Industry support welcomed by Australia’s largest seagrass restoration project 

Every November for the last four years, national fishing conservation charity OzFish have been working with Australia’s leading scientists from University of Western Australia to develop practical techniques to restore lost seagrass meadows of Cockburn Sound.

Volunteer fishers, divers and boat owners have been donating their time to the largest community driven seagrass restoration project in Australia.

This year a recent community nominated grant from the Kwinana Industries Council (KIC) will help OzFish hit the magic million seeds collected while providing their volunteers with an enjoyable and safe experience.

Andrew Matthews, OzFish Senior Program Manager, said that restoration projects like Seeds for Snapper do not happen without the support of organisations and groups such as the KIC.

“We would like to express our sincere appreciation to KIC for providing the opportunity to form a partnership and share our goal of restoring important seagrass meadows in the Cockburn Sound. On behalf of OzFish, I would like to thank Alan Jones of Macquarie Capital not only for him personally volunteering with us in 2020, but for nominating Seeds for Snapper as a worthy recipient of Kwinana Industries Council sponsorship,” said Andrew.

KIC Director, Chris Oughton, expressed his thanks to Alan for presenting the OzFish habitat restoration project for consideration and hoped many who work in the Kwinana industrial area will get behind it.

The purpose of the Seeds for Snapper helps foster community participation and stewardship through encouraging volunteers and community members to give back to their local waterway.

Tania Douthwaite, Dive Team Coordinator for Seeds for Snapper, said as one of the largest volunteer diving groups undertaking fish habitat restoration in Australia, this grant from KIC will provide support for the divers and their safety as we continue to expand our restoration efforts.

“Safety of our volunteers is critical whilst collecting seagrass fruit. We want to provide our dive volunteers with a safe volunteering experience which ensures that the dives run smoothly,” said Tania.

The Seeds for Snapper project runs for all of November and has more than 250 volunteers registered so far.

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This project is supported by Recfishwest and was made possible by the WA Government’s Recreational Fishing Initiatives Fund, BCF – Boating, Camping, Fishing, Cockburn Powerboat Association and Kwinana Industry Council.

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