July 24, 2024
Photo: Parks Australia Facebook
VRFish is excited to be part of a new ocean discovery project led by Offshore Biotechnologies and Parks Australia focused on colourful deepwater sponges.
It’s called the Seabed Restoration and Enhancement Project. Through the project, we’ll learn how deepwater sponge communities can be repaired or enhanced to improve how we better manage and protect these amazing habitats and make offshore energy developments better for the environment.
In an Australian-first, we’re trying out new ways to restore marine life in the Apollo Marine Park. We’re growing marine sponges and putting them onto artificial reefs to see if they’ll grow like natural ones. We’re also testing how we can improve the biodiversity of degraded seabeds using natural reef materials like limestone and recycled shells. We’ll seed these reefs with local sponges, to help accelerate the natural settlement process.
Scientists from Deakin University will monitor the reefs with underwater drones and deep sea cameras to see these new reefs grow into fish-loving sponge gardens over time. Sponges are important to our ocean – they filter water, recycle nutrients, and provide homes for fish, rock lobster and many other marine creatures.
The project is on track to construct the reefs in December 2024.
Offshore Biotechnologies and Parks Australia is partnering with Deakin University and the offshore energy, recreational and commercial fishing sectors, aquaculture and conservation groups to develop and demonstrate methods for the restoration and enhancement of temperate mesophotic reef ecosystems.
Project partners include Cooper Energy, Deakin University, Polaris Marine, Seafood Industry Victoria, SeaGen Aquaculture, The Nature Conservancy and VRFish.
To support this project, the Australian Government is investing over $2.1 million through the Ocean Discovery and Restoration Program. A further $2.4 million is contributed from partners.
Find out more about this innovative project via Offshore Biotechnologies here.
