The Parks and Wildlife Service celebrated World Wetlands Day with more than 200 visitors taking part in a day of free activities at the centre.

Tamar Island Wetland Volunteers president John Duggin said the international day marked the commemoration of the signing of the Ramsar Convention.

The convention was signed in 1972 in the Middle East to promote the wise use and conservation of wetlands.

``A wetland doesn't have to be wet: it has vegetation that indicates that it has wet periods as well as permanently wet areas and goes out to a depth of five or six metres into estuary systems,'' Mr Duggin said.

Wetlands provided many benefits including filtering pollutants and providing a habitat to add biodiversity to the region, as well as grounds for fish breeding.

The Tamar wetland area was also a tourist attraction, he said.

Miss Scurr-Nicholls has regularly visited the wetlands with her father, Tamar Natural Resource Management project manager Grant Scurr.

Mr Scurr helped to control pests such as gambusia at the wetlands.

Yesterday he had a display of fish species and a catch-the-fish activity.

Other activities included a treasure hunt, paper origami, guided walks to the island, snake handling and raptor displays.