Once the fish factories and ‘kidneys’ of colder seas, Australia’s decimated shellfish reefs are coming back
- Written by: Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide
Author providedAustralia once had vast oyster and mussel reefs, which anchored marine ecosystems and provided a key food source for coastal First Nations people. But after colonisation, Europeans harvested them for their meat and shells and pushed oyster and mussel reefs almost to extinction. Because the damage was done early – and...