Locals to track oyster growth as citizen scientists

More than 30 Narooma locals have joined local oyster farmers in donning gloves and gumboots to clean oyster shells in preparation for seeding the new reef with Native Flat Oysters in the coming months.

The volunteers will also undertake essential monitoring, once the oysters start recruiting to the reef base in the summer months, as part of a citizen science project tracking the growth of oysters on the newly restored oyster reef habitat.

The work is part of the Wagonga Inlet Living Shoreline (WILS) citizen science project. Its purpose is to restore oyster and saltmarsh habitat and create access for the enjoyment and recreation of all.

Marine Estate Manager Jillian Keating says involving volunteers is a fantastic way to track the growth of the new reef over time.

“By involving volunteers, we not only get useful data about how the restored reef grows, we also give the local community an opportunity to participate in science first-hand,” she said

“It’s fantastic to see the enthusiasm of the volunteers to be involved and help out,” Ms Keating said.

Geoff McVeigh joined the group of volunteers cleaning the oyster shells to be added to the newly established reef base.

“It was a fun four hours for a good cause,” he said.

“We all came away from the working session with a sense of achievement for just being a part of the process to help the natural world survive and thrive in our own local patch,“ Mr McVeigh said.

More than 95% of Australia’s shellfish reefs are functionally extinct, meaning they are either gone or barely remaining.

The Oyster Reef Restoration at Narooma, as part of the Wagonga Inlet Living Shoreline project, is one step towards bringing back our lost shellfish reefs.

The citizen science initiative is being led by Nature Coast Marine Group and OzFish Unlimited with the support of the DPI Fisheries Oyster Reef Restoration Team and funded by the NSW Marine Estate Management Strategy.

The Wagonga Inlet Living Shoreline project, is a collaborative effort between the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) under the NSW Marine Estate Management Strategy, Eurobodalla Shire Council, The Nature Conservancy Australia (TNC) and the Australian Government through its Reef Builder initiative.