Chance to learn more about oysters

Intertidal oyster banks and the subtidal oyster beds have long been a feature of the Redcliffe foreshore.

A ‘Talking about Shellfish’ workshop on March 20 is giving you the chance to learn more about them.

UniSC researchers Associate Professor Dr Ben Gilby and PhD candidate Erin Wills will present at the session to be held at Deception Bay Environmental Hub from 7-9pm.

It will be the second in the 2025 series of Eco-forums, a collaboration between Rotary-ESRAG, REF Environmental and UniSC.

Ben will begin with a broad coverage of shellfish reef restoration and shellfish loss globally, what it is and how it works, before covering the science needed to optimise it. He will also speak about local case studies.

Erin will describe her recent work on oyster settlement, spat density and growth at 21 intertidal sites throughout northern Moreton Bay.

To register, visit the website or simply turn up on the night.

Longtime feature of the bay

From the establishment of the Moreton Bay Penal Colony at Redcliffe Point in 1824 until the mid-1860s the early white settlers exploited the intertidal oyster banks and the subtidal oyster beds. Oysters from reefs and adjacent Aboriginal middens were fired in lime kilns then used in mortar for the construction of early Brisbane.

An Act for the Protection of Oyster Fisheries was passed by the Legislative assembly on September 22, 1863. Oysters at Pumicestone Passage and Toorbul Point were harvestable after five years, having been almost wiped out. Subsequent legislation was introduced in 1874 and 1886 to better regulate the industry, stimulate growth, handle exports to southern markets and address competition.

The Moreton Bay oyster industry flourished from the 1870s to the early 1920s. The peak years for oyster production were in the 1890s. The industry recovered from a temporary slump in 1897 due to mud worm disease then declined notably from 1910.

Today only a few remnant intertidal shellfish reefs remain. In the mid-1800s they were described as 300 yards (275m) long. Subtidal reefs were reported at two plus fathoms (4m+). The latter are now functionally extinct.

Contemporary scientists believe that the underlying cause for native oysters dying out is poor water quality and habitat change, both caused by poor catchment management, and resulting in excessive runoff after a significant weather event.