South Australia has some of the most beautiful beaches in Australia and the world. Famous internationally, the state’s breathtaking golden coastlines feature powder-white sand, glimmering water, and stunning blue skies.
But, SA’s picturesque backdoor surf and sun bathing hot spots are under threat. Leading Australian fish habitat charity OzFish have put out an urgent plea for South Australians to bring buckets to the beach to collect seagrass fruit, an important process in the restoration of our coastlines.
OzFish have notified South Aussies that unless more Posidonia seagrass fruits can be collected for this summer’s Seagrass for Snapper planting in the Gulf St Vincent, they may not be able to fulfil their annual seagrass restoration work. Consequently, they’ve asked the public to keep a lookout for the washed-up or floating seagrass fruits. When identified correctly, beach goers can then gather the fruits in buckets of seawater and drop them off at designed collection sites.
The public are also encouraged to report seagrass fruit sightings. Parents could incentivise children to engage in scavenger hunts to help with the collection.
OzFish South Australia Manager Brad Martin said, “We urgently need fresh Posidonia seagrass fruits collected over the Christmas and New Year’s period. While we’ve gathered some early fruit, more is required – and Christmas is when the bigger fruits usually wash up or can be spotted floating on the water.”
“These gathered fruits and their seeds are essential for restoring the nearshore Posidonia that protects our beaches and provides important fish habitat. This year, we want to plant at least 10,000 healthy seeds back into the ocean floor.”
Used to stabilise shorelines, improve water quality, provide safe habitats for species including snapper, whiting, and squid, the seagrass “meadows” are a crucial element for carbon storage to tackle climate change. Accounting for 10% of the ocean’s capacity to store carbon, seagrass is estimated to capture carbon from the atmosphere 35x faster than tropical rainforests.
The green fruits dry out and die if they aren’t quickly collected after washing up along Adelaide beaches. But, if rescued in time, they’re transported to OzFish located to be transferred to tanks for maturation and processing. Seeds are then extracted, sewn into sandbags, and redistributed back into the ocean.
Since the 1950s, 6200 hectares of seagrass meadows along SA’s metropolitan coastline have been lost. OzFish’s Seagrass for Snapper project was established in SA in 2020 to begin restoring these meadows. With support from Green Adelaide and BCF, the initiative has led to the planting of 3750 seeds over the course of 1000+ volunteer hours.
What to look for:
The correct seagrass fruits can be identified using the OzFish guide. Intact fruits of Posidonia seagrasses are typically green, elongated or oval-shaped, and 3cm long. Split fruit should be examined for a hard seed before collection.
How to report sightings:
Sightings of seagrass can be shared in the Seagrass for Snapper SA Volunteers Facebook group, uploaded to iNaturalist, or reported to OzFish.
How to collect fruits:
Fruit must be placed in a bucket of seawater before they dry-out and turn brown or mushy. Any collected fruits should be kept cool in fresh seawater and brought to an OzFish drop-off site within 1-2 days. For the Adelaide project, fruits must be collected from the St. Vincent Gulf. “It’s important that the fruit are individually picked up,” said Mr Martin, “to reduce debris mucking up the specialised seagrass tanks.”
Where to take seagrass fruits:
- Drop at OzFish seagrass tanks at the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia (CYCSA) between 10:30am and 5pm.
- Drop into eskies with the OzFish logo on, at the CYCSA Gate 1 entrance sign, at Lady Gowrie Drive, North Haven or behind the Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club (BSYC) entrance at 246 Esplanade, Kingston Park.
Drop-off points to get fruit to tanks at North Haven, updates on fruit sightings and help identifying fruits are available on the Seeds for Snapper SA Volunteers Facebook group.
To get involved, keep an eye out on OzFish’s website.
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