VOLUNTEERS joined OzFish and Landcare members over two days at the Hastings foreshore, 15 and 16 February, restoring and planting mangroves.
The mangroves of Western Port play a vital role in the health of the local ecosystem, providing shoreline protection and critical fish nursery habitat for many of the species.
The Reel Big Fish Mangrove restoration project is restoring mangroves across the bay, with OzFish members and the community rolling up their sleeves to help restore mangroves along the foreshore.
Using a method developed and refined by John Eddy and the Bass Coast Landcare Network, mangrove seeds are attached to bamboo stakes, which help give mangroves a helping hand in their early development. Once the mangroves establish, the stakes can be removed leaving behind healthy mangrove seedlings.
Restoration efforts will be focused on areas fringing established mangrove forest communities, which provides the greatest opportunity for plant survival.
Planting mangroves has been proven to help with environmental issues and thrive in areas with low-oxygen soil, where slow moving waters allow sediments to accumulate.
Mangroves also provide a home for a huge variety of juvenile fish, and are a major store and supply of biomass and nutrients for Western Port.
Supported by Melbourne Water, the program Reel Big Fish – Western Port is a three-year project that started in 2020 with plans to be finalised in 2023. The project aims to improve and increase the extent of suitable habitat for recreational fish species in Western Port while also expanding knowledge and building capacity with the recreational fishing community.
The project is working with community groups, volunteers and fishing groups to restore mangrove forests at priority locations along Western Port’s intertidal zone. This work will be supported by a range of education and training events to connect recreational fishers with fisheries habitat specialists – increasing fisher knowledge and building their capacity to actively contribute to building a resilient fishery in Western Port and is delivered as part of the Ramsar Protection Program.
This project was originally led by the Port Phillip and Westernport CMA. The Port Phillip and Westernport CMA was integrated into Melbourne Water in January 2022 and Melbourne Water is now the delivery agency.
First published in the Western Port News – 1 March 2023
