Tuesday 7, Sep 2010
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The Manager of the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park Max Haste says a wreck of a plane that went down in Port Stephens a few years ago has become a significant aggregation spot for bait fish.
Mr Haste said marine park divers had accidentally found the plane while searching – coincidentally - for underwater spots to put in artificial bait-fish attraction devices. He said the plane had crashed about two years ago with no fatalities.
He said not only had the marine environment adapted to the wreckage of the plane, which was now covered with impressive marine growth, but he expected the spot to also become popular with scuba divers seeking a slightly different experience.
“Interestingly it is the only place in the marine park where we have seen juvenile bar cod, which are normally a deep water species.”
Mr Haste said two artificial fish attraction devices had now been installed to attract even more bait fish. He said they’d been installed approximately 200m apart at a location between Tomaree Head, near the plane wreck, and Fingal Island.
Mr Haste said the attraction devices, which were funded by the Catchment Management Authority, had been designed both for the commercial longline industry and recreational fishers. He said they would provide an alternative location for the collection of bait.
“Fish in the vicinity of the artificial devices will be monitored over time and provide the marine park with important information regarding the sustainability of bait stocks at such artificial structures.
The Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park is one of six marine parks in NSW and extends from Cape Hawke Surf Life Saving Club near Forster south to Birubi Beach Life Saving Club at the northern end of Stockton Beach.
The park’s diverse marine life includes many species of dolphins, turtles, fish, invertebrates, seabirds and seaweeds along with threatened species such as the Gould’s petrel, little tern, grey nurse shark and green turtle.
