Moulting Lagoon

Moulting Lagoon Ramsar site aerial view
Moulting Lagoon Ramsar site black swans
Moulting Lagoon Ramsar site Ramsar interpretive sign
Moulting Lagoon Ramsar site saltmarsh

Moulting Lagoon

  • Country: 
    Australia
  • Site number: 
    251
  • Area: 
    4,507 ha
  • Designation date: 
    16-11-1982
  • Coordinates: 
    42°02'S 148°11'E
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

A large estuary at the mouths of the Swan and Apsley Rivers, adjacent to the Apsley Marshes Ramsar Site (Site no.255). The lagoon, several sections of coastal reserve surrounding it, and an additional area of dry land one kilometre to the north, make up the Moulting Lagoon Game Reserve. Moulting Lagoon is an excellent example of a large estuary formed behind a bayhead sandspit and is one of only two such areas in Tasmania, and the estuary is recognized as one of high conservation significance for the island. The Site provides an important resting and breeding ground and an important drought refuge for about 100 resident and migratory bird species such as the endangered Eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis), the Australian shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides) and the black swan (Cygnus atratus). The Site is used for recreational shooting, fishing and boating, aquaculture and off-road driving, while the surrounding area is used for grazing, residential development, mining, aquaculture and recreation.

Administrative region: 
Tasmania

  • National legal designation: 
    • game reserve
  • Last publication date: 
    01-07-2022

Downloads

Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)

Additional reports and documents