2020-09-14 GC Agenda - Item 7 - Attachment 1 - Noosa River Oyster Ecosystem Restoration Project Annual Report No. 1

B. Project in Science

Dr Chris Gillies authored a seminar scientific paper about the conservation status of oyster ecosystems in Australian
waters. This paper provides an important background for the Noosa oyster project. The work has led to rock oyster
ecosystems being listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listing rock oyster
ecosystems as critically endangered.

Reference: 2020 Gillies et al - Conservation Status of Oyster Reef Ecosystem of Southern and Eastern Australia -
Global Ecology and Conservation

Dr Chris Gillies co-authored a new scientific study: Charting two centuries of transformation in a coastal social-
ecological system: a mixed methods approach.

The paper was published in Global Environmental Change with Dr Ruth Thurston as Lead author. The study identifies
Aboriginal use, including Kabi Kabi, and early European harvesting of oysters from southeastern Queensland
including Noosa. TNC released a media statement in March 2020 on the study, which mentions the Noosa oyster
project as an example of restoration.

References:
Media Statement: 200301 TNC Media Statement - The surprising history of Queensland’s oyster reefs revealed
Research publication: 2020 Thurston et al - Charting Two Centuries of Transformation in a Coastal Social-ecological
System - A Mixed Methods Approach - SE Queensland




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