Moreton Bay Shellfish Reef Restoration

Since late 2019, OzFish volunteers have been collecting used oyster shells from restaurants and commercial shuckers around Brisbane. They are taken to Oysterworld – OzFish’s purpose-built shell recycling centre where they are put inside mesh baskets and then deployed in strategic locations throughout Moreton Bay. The team behind the shellfish revolution have an ambitious goal to restore over 100 hectares of shellfish reef in the region. This is where they have called in reinforcements to ensure the reef is nothing less than extraordinary.

Shellfish could hold the key to filtering nutrients in wastewater with a ground-breaking project in Queensland testing their effectiveness. OzFish Unlimited, Australia’s fishing conservation charity, has teamed up with Unity Water, The University of Sunshine Coast and Healthy Land and Water for a five-year, first-of-its-kind research project on the North Pine River, north of Brisbane.  

A new product being trialled in South-East Queensland could be a game-changer for shellfish restoration in Australia.   

There’s a housing crisis going on in Moreton Bay but OzFish Unlimited is helping solve the problem while creating a population explosion for years to come through its shellfish restoration project. A staggering 96% of the area’s shellfish reef habitat has been destroyed in the past 150 years but OzFish’s Central Moreton Chapter refuses to idly stand by. More than 2000 Robust Oyster Baskets were strategically dropped into Moreton Bay on Friday as part of the biggest community-driven shellfish reef restoration project in Australia – the Shellfish Revolution. A mesh bag made from biopolymers from 100 per cent vegetation that has been sustainably sourced is being tested to see if they can grow oyster clusters in the Maroochy River and Moreton Bay.  OzFish Unlimited, Australia’s fishing conservation charity, has teamed up with Healthy Land and Water through the National Landcare Program and the Bunya Bunya Country Aboriginal Corporation to test out the pilot project. 

Almost 100 years after construction on Brisbane’s Howard Smith Wharves provided locals with relief work during the Great Depression in the 1930s, this posh precinct is now contributing to Moreton Bay’s relief and restoration. Among the jingle and clang of heavy industry, and almost as far as the Port of Brisbane’s claw stretches towards Moreton Bay, a group of volunteers is scuffling like hermit crabs, scrubbing, packing and stacking discarded oyster shells in preparation for their second coming.

New scientific findings show that 3 million new oysters are living on oyster baskets built by volunteers along Brisbane’s coastline. A team of Griffith University marine scientists analysed all types of animals living on the structures placed in the Port of Brisbane, and found that along with oysters and other shellfish, another 4.5 million animals, such as crabs, live on and among the oysters. Lead researcher Marina Richardson, an expert in shellfish biology and ecology, said that although oysters were historically plentiful in Moreton Bay, the populations were now “functionally extinct”.

In an incredible moment for habitat restoration – we delivered our biggest single day yet this week when our volunteers deployed more than one million recycled oyster shells into Moreton Bay, Queensland.  More than 200 members and supporters dedicated over 2,900 hours to collect, clean, and deploy in excess of 16.5 tonnes of oyster shells. Thank you. The day was part of our ‘Shellfish Revolution’ in Moreton Bay – a program of habitat restoration supported by BCF – Boating, Camping, Fishing.

OzFish volunteers dived on the restoration site and collected several of the ROBs that were deployed last November. They were placed in specifically designed fine mesh bags, brought to the surface, and whisked away to be opened and examined by students and researchers from Griffith University.

The future of Australia’s shellfish reefs is on the right track, thanks to a freshly-inked partnership between OzFish Unlimited and Tackle Tactics. Manufacturer and wholesale distributor, Tackle Tactics is the home of well-known brands such as TT Lures, ZMan, Platypus, Toadfish and Okuma, found in BCF stores across Australia and designed to help anglers around the country catch quality fish. The OzFish mantra resonated with the team at Tackle Tactics, who were looking to support the conservation and regeneration of shellfish reefs in Australia, aligning with the commitment they have in the US with the Toadfish brand they distribute here in Australia. Toadfish is a strong supporter of shellfish reef restoration across the US, having already funded the planting of over 200,000 square feet of oyster beds through sponsorship and donation.

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.

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

Year 9 students from Iona College, Brisbane 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.