‘Greenwall’ made up of twenty tonnes of mussels trialled in Cockburn, to help restore struggling ecosystem
Teams in Cockburn have trialled a ‘mussel wall’ in a bid to offset the area’s environmental degradation.
Fremantle Ports partnered with local ocean restoration company Byssal and DevelopmentWA to launch an innovative mussel ‘green wall’ trial two weeks ago that will use 20 tonnes of mollusks to restore the sound’s challenging ecosystem.
Approximately 770,000 locally sourced blue mussel shells will be planted in a selected rock wall at the Australian Marine Complex shared user facility in Henderson.
The project team aims to create a self-sustaining mussel population in the field. Pre- and post-seeding monitoring will be carried out to measure changes in marine biodiversity as well as changes in water quality throughout the trial period.
Given that mussels are natural biofilters, the trial could filter more than two million liters of seawater per hour, the equivalent of more than 23 Olympic-sized swimming pools every day.
This will significantly improve water quality, which will provide other benefits to Cockburn Sound, including reducing the risk of summer algae blooms, increasing biodiversity by providing feeding grounds for species such as pink snapper and little penguins, and restoring habitat for crustaceans and fish.
Mussels may also reduce erosion by stabilizing seabeds, given their natural ability to attach to rocks.
Fremantle Ports CEO Jodie Ransom said the project would support environmental stewardship and sustainable port operations.
“Working in partnership with Byssal and DevelopmentWA, this project is an exciting opportunity to test a nature-based solution that can deliver real environmental benefits while shaping how we design and manage port environments in the future,” he said.
“By exploring innovative, low-impact solutions like this, we strengthen the long-term health of Cockburn Sound and contribute to a more sustainable future for our harbor and community.”
Industrial developments and climate change conditions, particularly rising ocean temperatures, have contributed to the decline of sound.
Byssal director and chief scientist Dr Dean Thorburn said the company was planning “significant development” in the marine field over the coming decades to address environmental and ecological issues.
“We are looking at ways to future-proof Cockburn Sound’s marine environment,” he said.
“We are using healthy, locally raised mussels and using a simple distribution method to help them settle on rock walls. If successful, it could provide a model for harbors and other marine environments around Australia.”
Dr Thorburn said Byssal was one of the first organizations to use aquaculture (the controlled breeding of aquatic organisms) for environmental benefits.
“Byssal has 50 tonnes of blue mussels grown on our mussel farms in Cockburn Sound and is equipped to grow up to 40 times that amount, giving us the ability to quickly scale the project if the pilot is successful,” he said.
“It is an exciting opportunity to collaborate with other departments on a nature-based solution that directly integrates with existing infrastructure.”
