Giving Back
Moreton Bay Shellfish Reef Restoration
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 (over 95%). These largely unseen and lesser known
reefs were once the life blood of our bay. This project will restore
these reefs.
The establishment of the Moreton Bay Shellfish Recycling Centre is
just one part of the journey to restore Moreton Bay’s shellfish
reefs.
Used shells are collected from seafood businesses and restaurants
across Brisbane. These shells are needed to restore the reefs as
research has shown used shells encourage live oysters to return and
reestablish themselves naturally. 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 center
sterilises the used shells from disease and pests for up to 4 months
before placing them back in the Bay.
These modular reef restoration structures will be positioned in
areas outside of green zones where oyster reefs previously existed
in locations that will not detrimentally affect seagrasses, wading
birds, commercial fishers and wormers or create boating navigation
hazards or amenity. We will monitor the results of these trials
together with University researchers and aim to scale up the most
effective restoration methods over the coming 10 years with the goal
of restoring 100 hectares of oyster reef in a decade. This has the
potential to generate up to 250 tonnes of seafood per year.
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