Austral Fisheries are proud contributors toward a new campaign launched to help restore Perth’s rivers.
The project is backed by multi-million-dollar gifts from Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation and Lotterywest, with $2 million from Minderoo pledged to The Nature Conservancy (TNC). TNC will undertake a series of activities to improve the Estuary’s health, including the restoration of lost shellfish reefs. Native shellfish reefs – including oysters and mussels – are Australia’s most threatened marine ecosystem.
The Minderoo pledge will match other donations on a 1:1 basis up to $2 million, with $650,000 of matching gifts already raised. With $1.25 million previously committed by Lotterywest and $250,000 from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, the project is more than halfway to its ambitious $5 million target.
Shellfish reefs were once found in our bays and estuaries from Perth all the way around the southern and eastern coastline to Noosa, Queensland. Due to over-exploitation they are now found only in a few bays in Tasmania and NSW. Restoring shellfish reefs brings back a wealth of benefits for people and nature. This includes improved local fish stocks, better water clarity due to the filtration power of shellfish, increased shoreline protection, extra feeding habitat for threatened migratory shorebirds, and an overall increase in biodiversity. The Swan-Canning project is part of a bigger TNC program to restore shellfish reefs across southern Australia.
“We’re delighted to be one of a number of contributors to the Swan-Canning Estuary restoration campaign. Austral Fisheries are committed to improving the health of our environment, and it starts here in our own backyard. Thanks to the generous donations from the Minderoo Foundation, Lotterywest and fellow WA companies and philanthropists, we hope to see the restoration of the Swan and Canning rivers’ shellfish reefs, which are vital to the health of this precious and popular marine ecosystem,” said David Carter, CEO of Austral Fisheries.
Austral’s contribution to this project accompanies those from some of Western Australia’s most respected companies and philanthropists including Jock Clough, Adrian & Michela Fini, Gavin Bunning, The McCusker Foundation, Major Holdings Pty Ltd, James & Marion Taylor, and Michael & Margrete Chaney.
Others wishing to donate to the project are encouraged to contact TNC on (03) 8346 8600.
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The official media release can be found on The Nature Conservancy’s website here