2015-10-13 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                  13 OCTOBER 2015


7     OYSTER RECRUITMENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT
ION




Author            Environment Officer (Rivers and Coast), Jan Maddin
                  Planning & Infrastructure Department

Index             ECM/Subject/Waterway Management – Noosa River

Attachment        1.    Noosa      Estuary      oyster     recruitment          assessment   report
                        (29 Page report provided separately to this Agenda.
                        2 hard copies are available in the Councillors’ Room)

                  2.    Noosa Estuary and Lakes restoration options assessment
                        report
                        (24 Page report provided separately to this Agenda.
                        2 hard copies are available in the Councillors’ Room)



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Not applicable.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Environment Officer (Rivers and Coast) to the Planning &
Organisation Committee Meeting dated 13 October 2015 and:
A.    Confirm support for the establishment of a small scale pilot oyster reef restoration
      project to build further knowledge in this area of aquatic restoration of the Noosa
      Estuary; and
B.    Agree to provide in kind technical support to the Thomas Foundation for the
      development of a detailed project proposal.


REPORT
The purpose of this report is to provide Council with an overview of the project findings
regarding the oyster recruitment investigation in the Noosa Estuary.

This project was a preliminary scoping study undertaken by The Nature Conservancy,
funded through a partnership between Noosa Shire Council and the Thomas Foundation.
The aim of the project was to determine the abundance and recruitment potential of oysters
growing in the estuary (see Attachment 1).

Specifically, the investigation was to provide information on the rates of oyster settlement
and survival at different depths, on different orientations and at different locations around the
estuary.

A key question of the study was to determine whether natural oyster recruitment in the
Noosa Estuary is sufficient to enable a potential reef restoration project to be developed
without supplemental oyster larvae from a hatchery (as is required in the Port Phillip Bay
shellfish reef restoration project).

The findings from this study will help inform Council and project partners about the viability
and design of future oyster reef restoration projects in the Noosa Estuary.




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