In the ‘60s, Australia’s shellfish reefs were booming, with locals being able to go and collect buckets of oysters in the shallows of the country’s north-eastern beaches. But within just a few decades, overfishing and pollution have wiped out 99 percent of the shelled mollusks, leaving behind a marine desert.
Now, thanks to some ambitious restoration projects led by The Nature Conservancy, the country’s most affected coastal states are rebuilding the enormous chain of reefs from seafood shells collected from restaurants that would have otherwise ended up in the landfill.
In just a few years since the efforts started, 8 million native oyster hatchlings have been placed in the recycled mollusk shells, turning empty seabeds into thriving ecosystems.
The revival of the seashell reef represents an enormous achievement as the mollusks are not only preventing beach erosion but also acting as a huge filtration system for the country’s coastal waters.
