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The Central Moreton Bay OzFish Chapter was established in 2017 and over the past three years, the passionate team has singlehandedly grown the Chapter to hundreds of members who together drive fish habitat improvement, fisher education and angler science across Moreton Bay Queensland.

Almost half of the recreational fishing that occurs in Queensland is based in Moreton Bay. The 2019 State-wide survey estimates that some 400,000 SE Queensland residents participate in recreational fishing in Moreton Bay.

The Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land and sea in the Moreton Bay region include the Jagera/Turrbal, Jinibara and the Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi peoples.

Moreton Bay has lost thousands of hectares of fish habitat such as seagrass and saltmarsh but by far the biggest loss has been that of shellfish reefs.

These largely unseen and lesser-known reefs were once the lifeblood of Moreton Bay.
The Moreton Bay Chapter is working tirelessly to restore these reefs.

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Moreton Bay Shellfish Reef Restoration

The major project that underpins this OzFish Chapter is shellfish restoration in Moreton Bay. The army of OzFish volunteers within the Moreton Bay Chapter is working tirelessly to bring these reefs back to their former glory to restore fish habitat, water quality and biodiversity in the region.

This project is an essential step toward restoring the shellfish reefs of Moreton Bay. The successful implementation of this plan will ultimately bring back hectares of fish habitat and improve the overall water quality and environmental diversity of Moreton Bay. Supplying native shellfish with viable breeding grounds and injecting billions of living oysters into the bay to kick-start regeneration efforts.

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The Central Moreton Bay Chapter is run by a hard-working team of volunteers, aided by the generous support of donors, sponsors and corporate partners. Members meet on the last Sunday of every month to work on upcoming projects.

Moreton Bay Shellfish Recycling Centre

The Moreton Bay OzFish chapter has built the Moreton Bay Oyster Shell Recycling Centre and collected hundreds of cubic meters of oyster shell from seafood businesses and restaurants across Brisbane.

Every oyster shell that is recycled and placed back into a suitable reef restoration site will provide a home for up to 10 baby oysters. The recycling centre treats the used shells for disease and pests before being reused to rebuild shellfish reefs in Moreton Bay.

Shellfish recycling also has real benefits for local businesses, with one local seafood supplier, having saved nearly $10,000 per year by donating its used shells to OzFish rather than sending them to landfill.

Community Education

The Moreton Bay Chapter is dedicated to community education and has delivered numerous presentations on shellfish awareness to community groups and local schools.

The Chapter works closely with local schools, educating marine science students about the importance of oyster reefs and allowing students to not only learn but contribute to reef restoration work through designing and building oyster baskets where recycled shells can be turned into oyster homes as part of the restoration effort.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Central Moreton Bay Chapter host a range of regular events and activities

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Moreton Bay R.O.B. Building Working Bee – Sat

OzFish Oyster Recycling - Port of Brisbane Park Port of Brisbane Park, Whimbrel St, Port of Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Help Restore The Lost Shellfish Reefs Of Moreton Bay! OzFish is working hard to restore the amazing oyster reefs of Moreton Bay. 95% of this vital habitat has been lost...

LATEST NEWS AND EVENTS

Moreton Bay coup as restoration takes hold

Moreton Bay coup as restoration takes hold

Science is often a one-step forward, two steps back process. You hypothesize, you test, you tweak, you fail, you learn. You develop proof of concept and continually refine your methods.

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Southeast Queensland Recreational Anglers Asked To Look After Their Tackle

Southeast Queensland Recreational Anglers Asked To Look After Their Tackle

OzFish Unlimited, in partnership with the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, are today calling on Queensland rec fishers to look after their tackle in a bid to reduce fishing litter in local waterways with more ways to get involved.

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Largest community driven shellfish reef restoration Project gets underway

Largest community driven shellfish reef restoration Project gets underway

OzFish Unlimited launched the largest community-driven shellfish reef restoration project in Australia today at the Port of Brisbane Shellfish Recycling Centre. The launch kicks off 19.4 hectares of shellfish reef restoration in Queensland’s Moreton Bay and commences what is being referred to as a Shellfish Revolution across the country. Over the next six years, volunteers will build more than 50,000 Robust Oyster Baskets (ROBs) and deploy them along a site donated for restoration by the Port of Brisbane. The ROBs are made by hand by recreational fishers and filled with recycled oyster shells which have been collected and sterilised. The ROBs are used as base structures for baby oysters to grow on. This innovative restoration technique has been developed in Queensland by volunteers and school students and the project has been modelled off the success of the One Billion Oyster project in New York Harbour.

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Students Help Restore Shellfish Reefs In Moreton Bay

Students Help Restore Shellfish Reefs In Moreton Bay

Year 9 students from Iona College have been hard at work helping OzFish volunteers build structures for their shellfish reef restoration project this semester. As part of their marine studies course, the students have built and filled 150 Robust Oyster Baskets (ROBs) with recycled shell which will be used as the base structures in the marine restoration project. The students also help place the filled baskets out in Moreton Bay in time to catch spat for the yearly oyster spawning.

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New Oyster Washer To Triple Moreton Bay Shell Recycling

New Oyster Washer To Triple Moreton Bay Shell Recycling

A new oyster shell washing plant is to start operation at the Port of Brisbane this weekend to boost shellfish reef restoration efforts. The washer will be used for washing and preparing shells recovered from Brisbane restaurants, pubs and professional shuckers to be reused to restore shellfish reefs of Moreton Bay. The facility is the work of the local Moreton Bay Chapter of OzFish Unlimited – Australia’s fishing conservation charity. OzFish Unlimited SEQ Project Officer Robbie Porter said the washer would speed up work that previously had been done by hand by OzFish volunteers and was vital in regenerating the lost shellfish reefs.

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COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER TO CLEAN UP TINGALPA CREEK

COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER TO CLEAN UP TINGALPA CREEK

Two local community groups, OzFish Moreton Bay and Wynnum Redlands Canoe Club joined forces this Clean Up Australia Day on the foreshore of Tingalpa Creek. Armed with a joint love of clean waterways, the mud army worked together to load almost three tonnes of rubbish into the OzFish Moreton Bay Chapter punt boat from the foreshore – including timber planks, posts, PVC pipe, wire, old chairs and fridges. Local Councillor Paul Bishop who again pitched in to help the team said it was great to see two community groups coming together on a problem that has a significant impact on the health and safety of Tingalpa Creek and its users.

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WYNNUM MANLY SEAFOOD FESTIVAL MAY 4, 2020 -

WYNNUM MANLY SEAFOOD FESTIVAL MAY 4, 2020 -

The Wynnum Manly Seafood Festival will be on May 4th, 2020 and will have activities for everyone. Emersed in the iconic suburbs of Wynnum and Manly, the festival allows people to enjoy some fresh and cooked seafood, a wine or a beer and sit back and soak in the sun. This is a community event run by the volunteers from OzFish, Moreton Bay Chapter and the local community that makes it an affordable and enjoyable day out. Get behind this great event and support the local community and our much loved Moreton Bay with proceeds going to restore shellfish reefs in Moreton Bay.

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HITTING THE REFRESH BUTTON ON MORETON BAY

HITTING THE REFRESH BUTTON ON MORETON BAY

Moreton Bay is a unique part of the world made famous for the bugs that carry its namesake. It should be a breadbasket of aquatic life fed by the warm Queensland currents. Instead, this unique stretch of coast has been ravaged by almost a hundred years of mining and poor water quality for which little environmental reparations have ever been made. What’s left is a coastal stretch that may look Instagram-worthy if you fly over it when leaving Brisbane, but when you get up close and personal it’s in a bad state. This is what the OzFish Unlimited Moreton Bay Chapter is working to remedy with its innovative shellfish habitat initiative.

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Continue the conversation with the Central Moreton Bay Chapter by following them on Facebook or tagging @OzFishMoretonBay

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