Limmen Bight
Encyclopedia
Limmen Bight is a bight
, or large, open bay, at the western end of the Gulf of Carpentaria
, northern Australia
, about 360 km east of the town of Katherine
. It was named in April 1644 by Abel Tasman
for one of his ships on his voyage of exploration along the northern Australian coast. It contains the second largest area of tidal flats in the Northern Territory.
, on the north-west by the south-eastern coast of Arnhem Land
, and in the north by Groote Eylandt
. The mouth of the Roper River
marks the westernmost point of the bight; other rivers flowing into the bight include the Rose, Towns and Limmen Bight Rivers. Land around the bight is predominantly Aboriginal
freehold land held by the Arnhem Land and Marra Aboriginal Land Trusts, with some parts lying within the Nathan River and other pastoral lease
s. Port Roper, at the mouth of the Roper River, is a site for semi-permanent fishing
camps.
s and for marine turtles, for which the site is considered to be of national significance. The extensive coastal mudflats provide feeding habitat for flocks of over 30,000 migratory
wader
s, or shorebirds, and the freshwater swamps of the river floodplain
s cater for tens of thousands of waterbirds. The coastal waters support high densities of Dugong
s. Threatened vertebrate
species
found in the area include the Australian Bustard
, Masked Owl
, Partridge Pigeon
and Northern Hopping Mouse
, as well as the Flatback
, Green, Hawksbill
and Olive Ridley Turtles.
as an Important Bird Area
(IBA) because it supports over 1% of the world populations of Grey-tailed Tattler
s, Great Knot
s and White-headed Stilt
s. The IBA includes the coastline from the Roper River to the Limmen Bight River, with the inland swamps south of and along the lower Roper River. The main habitats are intertidal mudflat
s, low samphire shrubland
, scattered patches of dry rainforest, and channel-fringing mangrove
s.
Chestnut Rail
s inhabit the mangroves of the IBA. Black-tailed Godwit
s have been recorded in substantial numbers. A waterbird breeding colony near the Roper River mouth held about 2500 birds, including Pied Heron
s, egret
s and cormorants. Seabird
breeding aggregations at the site include the largest Pied Cormorant
and Little Tern
colonies in the Northern Territory. There are also colonies of up to 10,000 Crested Terns and 5000 Roseate Tern
s. Sandy Island and Low Rock
form a separate IBA important for nesting terns.
Bight (geography)
In geography, bight has two meanings. A bight can be simply a bend or curve in any geographical feature—usually a bend or curve in the line between land and water....
, or large, open bay, at the western end of the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
, northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, about 360 km east of the town of Katherine
Katherine, Northern Territory
Katherine is a town situated southeast of Darwin in the "Top End" of Australia in the Northern Territory. It is the fourth largest settlement in the Territory after the capital Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs...
. It was named in April 1644 by Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman
Abel Janszoon Tasman was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the VOC . His was the first known European expedition to reach the islands of Van Diemen's Land and New Zealand and to sight the Fiji islands...
for one of his ships on his voyage of exploration along the northern Australian coast. It contains the second largest area of tidal flats in the Northern Territory.
Description
Limmen Bight contains several small offshore islands, the largest of which is Maria Island; others are Edward, Sandy and Beatrice Islands, and Low Rock. It is bounded on the south-west by the Gulf Plains of the Northern TerritoryNorthern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, on the north-west by the south-eastern coast of Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land
The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...
, and in the north by Groote Eylandt
Groote Eylandt
Groote Eylandt is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northeastern Australia. It is the homeland of, and is owned by, the Anindilyakwa people who speak the isolated Anindilyakwa language)....
. The mouth of the Roper River
Roper River
The Roper River is one of the largest rivers in the Northern Territory, Australia, extending east for over 500 km to meet the sea in Limmen Bight on the Gulf of Carpentaria. It is navigable for about 145 km, until the tidal limit at Roper Bar, and forms the southern boundary of the region...
marks the westernmost point of the bight; other rivers flowing into the bight include the Rose, Towns and Limmen Bight Rivers. Land around the bight is predominantly Aboriginal
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
freehold land held by the Arnhem Land and Marra Aboriginal Land Trusts, with some parts lying within the Nathan River and other pastoral lease
Pastoral lease
A pastoral lease is Crown land that government allows to be leased, generally for the purposes of farming.-Australia:Pastoral leases exist in both Australian commonwealth law and state jurisdictions....
s. Port Roper, at the mouth of the Roper River, is a site for semi-permanent fishing
Recreational fishing
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing, is fishing for pleasure or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is fishing for profit, or subsistence fishing, which is fishing for survival....
camps.
Fauna
The beaches of the bight’s islands are important for nesting ternTern
Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...
s and for marine turtles, for which the site is considered to be of national significance. The extensive coastal mudflats provide feeding habitat for flocks of over 30,000 migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
wader
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s, or shorebirds, and the freshwater swamps of the river floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
s cater for tens of thousands of waterbirds. The coastal waters support high densities of Dugong
Dugong
The dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow , was hunted to extinction in the 18th century...
s. Threatened vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
found in the area include the Australian Bustard
Australian Bustard
The Australian Bustard, Ardeotis australis, is a large ground bird of grassland, woodland and open agricultural country across northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is also commonly referred to in Central Australia as the Bush Turkey, particularly by Aboriginal people.The male is up to ...
, Masked Owl
Masked Owl
The Australian Masked Owl is a barn owl of Southern New Guinea and the non-desert areas of Australia.-Taxonomy:Described subspecies of Tyto novaehollandiae include:* T. n. calabyi I.J. Mason, 1983,...
, Partridge Pigeon
Partridge Pigeon
The Partridge Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland....
and Northern Hopping Mouse
Northern Hopping Mouse
The Northern Hopping Mouse, Souris Sauteuse, or Ratones Saltadores De Australia is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in coastal northern Australia, from Arnhem Land to the Cobourg Peninsula....
, as well as the Flatback
Flatback Turtle
The flatback sea turtle is a sea turtle that is endemic to the continental shelf of Australia. Flatback turtles belong to the Cheloniidae, or sea turtle, superfamily and are the only species found in the genus Natator....
, Green, Hawksbill
Hawksbill turtle
The hawksbill sea turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in its genus. The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Pacific subspecies. E. imbricata imbricata is the Atlantic subspecies, while E...
and Olive Ridley Turtles.
Important Bird Area
A 2234 km2 tract of land along the coast of the Limmen Bight has been identified by BirdLife InternationalBirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
as an Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
(IBA) because it supports over 1% of the world populations of Grey-tailed Tattler
Grey-tailed Tattler
The Grey-tailed Tattler, Tringa brevipes , is a small shorebird.- Description :...
s, Great Knot
Great Knot
The Great Knot, Calidris tenuirostris, is a small wader. It is the largest of the calidrid species.Their breeding habitat is tundra in northeast Siberia. They nest on the ground laying about four eggs in a ground scrape. They are strongly migratory wintering on coasts in southern Asia through to...
s and White-headed Stilt
White-headed Stilt
The White-headed Stilt or Pied Stilt is a bird in the Recurvirostridae family. It is sometimes treated as a distinct species Himantopus leucocephalus, sometimes included in the Common or Black-winged Stilt as Himantopus himantopus leucocephalus.This shorebird is found in Australia, Brunei,...
s. The IBA includes the coastline from the Roper River to the Limmen Bight River, with the inland swamps south of and along the lower Roper River. The main habitats are intertidal mudflat
Mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...
s, low samphire shrubland
Shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub or brush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity...
, scattered patches of dry rainforest, and channel-fringing mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
s.
Chestnut Rail
Chestnut Rail
The Chestnut Rail is a species of bird in the Rallidae family. The Chestnut Rail is monotypical of its genus.It is found in Australia and Indonesia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests....
s inhabit the mangroves of the IBA. Black-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit
The Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the Limosa genus, the godwits...
s have been recorded in substantial numbers. A waterbird breeding colony near the Roper River mouth held about 2500 birds, including Pied Heron
Pied Heron
The Pied Heron , also known as the Pied Egret is a bird found in coastal and subcoastal areas of monsoonal northern Australia as well as some parts of Wallacea and New Guinea.-Taxonomy:...
s, egret
Egret
An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets...
s and cormorants. Seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
breeding aggregations at the site include the largest Pied Cormorant
Pied Cormorant
The Australia Pied Cormorant , Phalacrocorax varius, also known as the Pied Cormorant or Pied Shag, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. It is found around the coasts of Australasia. In New Zealand it is usually known either as the Pied Shag or by its Māori name of Karuhiruhi...
and Little Tern
Little Tern
The Little Tern, Sternula albifrons or Sterna albifrons, is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It was formerly placed into the genus Sterna, which now is restricted to the large white terns . The former North American and Red Sea S. a...
colonies in the Northern Territory. There are also colonies of up to 10,000 Crested Terns and 5000 Roseate Tern
Roseate Tern
The Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....
s. Sandy Island and Low Rock
Sandy Island and Low Rock Important Bird Area
The Sandy Island and Low Rock Important Bird Area comprises two small islands with a collective area of 9 ha lying at the western end of the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory of Australia. They lie south-west of Groote Eylandt off the coast of Arnhem Land, with the nearest...
form a separate IBA important for nesting terns.