Caring for the Gippsland Lakes Ramsar Site is a full-time job. We are out and about monitoring plants and animals and determining ways to protect and enhance them to meet future challenges.

Native Fish Protocol Development and Monitoring

The Gippsland Lakes Ramsar Site is home to threatened native fish species including the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act listed Australian Grayling

This project will develop a native fish monitoring protocol for the Gippsland Lakes Ramsar Site.

Threatened Flora Monitoring of Swamp Everlasting

The Gippsland Lakes Ramsar Site is home to threatened flora species including the EPBC listed Swamp Everlasting.

Flora surveys will be completed to determine current population numbers within known areas of distribution. Protective measures (e.g. cage barriers) will then be implemented to reduce the impact of persistent threats to existing populations.

Seagrass Extent Mapping

Seagrass is a key vegetation community of the Gippsland Lakes Ramsar Site

The existing Seagrass Monitoring Framework will be implemented to map and monitor seagrass extent and density across the Gippsland Lakes. This data will build on data collected from 2016-2024 informing trends in seagrass distribution over time.

Wetland Water Quality Assessment & Report

Water quality is an important indicator of wetland health. The Gippsland Lakes Ramsar site has a series of freshwater, brackish and variability saline wetlands that support a significant number of waterbirds and frog species.

This project will monitor and assess the water quality in fringing and brackish wetlands Macleod Morass, Sale Common, Dowd Morass and Heart Morass.

Two existing water quality gauges at the Macleod Morass will be maintained to ensure the continual collection of data to detect changes in trends overtime. Data will also be used to inform future management strategies for the site.

Macleod Morass water regime monitoring

Macleod Morass is one of two freshwater wetlands in the Gippsland Lakes.

Macleod Morass is one of only two freshwater wetlands within the Gippsland Lakes Ramsar Site. Freshwater wetlands are a critical component of the ecological character of the Gippsland Lakes Ramsar Site, supporting a range of other critical components including threatened waterbirds and frog species. It’s important to effectively manage the freshwater flows within the Morass to ensure it continues to provide important ecosystem services.

Management of the Gippsland Lakes Ramsar Site is overseen by East Gippsland CMA and these projects are supported by the Victorian Government.