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Seeds for Snapper  

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Australia's largest seagrass restoration project: Cockburn Sound in Western Australia has lost ~77% of seagrass cover since the 1960’s, down from 4000ha originally to 900ha today, and this loss affects pink snapper, as well as many other species. There has been little evidence of natural recovery, despite significant improvements in water quality. New methods have been developed to harvest, process, and remotely deliver large quantities of local seed to the seafloor.

In a first for Australia, recreational fishers are getting active in the Seeds for Snapper project, part of a massive effort to restore the lost seagrass meadows of Cockburn Sound. This will increase the scale of seeding and ability to restore locations that are difficult to access (deep, turbid, turbulent, or diver-restricted locations), and identify and overcome critical environmental factors limiting seedling establishment. These innovations are also being applied to other larger scale restoration activities locally. The future includes larger restoration efforts covering 10s of km2 with community-based activities.