Shellfish project in Pumicestone Passage
Published 13 December 2017
Artificial shellfish reefs are today being installed into Pumicestone Passage at Bribie Island in an Australian-first, using a team of divers in a bid to grow new shellfish beds from recycled oyster shells.
The biodiversity project aims to restore fish populations and has clearly captured the hearts of locals, with an incredible 11 cubic metres of oyster shells donated from restaurants, fishmongers, recreational fisherman and locals as part of a mammoth community collection campaign.
The reefs will be created in two trial designs - one from steel cages filled with shells, the other affixed to an innovative biodegradable potato starch matrix - and both can be removed at the end of the three-year trial monitoring period as determined by a team of marine scientists from the University of the Sunshine Coast.
The project’s long-term aim is to improve the water quality of Pumicestone Passage by restoring the once abundant oyster population, since Sydney Rock Oysters capable of filtering two-to-four litres of water an hour - that’s nearly 100 litres of water per day per oyster.
Live shells from the canals of Bribie Island are also being used thanks to special permits allowed by the State Government, so people with bags of oysters growing off their private pontoons have also jumped on board.
Shellfish have been synonymous with indigenous culture and Moreton Bay for thousands of years, but shellfish communities are now functionally extinct in the Pumicestone Passage due to over-harvesting and disease.
After 18 months of planning, Healthy Land and Water has secured approval from the state government to help restore these crucial habitats by installing artificial reef structures on the sea floor.
The project is a community-led collaboration more than 20 year in the making and involves Traditional Owners, all levels of government, community groups, industry and water utilities.
Moreton Bay Regional Council Mayor Allan Sutherland said Pumicestone Passage forms a vital part of the region’s ecosystem and identity, stretching 35km and playing home to dugongs, dolphins, fish, turtles and more than 350 species of birds.
“As Aussies, we love to spend our leisure time out on the water, so it’s only fitting that we give back to the environment that gives us so much,” Mayor Sutherland said.
Council contributed $20,000 towards the first stage of the project.
“With the passage reaching an A-minus for the first time in the annual Healthy Land and Water report card, it’s great to see new methods and innovations being trialled so we can continue to ride that momentum.
“Projects like this demonstrate our collective will to want to improve our waterways, and make sure it’s there for generations to come.”
Three different types of artificial shellfish reefs will be installed in a one-hectare location of Kakadu Beach, including a biodegradable potato starch matrix known as BESE-Elements that was developed in the Netherlands and has never been used before in Australia.
Steel cages filled with shells and a patch reef construction used to simulate natural reef structure will be also be installed.
To honour their inextricable link to Moreton Bay and shellfish communities, relatives of Traditional Owners will help assemble the BESE-Elements under the guidance of the Dutch developers who have made the journey to Australia for the launch.
Project leaders are asking fishers to be custodians of the project and to support the restoration effort by not anchoring in the area as anchors could damage potato starch matrix installations and severely hamper the project.
A special illuminated yellow marker buoy will be installed to indicate to water users where the reef structures are located beneath the water.
The project will be monitored by the University of the Sunshine Coast marine science team for three years and it is hoped a successful trial will encourage similar restoration work to be replicated elsewhere in the Moreton Bay Marine Park.
A full list of project partners includes Joondooburri Trust, Kabi Kabi First Nation, Pumicestone Passage Fish Restocking Association, Sunfish, Digsfish Services Pty Ltd, Carlo Sain, University of the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay Regional Council, BCF, Unitywater, the Australian Government and the National Landcare Program, the Queensland Government, the Community Benefit Fund, Regional Landcare Facilitator Program, Bureau Waardenburg, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen and OzFish.