Sydney Harbor Restoration Project A Swimmer’s Aquarium’s Dream

The project ‘From Seabirds to Seascapes’ is led by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS), the Taronga Conservation Society Australia and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

SIMS Chair Peter Cochrane said the harbor needs active intervention with living seawalls to restore Sydney’s waterways and biodiversity to their former state.

“More than 50% of Sydney Harbor is built, not natural, so if we can restore the natural elements, biodiversity will come back to those walls,” he said.

Nine locations for the new living breakwaters have not yet been finalized, but may be east of the bridge and close to the CBD. Cochrane expects about 70 seawall tiles to be installed at each site and seaweed and seaweed to be planted in the area.

He encourages the return of species to harbors because live breakwaters house “filter feeders such as mussels and oysters,” species that eat small underwater organisms and ultimately improve the water quality of the harbor. He added that he played an important role in

David Booth, UTS Professor of Marine Biology, said the project is helping to revitalize the port.

“Sydney Harbor is such a beautiful estuary. We’ve actually recorded over 600 species of fish. That’s more than the entire coast of New Zealand or England,” he said. Because of the loss of diversity, we’re missing some of the smaller species that attract larger species.”

He and marine biologist and partner Gigi Beretta worked with the cultural icon’s sustainability team to previously install a similar reef on the edge of the Sydney Opera House, resulting in a stunning bunting seahorse. is back. He is one of two species of seahorses that are endangered in the world.

Since installing the reef in 2018, the two are hopeful about the rest of the project.

“It’s interesting because the opera house is more upstream.” [than most other sites] Even with the murkier water, we still found natural seahorses inhabiting these reefs,” he said.

Environment Minister James Griffin said government funding would help restore Sydney Harbour, regaining lost biodiversity, improving water quality and increasing carbon stocks.

“Sydney Harbor is a modern, functioning port at the heart of our city’s heartbeat, but the impacts of urbanization and industrial activity have led to a loss of marine habitat and the species that call them home. ” he said.