A cutting edge “roboseeder” underwater robot is being trialled in Cockburn Sound to sew seagrass seeds help restore depleted beds of the ecologically critical plant.
Cockburn Sound has lost 80 per cent of its seagrass meadows since the 1960s due to industrialisation – a big dent in critical spawning habitat for species like pink snapper, whiting, squid and crabs.
This mirrors a global trend that is seeing seagrass crops being steadily depleted due to industrialisation and climate change.
“The biggest challenge we face globally is that we’re losing seagrass at about one soccer field, or half a hectare, every 30 minutes,” said Professor Gary Kendrick from the School of Biological Sciences and UWA’s Oceans Institute. “We need to be able to restore hundreds to thousands of hectares a year.”
The trial is being funded through the Government’s $13.5 million Westport Marine Science Program and if successful could help compliment the great work being done by volunteers as part of Ozfish’s Seeds for Snapper program in reseeding seagrass meadows in the Sound.
The newly arrived underwater robot, or seed injection machine drone, could help improve the rate of restoration significantly by allowing seeds to survive early life in, rather than on top of, the sediment.
Recfishwest Operations Manager Leyland Campbell said, “It’s good to see innovative solutions being investigated to fix a problem that has been decades in the making. Any efforts to restore seagrass and productivity in Cockburn Sound are to be applauded.
“Seagrass is critical to the ecological health of Cockburn Sound and spawning habitat for fish that underpins fantastic family fishing experiences on Perth’s doorstep.
“That’s why the Government and developers need to be very careful about further industrialisation of the Sound until we are able to restore and protect this important environment.”