May 15, 2019
The Nature Conservancy, in conjunction with the Albert Park Yachting & Angling Club (APYAC) and Victorian Fisheries Authority have been working hard to restore the lost shellfish reefs in Port Phillip Bay.
The Shellfish Reef Restoration project aims to re-grow shellfish reefs in Port Phillip Bay. There has been a number of dives on site over recent months and these have demonstrated just how successful the project continues to be.
Every time the site is visited, it is found to be teeming with fish, mainly Pinkie Snapper, but there are lots of other marine species calling the new reefs home as well. The oysters that were bred at Queenscliff Shellfish Hatchery are thriving and there are now lots of baby oysters on site through natural recruitment.
Recently, The Nature Conservancy arranged to take Minister for Fishing and Boating Jaala Pulford and some of her colleagues to the St Kilda site (Margaret’s Reef) to see the new reef first hand. The Minister is a qualified scuba diver, as are two of her colleagues. Whilst the visibility on the bottom was not as good as we hoped it would be, all who dived managed to get a good look at how well the new reef has done in what is a relatively short time.
