The decayed remains of a platypus caught in a wire trap and washed ashore on the Thone River near Comboyne has prompted fresh warnings to residents about the real possibility of drowning protected wildlife species, and the heavy fines for using any traps, including 'opera house' yabby traps, in the freshwater regions of the Hastings and its tributaries.

The use of traps in freshwater rivers, creeks and lakes is illegal, particularly where platypuses have been identified. Anyone caught using traps illegally can face fines of up to $22,000 and additional fines under the National Parks and Wildlife Act for every animal harmed by the device; six months imprisonment, or both.

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council employs environmental consultant Dr Tom Grant to monitor the movements of platypuses in the Hastings upstream and downstream from its Koree Island pumping stations.

A report issued in January, indicated significant populations of platypuses, which are protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, in the lower Hastings.

Dr Grant said the most recent platypus death in a trap was not an isolated incident and most people living near and using the river still were not aware of the risks such devices posed to a range of air-breathing animals, including freshwater turtles and cormorants.

In another incident, two turtles, still alive, were pulled from eel traps at Beechwood.

Council is now looking at an opportunity to install educational signs and will support the formation of a Platypus Awareness and Conservation Team (PACT).

"Public awareness is essential to reducing these activities," Tom Grant said.

"I gave a talk to kids at Beechwood School about 12 months after the new regulations were brought in.

"About half of the kids had a yabby trap at home, and none knew they were illegal. They were wide-eyed when I demonstrated with a stuffed platypus and a trap what could happen."