Port Phillip Bay shellfish reef project a first step in restoring Australia's underwater kingdoms
Key points:
Shellfish reefs were once prominent around much of the Australian coastline.
Reef Builder is restoring marine habitats from Noosa in Queensland to Perth in Western Australia.
In 2017, Port Phillip became the first of many planned future projects.
"It is a really ambitious project — we've got 13 sites and we're trying to link these together to re-form the forgotten southern reef, if you will, of these oyster reefs in all the bays and estuaries," marine scientist Simon Reeves said.
Once a site for a reef is identified, a large barge is used to bring in huge limestone blocks that are lifted by a crane and dropped overboard.
Within months they will become, quite literally, the building blocks of life.
Divers then disperse juvenile shellfish onto the new reef site in a process called seeding.
The tiny oysters attached themselves to scallop or oyster shells that have been salvaged from seafood wholesalers and restaurants, part of a recycling initiative called Shuck Don't Chuck.
"So they'll cement together and grow on top of each other over time so you won't see that reef base," Nature Conservancy marine scientist Simon Branigan said.
The young oysters and mussels are grown at the Queenscliff Shellfish Hatchery, a state government-run facility on the western side of Port Phillip.
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Source ABC Landline
