This Estuary Management Plan (EMP) addresses the main management issues that were identified by the Working Group (refer to Appendix 1) and does not seek to reiterate the full suite of threats that are already well documented in past plans, including the last Curdies River Estuary Management Plan 2008.

A review of the existing literature occurred as a preliminary piece of work to this EMP, and provides a more detailed account of the main values and threats associated with the estuary, as well an overview of estuary management in Victoria*.

Prepared by RM Consulting Group for the Corangamite CMA.

The Curdies River estuary is defined by the Curdies Inlet lagoon, surrounding areas of floodplain habitat, an opening to the wild southern ocean, excellent fishing and its position on the Great Ocean Road. The diversity of estuarine and wetland habitats support a range of flora and fauna species, both aquatic and terrestrial and the estuary was once an important resource for Indigenous populations. The raw and natural aesthetic of the estuary is synonymous with the township of Peterborough and today the estuary continues to support recreational fishing, tourism and agriculture. 

Of particular pertinence to the future management of the Curdies River estuary are challenges associated with climate change and impacts such as storm surges and sea level rise. Similarly, a whole of catchment approach has been taken in developing the EMP, recognising that what occurs upstream will ultimately affect downstream. Therefore, this EMP is strongly aligned to, and supports, the Corangamite Waterway Strategy 2014-2022. Further, this EMP is not limited to a geographic area defined as the “estuary”, given the very dynamic nature of estuarine environments; this is evidenced by a salt wedge that continually moves in response to freshwater and saltwater influences and the nature of the river mouth.

Another challenge this EMP aims to address is the competing values and uses surrounding the estuary. While the community highly value the estuary, the way in which it is valued is not equally shared and there are differing opinions about how it should be protected and enhanced. For example, the natural estuarine flooding regime required to sustain certain aquatic flora and fauna, can be at odds with what is required to protect built infrastructure. 
It is important that all stakeholders and the community work together to achieve the objectives and goal of this EMP, so that the environmental values are protected and enhanced, and that the social and economic uses expected by the community can be sustainably supported.