The value and opportunity of restoring Australia's lost rock oyster reefs

McAfee, Dominic; McLeod, Ian; Boström‐Einarsson, Lisa; Gillies, Chris L.

doi:10.1111/rec.13125

Cited by 33 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…The oyster industry has long recognized that to capture natural recruitment for grow‐out, settlement substrate should be placed to coincide with oyster recruitment events so to avoid excess biofouling that excludes settling oysters (Sumner ). Similarly, we witnessed the newly constructed reef foundation for Windara Reef being spatially monopolized by turf‐forming algae within weeks of reef construction, effectively forming a barrier to oyster settlement (McAfee et al unpublished data). We recognize that “bare space” is colonized rapidly, particularly by biofilms, which can provide settlement cues for recruiting larvae (Rodriguez‐Perez et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recognition that oyster reefs are among the most degraded marine habitats worldwide (85% lost, Beck et al ) is fuelling a global agenda to restore their ecological functions (e.g. Gillies et al ; Fariñas‐Franco et al ; Helmer et al ; Pogoda et al ; McAfee et al b ). In southern Australia, extensive flat oyster reefs characterized coastal waters (>1,500 km coastline) just 200 years ago but were extracted to near extinction following European settlement (Alleway & Connell ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cuing oyster recruitment with shell and rock: implications for timing reef restoration

McAfee

Connell

2020

Restoration Ecology

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Reducing uncertainty surrounding the biological responses of degraded habitat is key to providing confidence and efficiency in its restoration. Many coastal habitats are so extensively degraded that organismal responses to restoration interventions are entirely unknown. Among the most degraded coastal ecosystems are oyster reefs, whose restoration typically occurs where oysters are degraded to the point of functional extinction. This loss creates uncertainty on the fundamental processes for reef recovery; the timing of oyster recruitment and their preferred substratum for settlement. Such knowledge can inform restoration strategies to accelerate habitat recovery. Near the site of Australia's largest restoration of native oyster reef, we quantified temporal variability in recruitment of the native flat oyster (Ostrea angasi) and assessed their preference between the settlement substrata deployed for the reef restoration. Combining half a decade of environmental data with oyster recruitment data, we provide a model that identified distinct peaks in oyster recruitment which correlate with food availability and seawater temperature. In addition, oysters preferentially settled on oyster shell relative to other materials used in local restoration. In combination, these results suggest that there are opportunities to augment recruitment through addition of shell substratum synced with recruitment peaks. Our recruitment model likely represents a minor investment with large returns, providing opportunities to capture peak recruitment and greater confidence in utilizing natural recruitment as a restoration resource.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cuing oyster recruitment with shell and rock: implications for timing reef restoration

McAfee

Connell

2020

Restoration Ecology

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“…Oyster shell is also highly prized for oyster reef restoration as it provides an optimal settlement substrate (McAfee and Connell 2020 ). Although returning bivalve shells to the marine environment will eventually release the stored carbon as shells dissolve, there are considerable positive benefits of bivalve reef restoration, including indirect carbon sequestration through enhancing blue carbon habitats (Fodrie et al 2017 , Chowdhury et al 2019 , McAfee et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Opportunities For Climate-friendly Mariculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Climate-Friendly Seafood: The Potential for Emissions Reduction and Carbon Capture in Marine Aquaculture

et al. 2022

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Aquaculture is a critical food source for the world's growing population, producing 52% of the aquatic animal products consumed. Marine aquaculture (mariculture) generates 37.5% of this production and 97% of the world's seaweed harvest. Mariculture products may offer a climate-friendly, high-protein food source, because they often have lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emission footprints than do the equivalent products farmed on land. However, sustainable intensification of low-emissions mariculture is key to maintaining a low GHG footprint as production scales up to meet future demand. We examine the major GHG sources and carbon sinks associated with fed finfish, macroalgae and bivalve mariculture, and the factors influencing variability across sectors. We highlight knowledge gaps and provide recommendations for GHG emissions reductions and carbon storage, including accounting for interactions between mariculture operations and surrounding marine ecosystems. By linking the provision of maricultured products to GHG abatement opportunities, we can advance climate-friendly practices that generate sustainable environmental, social, and economic outcomes.

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“…In addition, the volume of valuable, carbon-rich shell waste from bivalve aquaculture is considerable, estimated at up to 11.9 Mt per year (Tokeshi et al, 2000). Also, and although returning bivalve shells to the marine environment will eventually release the stored carbon as shells dissolve, there are considerable positive benefits of bivalve reef restoration, including indirect carbon sequestration through enhancing blue carbon habitats (McAfee et al, 2020). These types of analysis of interactions enable policy makers to provide guidance on climate-friendly aquaculture practices that can reduce emissions or enhance marine carbon storage and to identify key knowledge gaps for future research.…”

Section: The Oceans As Carbon Sinksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reforming International Fisheries Law Can Increase Blue Carbon Sequestration

et al. 2022

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The oceans are by far the largest carbon sink and are estimated to have absorbed roughly 40 percent of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions since the beginning of the industrial era. The climate services performed by the oceans can be described as an interaction between a physical and a biological carbon pump. Whereas the role of the physical carbon pump is well established, the full scale of the climate services provided by the biological carbon pump has only recently been understood. This pump is made up of services provided by different marine species, from microbes to marine mammals. Many of these species are managed under the international law of the sea and subject to the concept of Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). Although the MSY concept has developed since its inception, maximum generation of fish for human consumption remains the core objective according to the law of the sea. Under MSY based management, states are not required to consider the climate services represented by different marine organisms, making this regime unable to balance the interest of maximizing fish as a product against the oceans’ role in carbon sequestration. In order to make optimal use of the carbon sequestering features of marine organisms, this perspective proposes five action points. Foremost, MSY should be complemented with a new management objective: maximum carbon sequestration (MCS). Although many aspects of climate-based fisheries management remain to be explored, it appears clear that this would imply allowing stocks to recover to maintain a larger amount of biomass, increasing conservation measures for species particularly efficient in providing negative emissions, differentiation of fisheries within species as well as a new approach to ecosystem management. Climate reforming international fisheries law could make an important contribution to the operationalization of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As a first step, international guidelines should be developed on how to integrate the concept of maximum carbon sequestration in fisheries management.

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The value and opportunity of restoring Australia's lost rock oyster reefs

Cited by 33 publications

References 74 publications

Cuing oyster recruitment with shell and rock: implications for timing reef restoration

Cuing oyster recruitment with shell and rock: implications for timing reef restoration

Climate-Friendly Seafood: The Potential for Emissions Reduction and Carbon Capture in Marine Aquaculture

Reforming International Fisheries Law Can Increase Blue Carbon Sequestration

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