Dog poo collected at Umina rock shelf

A kilogram of dog excrement was collected in 10 minutes at the Umina Beach rock shelf by volunteers on Clean Up Australia Day, according to site coordinator Mr Paul Burns.

Mr Burns, who supervised the Clean Up at the site on behalf of the Australian Conservation Foundation, said he was concerned about public health as well as the effect of excrement on the local ecosystem.

He said that dog faeces in the water was a threat to children and others who might be unaware of the danger.

The beach was a popular place for children to learn to swim due to its shallow water and its calm shores, Mr Burns said.

"Little kids learning to swim take in lots of water."

He said he was also worried that tourists to the area would be affected by the quality of the water.

"Visitors to the Ocean Beach caravan park are unsuspecting and do not realise what the state of the water is," he said.

"At a time when oyster growers are concerned with the detection of traces of faecal matter contaminating their leases, this should be a concern."

Mr Burns said the rock shelf harboured molluscs and seaweeds that were unique to the area.

"There is also a probability of environmental damage to this special ecological community," he said.

One sign of an effect on the water quality was the appearance of epiphytic algae around seaweed in the area.

Mr Burns said he would like to see the area be made off limits to dogs.

"We don't have many of rock shelves but they do have quite unique species, which should be protected."

Alison Branley, March 7.