Monitoring Swan River Mussel Reefs
A citizen science initiative engaging local anglers to monitor and report on the condition of shellfish reefs in the Swan River.
Quantify
the benefits of shellfish reefs to recreationally important fish species.
Increase
recreational awareness and engagement of and with shellfish restoration and its importance to ecosystems.
Increase
the stake of recreational anglers in improving fihs habitat in the swan canning river system.
Engaging Anglers in Reef Monitoring
As part of The Nature Conservancy’s national Reef Builder Program four limestone Blue Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis/plantulatus) reefs were constructed in the lower Swan-Canning Estuary between 2019 and 2023. The reefs have been installed with the environmental goals of improving water quality (via the water filtration ability of Blue Mussels) and providing habitat to aid in fish productivity. The need for monitoring of the reefs to assess their outcomes on the previously mentioned goals has been identified. The project will involve the engagement and utilisation of the recreational angling community in the deployment of remote underwater video units (herein RUVs) to monitor the fish communities on TNC Blue Mussel reefs in the lower Swan-Canning Estuary. This work will assist in determining the efficacy of Blue Mussel reefs in providing productive fish habitat
Restoring Essential Shellfish Habitat
The lack of hard structure in the river has reduced the opportunities for shellfish (particularly mussels) to settle and grow. As shellfish are important to the function of the river ecosystem it is important we restore their populations. The building of the reefs and the subsequent volunteer monitoring will help to achieve this and to further understand the benefits of shellfish to fish populations.
Recreational anglers will engage in the monitoring and analysis of RUV footage on a seasonal basis, with monitoring occurring over four two-week periods and three workshops conducted throughout the project.
Iconic Species Spotted on Reefs
To date the spring and summer sampling periods for the first year have been completed along with our first in-field workshop. We are already observed some of our most iconic recreational species on the reefs such as Tailor, Bream, Squid and Blue Swimmer Crabs.
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