release large quantities of larvae when inundated by the tides. The larvae can make up to 90% of the diet of some species of fish in the estuary. This makes the saltmarsh zone a valuable source of food for many small and juvenile fish species, which in turn are food for other larger fish species including those valued by fishers. A lack of awareness of the importance of saltmarshes has led to their decline in NSW estuaries. Saltmarsh plants are vulnerable to a range of disturbances including trampling, dumping of garden wastes, changes to tidal inundation, and grazing. This plaque is 1 of many found around the district. The plaques describe the history of their locations. They were commissioned by Kiama Council in 2009. If you had seen them around, you are welcome to have a look at the collection of plaques in the district.
Shrinking Saltmarsh plaque