Restoration Plan

pegs onto the sediment based on specifications made by the Registered Professional Engineer of
Queensland (RPEQ) to prevent displacement. Each cluster of 3 x 3 bags is referred to hereafter as an
oyster reef restoration unit. The 90m? resource allocation area around each oyster reef restoration
unit includes both the oyster reef restoration units themselves and the sandy areas between the bags
(i.e. area inside the triangle).

The base of the unit will be placed at the lowest astronomical tide. Such strategies have been
employed globally in the restoration of oyster reefs, especially for the initial deployments of strata
similar to the oyster reef restoration units in new regions, and have resulted in the successful
restoration of reefs in all instances (see Appendix 2 for a summary of these approaches in using
biodegradable bags for oyster restoration purposes, especially figures 15 and 18). Note that there are
different species present in Australia to those in restored reefs in the United States of America, and
that seed oysters are not required in this system due to the high abundance of natural oyster spat
(TNC & ESP 2015).

Oyster Reef Restoration Units mimic the form of natural
reefs that were historically dredged by providing over-
hanging surfaces that dramatically increase surface

areafor settlement of oyster spat relative by:
= removing competition with algae that only grow on
surfaces exposed to sunlight; and

Sunlight

  
 
  
 

   

 

~ sheltering spat from fine sediment that accumu:
lates from the water column

B\ Turf and mactoalgae
‘on existing rubble

Oyster Reef Restoration Unit Existing Rocky Rubble

     

Shell beds present at or just below sediment surface

Historical oyster beds a dead shell in tidal channels of Lake Weyba

layer below the sediment surface

  

 

 

Not to scale & not for construction purposes

Figure 5. Conceptual diagram of oyster reef construction and positioning on the banks of the Noosa
River estuary.

 

7. Community Value Alignment

Fundamentally, the project is an instrument to address a key objective of the Noosa Plan Community
Vision, which states:

“The Noosa community has a commitment to environmental excellence and sustainability. The impact of human
settlement has been minimised. We manage, maintain, restore and preserve our natural environment”

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