Featured NewsHistory of Penrhyn Estuary
Penrhyn Estuary formed following reclamation works associated with construction of the existing Port Botany and Foreshore Road area in the 1970s. Since that time, the Estuary has developed into an ecosystem which includes saltmarsh and seagrass species and intertidal flats that have become feeding and roosting sites for locally important shorebirds.
The key shorebird species historically using the site are the Bar Tailed Godwit, Red Necked Stint, Double Banded Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Sharp Tailed Sandpiper, Red Knot and the Pacific Golden Plover.
A range of issues have affected the environmental health of the estuary including stormwater runoff from neighbouring urban and industrial sites, poor water quality, contaminated estuarine sediments, spread of noxious weeds, degraded vegetation, human disturbance, dogs and feral animals, proliferation of mangroves, beach and dune erosion and rubbish dumping.
Sydney Ports has recognised the importance of Penrhyn Estuary as essentially the only habitat remaining for shorebirds on the northern side of Botany Bay.
A Penrhyn Estuary Habitat Enhancement Plan (PEHEP) has been prepared and is currently being implemented, to reverse the decline of Penrhyn Estuary as shorebird habitat and to enhance key ecological features of the estuary.