Australian first shellfish reefs are restored at Port Phillip Bay

by The Nature Conservancy on 16 Feb 2015 This is an in-water trial set-up, which will involve The Albert Park Yachting and Angling Club (APYAC) assisting Fisheries Victoria and University of Melbourne to load and deploy locally sourced limestone rubble and other materials etc. onto to the seabed.

Restored Clinker boats, some of which are 100 years old, will assist in transport of materials out to Margaret’s Reef in Hobson’s Bay. Then as above, volunteers will pass limestone rubble bags etc. to divers to deploy on the bottom of the bay.

Project Background
In an Australian first, Port Phillip Bay’s shellfish reefs are being restored which is expected to help boost biodiversity, including fish numbers, clean water and increase recreational fishing opportunities.

One of the world’s largest conservation groups, The Nature Conservancy is in a ground breaking partnership with the Victorian Government and the Albert Park Yachting and Angling Club and will be using cutting edge methods to restore shellfish reefs to bring all the benefits of oysters back to the Bay.

Next steps: The team will be deploying mussels and native flat oysters (also called mud oysters) onto the limestone bases in a few weeks’ time –DATE TBA

Key facts:

• The project was originally initiated by Fisheries Victoria and the Albert Park Yachting and Angling Club, who noticed the loss of healthy shellfish reefs and beds as recently as the early 1980s

• The first reefs to be restored are at Geelong Arm (Wilson Spit) andHobsons Bay (Margaret’s reef)– both sites used to have large areas of shellfish beds.

• Native flat oysters raised at the Victorian Shellfish Hatchery at Queenscliff will be used to re-establish reefs in the Port Phillip Bay area

• Over 100 years of commercial dredge fishing and other environmental and ecological impacts in Port Phillip Bay has ruined much of the shellfish reef areas that used to exist in Port Phillip Bay. The loss of this valuable habitat no doubt started with flat oyster harvesting in 1880's (for food and lime for a growing colony) followed by intensive mussel and scallop dredging from the early 1960’s to mid-1990’s. Commercial dredge fishing is no longer permitted in the bay, and there have been major improvement to water quality (such as reduction in heavy metal pollution). While the environment is now better, the shellfish have not recovered naturally and it is clear they require a helping hand to re-establish.

• The Nature Conservancy recently undertook a Shellfish Reefs at Risk global report that concluded that shellfish reefs are the most imperiled marine habitat on earth. Here is a link to the report website

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a leading conservation organisation working around the world in more than 35 countries to protect the lands and waters on which all life depends. Since 2000, TNC has collaborated with a wide array of partners to support conservation efforts across more than 126 million hectares of Australia’s lands and waters. This includes securing 29 high priority additions to the National Reserve System, including some of the largest private protected areas in Australia. TNC has also assisted Indigenous groups with the protection of 19.6 million hectares of Indigenous Protected Areas across northern and central Australia, and we’re working to conserve the Great Western Woodlands, the world’s largest intact temperate woodland. Visit TNC at website