Fish friendly breakwater maintenance

Breakwaters and training walls are large structures built of rock or concrete and positioned in the coastal zone.

They are important for NSW coastal communities as they help to:

• control where and how rivers meet the sea
• create harbours, marinas and safe ports
• protect some foreshores from erosion.

Many of NSW breakwaters are more than 100 years old and their design did not take into account how they would affect the environment.

This project aims to maximise the greatest value from the existing array of coastal breakwater infrastructure along the NSW coast and was undertaken by Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Fisheries in collaboration with key stakeholders including other agencies and local government.

This involved identifying breakwater features that deliver better outcomes for both the marine environment and users of the NSW marine estate.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Fisheries

• Southern Cross University
• GHD

Please send and email to patrick.dwyer@dpi.nsw.gov.au to ask for any of the following documents in a different format.

• Workshop on multi-use and eco-features for breakwater maintenance and upgrade works Report 10 March 2020 (PDF, 2816.8 KB)
• A review of multi-use and eco-engineering features for trained river entrances, armoured harbours and groynes (PDF, 3187.56 KB)
• Breakwater maintenance and upgrades: multi-use and eco-features, guidance for asset owners, designers and project managers (PDF, 6128.89 KB)
• An audit of trained river entrances, armoured harbours and groynes and their multi-use and eco-features in NSW Summary Report (PDF, 5900.43 KB)
• An audit of trained river entrances, armoured harbours and groynes and their multi-use and eco-features in NSW: Queensland border to Stockton (vol 1) (PDF, 17458.66 KB)
• An audit of trained river entrances, armoured harbours and groynes and their multi-use and eco-features in NSW: Stockton to Shellharbour (vol 2) PDF, 14906.86 KB
• An audit of trained river entrances, armoured harbours and groynes and their multi-use and eco-features in NSW: Shellharbour to Victorian border (vol 3) (PDF, 9566.23 KB)