The oysters that would not quit: native reefs are breeding again in South Australia

Hundreds of small artificial reef units, lowered into South Australian waters by robot during the state's harmful algal bloom, have come back carrying hopeful news: native oysters are settling on them everywhere, sometimes in large numbers, and still breeding in the worst-hit areas. Adelaide University marine ecologist Dominic Mcafee says the oysters have shown a surprising level of resistance. The monitoring is part of an A$1.9 million (about $1.3 million) state initiative to rebuild 25 reef sites across the Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island, using discarded oyster shells, where about 1,500 km of oyster reefs once covered the southern coastline. Oyster reefs work like forests under the sea: the oysters are the trees, and countless other animals live among them. Another 120 or more reef units are ready to go out next week for the warmer breeding season.

SDG 14 · Life below water — Mechanism: institutional program