2020-07-07 P&E Agenda - Item 3 - Attachment 1 - TNC Project Management Plan

ecosystems were largely lost in the late 1800s to early 1900s. At the peak of the wild oyster harvest industry (1906-
1907), it is estimated that 2-3 million oysters were harvested in the lower estuary each year5 .

The loss of oyster biomass likely resulted in the ecosystem collapsing, with shellfish ecosystems now replaced primarily
by soft (sandy and muddy) sediments. Changes to the estuary’s physical-chemical condition, canal development and
shoreline armoring have also likely contributed to the decline of the ecosystem or inhibited its natural recovery. Today,
no substantial shellfish ecosystems exist in the Noosa River estuary, despite the presence of individual and small
populations of rock oysters. The closest known intact oyster-dominated shellfish ecosystem is found near North
Stradbroke Island in Morton Bay. Notably, a recent study4 identified that the Australian rock oyster-dominated
shellfish ecosystem is the most threatened marine ecosystem in Australia, with up to 94% of the ecosystem lost
throughout Australia since European settlement.



6.4 Process for undertaking restoration

This Project will follow the eight principles for ecological restoration established by the international Society of
Ecological Restoration (SER)6, which have been newly interpreted for shellfish restoration7. The definition of ecological
restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed.
The process involves moving a destroyed or degraded ecosystem along a measurable trajectory of recovery that is
persistent in the future and reflective of a natural evolutionary path. Key summary steps critical to the process of
restoration are:

     1.    The need to clearly identify and describe a target (reference) ecosystem or model for which restoration
           targets and metrics can be derived for the degraded ecosystem;
     2.    The ability to design restoration interventions based on the combination of the desired restored state
           (adapted from the physical structure and biological attributes of the reference ecosystem) and overcoming
           stressors;
     3.    The ability to set achievable and time-bound ecological objectives and indicators; and
     4.    The ability to monitor the ecosystem towards it recovery trajectory.

The process for how the project will achieve these four steps is described more fully in the Project Monitoring
Evaluation and Reporting (MER) Plan and summarized in Figure 6. The MER process is guided by best-practice
ecological restoration and shellfish restoration monitoring guidelines, including the Open Standards for the Practice
of Conservation8, the Society for Ecological Restoration International Standards6 and TNC’s Oyster Habitat Restoration
Monitoring and Assessment Handbook9.

In addition to ecological targets, the Project will also use the MER Plan to track progress against socio-economic and
project efficiency targets.


5
  Thurston R. 2015. Historical ecology of the Noosa Estuary fisheries. Report to: Noosa Council, The Nature Conservancy and The Thomas
Foundation (available on request from TNC).
6 Gann GD, McDonald T, Walder B, Aronson J, Nelson CR, Jonson J, Hallett JG, Eisenberg C, Guariguata MR, Liu J, Hua F, Echeverría C, Gonzales E,

Shaw N, Decleer K, Dixon KW (2019) International principles and standards for the practice of ecological restoration. Second edition. Restoration
Ecology 27(S1): S1–S46
7 Fitzsimons, J., Branigan, S., Brumbaugh, R.D., McDonald, T. and zu Ermgassen, P.S.E. (eds) (2019). Restoration Guidelines for Shellfish Reefs. The

Nature Conservancy, Arlington VA, USA.
8
  Conservation Measures Partnership (2013) Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation Version 3.0, accessed online via http://cmp-
openstandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/CMP-OS-V3-0-Final.pdf
9
  Baggett LP, Powers SP, Brumbaugh R, Coen LD, DeAngelis B, Greene J, Hancock B and Morlock S (2014). Oyster habitat restoration monitoring
and assessment handbook. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA, USA. 96 pp.


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       BRING BACK THE FISH: PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN