ONE of several jetties being refurbished on the state’s East Coast has been reopened just in time for the warmer months. The Cunningham Street Jetty at St Helens is back in action. Both the Cunningham and Talbot street jetties were closed since December 1, 2017. They were assessed for structural integrity and were deemed a risk to public safety.
>Much of the damage was caused by teredo worms, which bore into and live in submerged timber.
The ownership and management of the jetties had been taken over by the council in January that year, as the owners are unable to keep up with the cost of upkeep.
Despite many of the jetties requiring replacement or significant upgrades, the council was not prepared to see them fall into the water. It agreed to inherit the jetties and began seeking the funding required to bring them back to life.
Mayor Mick Tucker said he was grateful to the state government for providing the council with $685,000 to refurbish the jetties, as they were an important part of the area.
“They provide a spot for recreational fishing, relaxing, meeting friends and are some of the most photographed features of our area,” he said.
The jetty was officially opened on August 12 and already a local fisherman has caught his first catch and a pot-bellied seahorse has been spotted checking out the works crews handiwork.
The refurbishment included new state-of-the-art methods, including wrap- ping the pylons in an inert polymer to prevent destruction by teredo worms.
It also included a fish scaling table, bench seat, solar LED lights, and one of the council’s Hook, Line, and Sinker containers.
The St Helens region is a popular spot for fishing, with the Cunningham Street jetty listed amongst the top spots by the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water, and Environment.
From shore, keen fishers can catch sand flathead, bream, silver trevally, gar- fish, snapper, and King George whiting.