EPA Tasmania have now approved permits for constructing two artificial reefs for native oyster reef restoration at Dixons Beach and Helliwells Point in the Derwent Estuary and D’Entrecasteaux Channel, as part of our Reef Builder project.
Going through approvals processes and gaining the correct permits makes up some of the behind the scenes work that we do as part of setting up our projects. Now that we have these permits in place, we will be able to begin constructing patches of low-profile reefs at the sites. We will be using around 1680 tonnes of quarried limestone to build these reefs, which will then be seeded with hatchery-produced and wild-collected native angasi oyster spat. Over time, these native oysters will become established on the reefs and begin the process of restoring an ecosystem that has largely disappeared from Tasmania’s waters over the last couple of centuries.
For more information, visit https://epa.tas.gov.au/news/epa-considers-proposal-for-two-reef-builder-artificial-reefs-at-dixons-beach-and-helliwells-point-southeast-tasmania
Reef Builder is a partnership project with The Nature Conservancy, funded by the Australian Government.