Restoration Activities
In June, another 550 m2 of reef base was deployed at Wilson Spit using 22,000 kg of recycled shells and 60 tonnes of limestone rubble (pic attached). This deployment received great coverage on Ch 7 Sunday Night Newshttp://www.natureaustralia.org.au/2018/06/restored-shellfish-reefs-bring-hope-for-a-better-bay/ . Next month, we will be seeding these new reef bases (and another at Margaret’s Reef) with around 11 tonnes of blue mussels grown by a farmer in the bay. I’ll soon send an invite out to the next Restore The Bay Information Session where the focus will be on the monitoring results and garnering feedback about the ‘Report Card’ approach we are taking.
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
During the weeks of September 3rd to 7th and 17th to 21st, we are conducting our six-monthly monitoring activities in Geelong and Hobsons Bay and require the help of volunteers to measure shellfish. This will be a land-based activity but volunteers are welcome to join us on the boat in the morning (when divers collect a sub-sample of shellfish off the reefs) and the afternoon (when we deploy the shellfish back onto the reefs). We have allowed a 2 week window for around 5 days of work, as relatively calm weather conditions are required to dive, so I will not be able to confirm the actual days until closer to the time.
