THE PORT OF MELBOURNE has joined forces with The Nature Conservancy Australia in a $890,000 project to restore shellfish reefs in Port Phillip’s designated dredging grounds.
The world-first trial is being described as “an incredibly exciting initiative” by ,” Andrew Bossie, TNC’s Seascapes Conservation Officer for Victoria. “We are restoring half a hectare of new shellfish reefs over dredge spoil [removed from navigation channels during maintenance dredging], something that has never been attempted before.”
The trial commenced on 4 February, using a mix of recycled shell from TNC’s Shuck Don’t Chuck project and local limestone rock to form a new reef base on the seafloor, and is being undertaken by contractors Polaris Marine using the tug Leaders Creek and crane-equipped barge Constructor 3.
These reef bases will be seeded with 400,000 Australian Flat Oysters, which will continue to grow and attach to the reef base and each other. Over time, they will create a living reef, filtering water, and attracting a diversity of fish and aquatic life.
Shellfish reefs once dominated up to half of Port Phillip Bay’s seafloor. However, as a consequence of historical overfishing, compounded by catchment-to-coast runoff and other factors, they are now considered an ecologically collapsed ecosystem. Craig Faulkner, Port of Melbourne EGM Operations, said the port was delighted to support the restoration of shellfish reefs in the Bay through the $890,000 investment.
“We are incredibly excited to continue our shellfish reef restoration work by leading a world first trial. If successful, this project could catalyse the restoration of end-of-life dredge material grounds in other parts of Australia and the world.” Mr Bossie added.
This project is part of TNC’s larger national shellfish restoration program that aims to rebuild shellfish ecosystems at 60 geographic locations across Australia by 2030.
