Restoring shellfish reefs in working and modified coastal environments requires approaches that are technically robust, culturally appropriate, and practical to deliver. This presentation describes the development and application of two restoration inventions, Quilted Oyster Doonas and Robust Oyster Baskets, alongside a standardised site suitability framework designed to reduce delivery risk and improve restoration outcomes.
Quilted Oyster Doonas are flexible, shell filled mats designed to create cool, shaded settlement surfaces on heat stressed rock walls, while Robust Oyster Baskets provide stable, modular reef structure on soft and mixed substrates. These tools are deployed using a scoring based site suitability process that assesses ecological indicators, coastal processes, access, safety, regulatory feasibility, and cultural considerations. This framework has now been applied to more than ninety sites across Queensland, allowing consistent prioritisation of locations suitable for reef restoration.
The presentation then focuses on a case study from Balban Dara Guya at Woppa, Great Keppel Island, where Robust Oyster Baskets were installed as a culturally designed art reef in partnership with the Woppaburra Traditional Owners. The reef layout was informed by cultural knowledge and storytelling while maintaining ecological function. Baseline and early post deployment monitoring shows that the reef units remained physically stable, exhibited early oyster settlement, and supported increased fish abundance and species richness relative to control sites, with no detectable impacts on mangroves or coastal processes.
Cultural monitoring highlights the significance of Waku, oysters, to Woppaburra identity and stewardship, and demonstrates how restoration design can support living cultural connections to Sea Country. Together, these outcomes show how intentional reef design, grounded in science and culture, can deliver effective and scalable shellfish reef restoration.