Pelican Lagoon

A number of islets are present within Pelican Lagoon. Six of these are named as follows (from east to west): Rabbit Islet, Goanna Islet, Pig Islet, Wallaby Islet, Shag Rock and Samphire Islet.[3]

The islands within the lagoon support heathlands dominated by Coastal Daisybush and Thyme Riceflower. The coastline enclosing the lagoon supports a range of vegetation types dominated by heathlands of Acacia leiophylla and Orthrosanthus multiflorus, herb lands of Senecio odoratus, coastal mallee scrub of Eucalyptus diversifolia, samphire flats and grazed grasslands.[7]

Samphire grows on the mud flats within the lagoon which are exposed at low water. The subtidal areas of the lagoon are dominated by the seagrass species of Heterozostera tasmanica and Posidonia australis. Various algae species are also present.[7]

Waterbirds that use the lagoon include nine species that breed in the locality such as the chestnut teal, pied oystercatcher, sooty oystercatcher and caspian tern. Seventeen waterbird species are listed on international migratory treaties with sixteen listed on the Japan-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA) and seventeen listed on the China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA).[7] As of 1996, Black tiger snakes were reported as being present on the islands within the lagoon.[10]

The lagoon is reported as a breeding site for the little penguin.[7] The lagoon supports a number of marine animal species considered to be commercially valuable. These include sand crab, king scallop, queen scallop, razorfish (Pinna bicolor), southern calamari, flathead, King George whiting, leatherjacket, red mullet, snook, Southern Sea garfish, tommy ruff, trevally and Western Australian salmon.[11] The lagoon is also reported as being home for a pod of bottle-nosed dolphins.[7]

The lagoon was discovered by Flinders on 4 April 1802 and was named in recognition of the large pelican population present at the time.[9] Since the establishment of South Australia, the lagoon has also been known as American River.[12] The islands within the lagoon were mined for guano under licence from the South Australian Government prior to 1919.[13] As early as May 1905, fishing by the use of nets was prohibited both in Pelican Lagoon and adjoining waters in both American River and Eastern Cove.[14] As early as 1908, the role of ‘Pelican Lagoon on the American River’ as a hatchery area was acknowledged by the South Australian government via statements attributed to Mr. S. McIntosh, the then Deputy Chief Inspector of Fisheries.[15] By early 1925, the lagoon was reported as being closed to all types of fishing.[16] The islands within the lagoon first obtained protected area status as a fauna conservation reserve declared under the Crown Lands Act 1929-1966 on 16 March 1967.[17]

• "American River Marine and Coastal Area, Sapphiretown Rd, American River, SA (Place ID 100822)". Australian Heritage Database. Department of the Environment. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
• Anon (2001). A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (PDF). 3rd edition. Canberra.: Environment Australia. ISBN 0-642-54721-1.
• Anon (1987). Conservation Parks of Kangaroo Island Management Plan (PDF). Adelaide: Department of Environment and Planning, South Australia. ISBN 0-7243-8983-0.
• Boating Industry Association of South Australia (BIA); South Australia. Department for Environment and Heritage (2005), South Australia's waters an atlas & guide, Boating Industry Association of South Australia, ISBN 978-1-86254-680-6
• South Australia. Department of Marine and Harbors (DMH) (1985), The Waters of South Australia a series of charts, sailing notes and coastal photographs, Dept. of Marine and Harbors, South Australia, ISBN 978-0-7243-7603-2
• "Development Plan, Kangaroo Island Council, Consolidated – 20 February 2014" (PDF). Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI). Retrieved 8 March 2016.
• Flinders, Matthew (1966) [1814]. A Voyage to Terra Australis : undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803 in His Majesty's ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland Schooner; with an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island (Facsimile ed.). Adelaide; Facsimile reprint of: London : G. and W. Nicol, 1814 ed. In two volumes, with an Atlas (3 volumes): Libraries Board of South Australia. Retrieved 5 January 2014.CS1 maint: location (link)
• Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) (2007). "Aquatic Reserve: American River" (PDF). Primary Industries and Regions South Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2015.
• Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) (2012), Management Plan for the Pelican Lagoon Aquatic Reserve; The South Australian Fisheries Management Series Paper number 56 (PDF), Primary Industries and Regions South Australia, ISBN 978-0-9807387-2-8, archived from the original on 4 September 2014
• Robinson, A. C.; Canty, P.; Mooney, T.; Rudduck, P. (1996). "South Australia's offshore islands" (PDF). Australian Heritage Commission. ISBN 978-0-644-35011-2. Retrieved 13 December 2013.