All systems go for Seeds for Snapper in WA project to start
Everything is in place for Australia’s largest community-driven seagrass restoration project, Seeds for Snapper, to commence next Tuesday at Cockburn Sound.
The annual collaboration between OzFish Unlimited and the University of Western Australia is now in its sixth year and tanks have been set up at the project’s headquarters at Cockburn Power Boats Club.
After assessing a range of factors, the research team has decided the time is right for the community to start collecting seeds.
Steve Pursell, OzFish Program Manager – Western Australia, said there may not be as many seagrass fruit ras last year so volunteers may also need to pitch in on the beach to pick up fruits that have been washed ashore.
“We’re just putting the finishing touches on everything now so we’re all set for what will hopefully be the biggest Seeds for Snapper to date,” he said.
“The amount of fruit produced and when it is ripe varies from year to year. The fruit numbers are looking a little bit lower than last season.
“We can still collect them but we’re going to need lots of community support because they might not be quite as plentiful as last time around.”
Divers will enter the water a Woodman Point for two morning dive sessions on Tuesday to dislodge the seagrass fruits and collect them in nets.
The collected fruits will be taken back to eight processing tanks that have been set up near the marina at the Cockburn Power Boats club.
A live stream of the tanks is up and running – log onto the Cockburn Power Boats website to see what’s happening.
And once the project is up and running, the team of volunteers and researchers will be back every day for around four weeks until they have reached their goal1 million seagrass fruits.
The first seeds that get dispersed back into the marine environment will happen at the end of next week after the first batch of fruits have ripened and released their seeds in the on-shore processing tanks.
Over the past five years, the tireless dedication of the Seeds for Snappers crew of volunteers and researchers has resulted in more than five million seagrass fruits being collected and around 1.7 million of them being dispersed into the water to recreate lost seagrass meadows.
This will help provide shelter for a diverse range of marine species, including important recreational fishing species such as our iconic pink snapper.
Mr Pursell said OzFish, Australia’s recreational fishing charity, could not do this invaluable work without the support of the University of Western Australia.
He also said Cockburn Power Boats coming on board as an official partner this year to provide their facilities has added a significant boost to the project.
Around 85 per cent of Australia’s seagrass meadows have disappeared in recent decades, representing hundreds of thousands of hectares of natural habitat that are the building blocks of some of Australia’s most important fisheries.
Seagrasses also store carbon and nutrients, and help to stabilise soil and sediment on the ocean floor, helping to protect Australia’s shorelines from erosion and storms.
OzFish is calling upon recreational anglers, divers, businesses, and passionate locals to get involved. Register your interest below to help make 2023 even bigger.
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Seeds for Snapper is made possible thanks to a long-standing partnership with the University of Western Australia, support from Recfishwest and Cockburn Power Boats Club with major funding provided by Daiwa Australia, Water Corporation, Synergy and BCF – Boating, Camping, Fishing.
