We did it – one million seagrass seeds deployed in Cockburn Sound this seagrass season! Thank you to all of the recreational fishers, volunteer divers and boaters, school students, and local businesses who came together to make this year our biggest Seeds for Snapper yet. More than 400 volunteers played a part in helping achieve the lofty goal of dispersing one million seeds in a single season. Their efforts are helping to return this lost habitat to the WA coastline.

‘Seeds for Snapper’ – the largest seagrass restoration initiative in Australia has got off to a strong start for its fifth year in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia. It only got underway last week but an army of volunteer recreational anglers along with our University of Western Australia crew have already collected more than 400,000 seagrass fruits. Unlike other restoration approaches, Seeds for Snapper mobilises recreational fishers and the wider community to help restore their own backyard. 

Our Seeds for Snapper seagrass restoration project in Western Australia – the biggest in Australia – is gearing up for the 2022 season. We want OzFishers and Western Australians to support it again and make this year the biggest yet. OzFish has been leading the restoration of seagrass meadows in Cockburn Sound since 2018. Unlike other restoration approaches, our ‘Seeds for Snapper’ program mobilises community support to restore the seagrass meadows.

"If you look at a stage, you see the actors, and everybody focuses in on the actors," he said. But Professor Kendrick likes to focus on the background. "That stage in the background is what the seagrasses and the seaweeds are." He and a group of volunteers are working to throw a million seagrass seeds into Western Australia's waters. The seemingly unremarkable plant plays a significant role in marine ecosystems.

An annual program led by leading UWA and WAMSI scientists to address the loss of seagrass in Cockburn Sound, is calling on volunteers to participate in local marine science to help restore the meadows. Community-based initiative ‘Seeds for Snapper,’ is a collaboration between The University of Western Australia and fishing conservation charity OzFish. United by a common aim to restore extensive loss of seagrass meadows in Cockburn Sound, the partnership has established a long-standing community volunteer base with a passion for seagrass restoration. Seagrass meadows are an important part of Cockburn Sound’s ecosystem, which also act as a nursery for baby pink snapper, calamari, whiting and blue swimmer crabs.