LAKE Macquarie council has been accused of taking the "cheap way out", harming marine vegetation and blocking a fish passage after effectively cutting off part of Cold Tea Creek for the final stage of the Fernleigh Track.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) is investigating allegations against the council and locals say the critical marine habitat near Belmont wetlands is under threat.
NSW Recreational Fishing Alliance safety officer Malcolm Poole said the council's environmental credentials have to be brought into question with the decision to effectively cut-off the creek.
"This is the easy, cheap way out, it's the cheapest way to go and destroy habitat and it's never the same once it's disturbed in this manner," he said.
"You can't dump something in the middle of the creek and go, 'she'll be right mate'.
"To point the finger at the contractor isn't good enough, you guys co-opted into the project and didn't have enough common sense to deal with it in the proper and appropriate manner with minimal degradation."
A temporary rock platform was put across Cold Tea Creek last week, after Lake Macquarie City Council (LMCC) engaged Glascott Civil and Landscape to built the northern section of the Fernleigh Track.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the council had received three complaints about the issue.
The platform is designed to allow safe access for machinery to drive supporting piles into the creek bank and remove concrete headwalls from the previous bridge.
Locals argue it's putting stress on a vital marine nursery that's home to Eastern king prawns, flathead, whiting, bream and estuary perch.
Mr Poole said prawns particularly rely on tidal flows in and out of the creek and he's concerned the temporary platform will break their breeding cycle.
A spokeswoman for NSW DPI told the Newcastle Herald DPI Fisheries workers inspected the site on November 3 and again on November 6, after local recreational fishers reported concerns about construction work on the final stage of the Fernleigh Track.
"Lake Macquarie City Council has stopped all work on the site," she said.
"DPI Fisheries will work with LMCC this week to assess the site and put in place the required actions to remediate the site and restore fish passage.
"This location is an important key fish habitat, which connects significant coastal wetlands to Lake Macquarie and is a prawning hotspot for recreational fishers."
A LMCC spokesman said the machinery can't complete the tasks from the existing creek bank.
"Council acknowledges that Cold Tea Creek is part of a very sensitive and significant ecosystem," he said.
"Council has worked with relevant authorities for several years planning the Fernleigh Awabakal Shared Track (FAST) project, with a focus on protecting the environment.
"The temporary rock platform will be in place only for the minimum time required."
It's expected to be removed by the end of the month and according to the council, the platform has pipes installed at different levels to allow for water flow and tidal exchange.
But, Marks Point Fisherman's Warehouse owner Jason Nunn has real concerns the platform could cause a 'major' fish kill if too much fresh water builds up on one side of the creek or marine vegetation starts to rot.
"It's just unacceptable, we need to think about environmental changes and the pressures we put on the environment as humans, making life easier for somebody else is not what it's about," he said.
"It's that bizarre, crazy and irresponsible, it's a joke.
"I hope DPI have tried to get some remediation work done so we can start the flow of water in and out of the wetland area now, we don't want it next week or the week after, we want it now."
In Mr Nunn's opinion, a floating pontoon would have been a preferable alternative for the works and would have better protected the wetlands, which he said are the "lungs of the waterway".
Belmont local Lincoln Ross has lived in the area for 40 years and said he's watched the lagoon become a vital ecosystem and nursery.
"I look at the fish banked up on the inside of the dam they've built and they're trying to escape but they can't get out," he said.
"What they've done is absolutely heart-breaking, if they'd spent more money and a bit more time they could have done this a lot more morally and professionally.
"Council seems to think it's not an important lagoon, black swans nest in there, it's the most vital nursery I think Lake Macquarie has as far as prawns spawning.
"The environmental impact and damage is massive."
Mr Ross said the public have also been cut off from the popular fishing spot while the works are under way.
"Local blokes rely on this for their food as well, I watch old blokes in their 80s and 90s who would head down there every day before these works went on to fish for flathead and go home," he said.
"It's not a high income or wealthy area, people rely on it for food."
A LMCC spokesman said NSW DPI contacted them after receiving a complaint from a community member.
"Council and Glascott have since met with fisheries and will continue to liaise with them throughout the construction period to ensure impacts are kept to a minimum and the area is restored after installation of the new bridge," he said.
He said the council doesn't have any plans to revert Belmont Lagoon or any surrounding areas to freshwater and it doesn't intend to make any permanent changes to the Cold Tea Creek ecosystem.
The council commissioned an Environmental Impact Statement as part of its planning for the FAST project which was ultimately approved by the Hunter and Central Coast Regional Planning Panel, and the spokesman said DPI Fisheries was consulted during the DA planning and approval process.
Belmont resident Alan Pernice has lived in the area since 1999, he said prawns and flathead generally come into the creek and lagoon to spawn around October.
"It's going to cause a lot of environmental damage as far as I can see," he said.
Work will begin this week on the northern end of the FAST project, which will include the removal of a number of trees and trimming on others.
According to the council, an independent ecologist has inspected the trees to be removed to make sure they aren't home to native fauna, while an arborist will continue to have input on which trees may be able to be retained.
