Restoration Plan

  
 

 

      

iming

eefs shall be dep! oyed approximate! ly 2- weeks following receipt of all relevant approva Ss.

 

Itis anticipated that all relevant approvals will be received in early 2017. Thus, installation of the reef
restoration units can, theoretically, take place from March 2017 onwards. This period does not
coincide with any significant breeding or migratory patterns of coastal birds that are associated with
the FHA.

 

 

   

10.Management measures a
All restoration works will be guided by current best practice design, restoration and monitoring
principles in collaboration with our project partners, especially the The Nature Conservancy (TNC).
TNC has substantial experience with restoring oyster reefs in southern Australian systems (especially
Port Phillip Bay). TNC has been a partner in the design of this project and will continue to remain an
important key collaborator throughout this project.

 

The proposal is to restore oyster reefs over a total area of 1,350 m2. This represents 0.05% of the
5,974 ha Management Area A of the Noosa River Declared Fish Habitat Area. Because the project
will only provide settlement sites for oyster larvae that already exist in the Noosa River, and use only
natural materials of oyster shells that were once common in the Noosa River, the risks to the health
and functioning of the Declared Fish Habitat area are expected to be negligible.

Restoring oyster reefs by creating suitable habitat for oyster spat to settle onto will be achieved using
oyster reef restoration units made of materials that existed in the system previously (i.e. oyster shells)
and other natural and degradable products, which are necessary for establishment of natural spat
recruitment processes is considered rehabilitation, and therefore not a risk to the natural functioning
of the Declared Fish Habitat Area. The investigation by Ecological Service Professionals (2016) found
that the likely area of oyster reefs in the harvesting days (i.e. 41,530 to 207,650m2) was far greater
than the area (i.e. 1,350 m?) that this project is seeking to facilitate restoration of natural spat
recruitment processes with the aim to rehabilitate oyster reefs in the Noosa River. For this reason, it is
clear that although existing soft sediment habitat will be covered by naturally-recruited oyster reefs,
this is substrate that was anthropogenically modified via harvesting of oysters in the 1900s.

 

 

411.ProjectGoals

The project goals are as follows and methods to measure achievement of the goals are details in
Table 2 overleaf:

(1) Oyster Restoration Unit stability (i.e. oyster reef restoration units remain within the allocated
resource allocation areas);

(2) Restoration of Natural Recruitment Processes over long term (i.e. spat recruitment rates
demonstrate that the biogenic matrix will be sufficient to hold the structure of the oyster reef
restoration units in place following complete degradation of the supporting coir material during the
establishment phase and to facilitate ongoing natural recruitment processes);

(3) Equitable Community Impacts (i.e. ensuring fair community use of the river system is not impacted
by placement of the Oyster Reef Restoration Units within the Resource Allocation Areas - to be
monitored using a council operated community feedback system); and

(4) No negative impact on Marine plants or Shoreline erosion (i.e. ensuring the oyster restoration units
do not impede natural marine plant growth or accelerate coastal erosion processes).

Monitoring will follow established international protocols for monitoring restored oyster habitats
(Baggett et al. 2014 Appendix 1). The monitoring program will be adaptive, with annual reviews
against the Performance Objectives for the project (See Table 2). This monitoring plan is provided to
gain a Resource Allocation Authority and Development Permit, only the methods to measure project

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