1. An algal bloom is an excessive growth of algae in a body of water.
2. The biggest problems of an algal bloom are the toxins it produces, and that it deoxygenates the water. These impacts are harmful to marine life – plants and animals alike.
3. Even when the algae die off, its decomposing uses up more of the oxygen, making matters worse.
4. Oysters are natural filter creatures. They filter out excess nutrients in the water and eat harmful algae. One oyster can filter as much as a bathtub of water over only 2 days. They have been described as “the kidneys of the sea”.
5. Restoring oyster and mollusc reefs along the South Australian coastline can help clean up the marine ecosystem and help prevent future algal blooms.
Sounds good, right? I got this information from The Nature Conservancy, one of the great organisations who are working hard on the recovery of the beautiful South Australian coastline. You can find out more, watch video etc at natureaustralia.org.au.
Restoring the reefs is already underway. Recycled shell reefs are made from used oyster shells – there are twenty six of those – and there is a large-scale limestone reef happening. These are under The Rebuilding South Australia’s Lost Shellfish Reefs Program. You can find out more at environment.sa.gov.au/topics/coasts/rebuilding-sa-lost-shellfish-reefs.
Good stuff. I’ll blog more next time.
So on we go!
Joni
Joni Page 