Department 'should formulate' pelican management plan

The NSW Department of Primary Industry and Water should step in and formulate a management plan to protect a pelican colony at Blackwall, according to local water bird scientist Ms Wendy Gillespie.

Ms Gillespie was commenting on findings by the NSW Environmental Protection Authority that the mortality of water birds around Blackwall had been caused by the presence of algal growth and toxins in storm water.

The findings were released by Central Coast Council last week.

Ms Gillespie said it was a "good outcome" from the EPA.

"It is the logical outcome because the headwaters from the top of the catchment area pass through the nearby golf course and golf courses are commonly associated with algal problems when they are near marine environments," she said.

Ms Gillespie said she believed the NSW Department of Primary Industry and Water could now step in and regulate the problem because there was now an "established impact on a marine species".

"There will be a whole range of things that will need to be done including a management plan," she said.

Ms Gillespie said she believed over 4000 pelicans had died over the 20-year period following the replacement of a natural creek with a storm water drain near a known pelican breading area at Blackwall.

"Hundreds have died per year and it has taken over six years for the cause of the problem to be recognised," she said.

Interview, 28 Sep 2016

Wendy Gillespie, Pelican Rescue

Reporter: Jackie Pearson