About the Port Macquarie Site

Port Macquarie is renowned for its natural coastal environments, including its estuaries. These include Camden Haven, Lake Innes, Lake Cathie and the Hastings River. The areas are important for tourism, full of significant convict history.

Camden Haven connects to the ocean through the Inlet of Camden Haven, and consists of two major lakes; Watson Taylor Lake and Queens Lake. The approximate length of the Camden Haven River is 40 km, and the landscape is dominated by the heavily forested North Brother Mountain.

The Camden Haven is a major producer of crustaceans (24 t/yr) and oysters (155 t/yr). This significant fishery is due to abundant seagrass meadows of Zostera, Halophila and Ruppia species.
Lake Cathie is a popular recreational swimming and fishing area, and a small commercial fishing industry supports 20 families. Lake Cathie is the second largest estuarine salt marsh area in NSW (6.0 km2), and is fully surrounded by National parklands. The wetlands surrounding Lake Cathie are a renowned aquatic bird habitat. Small patches of Zostera and Halophila seagrass species can be found here.

The Hastings River is a popular boating waterway, a large oyster producer (250 t/yr) and does sustain some commercial fishing and prawning. The major seagrass species found in the Hastings Zostera.

Local Coordinator

Brian Tolagson
Phone: 02 6582 0723

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