Get ready Adelaide, the Port River is about to make more fish
OzFish’s Adelaide Chapter is about to embark on a shellfish revolution for the Port River. Over the next two years, recreational fishers will work hard to restore shellfish reefs lost from the Port River by recycling oyster shell into reef forming triangular baskets.
The result will be more shellfish, more invertebrates living in that shellfish and ultimately more fish in the Port River. Not to mention, improved water quality as each oyster filters more than 100 litres of water every single day. It would take just 2-3 oysters to filter your bathtub of water each day.
Using old shell and recycling it from oyster shuckers and restaurants not only reduces food waste, but it’s the secret to good recruitment and growth of new baby oysters. The old shell has a particular chemical-signal that the planktonic-sized oysters are attracted to as a suitable place to settle themselves for establishment and growth.
We’ll be restoring 5000m2 of locally extinct native oyster reefs and adjacent mangroves to reintroduce essential fish habitat, filtration services, and blue carbon benefits to the Port River. The project will see the installation of recycled sanitized oyster shells filled into 1250 purpose built Robust Oyster Baskets (ROBs), as well as the establishment of naturally recruiting mangrove seedlings.
This work builds on The Estuary Care Foundation’s successful trials of shellfish restoration in the Port River. Their volunteers built and deployed 70 trial ROBs in the Port Adelaide Estuary. Using shell from SA Growers and processed at Fort Glanville Conservation Park following the state government approved methods. Over 3 working bees, 28 volunteers assembled 70 OzFish standard baskets (ROBs) and filled them with recycled shell. The ROB’s were then placed on the riverbed to mimic natural shellfish bomboras.
The University of Adelaide is carrying out an extensive monitoring program on the reefs as they establish to determine the spat (baby oyster) recruitment as well as an assessment of how many other creatures make the ROB reef structures their new home.
OzFish Project Manager for South Australia, Rachel Williams said,
“This is such an innovative project for the local recreational fishers to sink their teeth into. OzFish has seen great success with our shellfish restoration projects in South East Queensland and we’re excited to see it make a difference here in Adelaide”.
“What we do need, is people to give their time to be part of recycling the shell, washing and stacking it for drying, getting it into the baskets and deploying them. Reefs like this can only happen with many hands.”
Join any of OzFish’s Chapters in South Australia for opportunities to be involved in this and other great fish habitat restoration projects across the State.
