Seagrass heads south along Torrens Island shoreline

December 30, 2020

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Steve Papp setting up for seagrass monitoring 3.11.20

ECF has been delighted to see the growing extent of seagrass (Zostera) in the Port River, both for where it’s now found and the increased level of coverage.

In 2012 Assoc Professor Jason Tanner, SARDI found Zostera only as far south as the Torrens Island Quarantine Station.

In early 2014 a major source of pollution went from the River with the liquidation of Penrice.

In early 2018 ECF began training volunteers to undertake seagrass monitoring and since then has been revisiting our monitoring sites by the Quarantine Station and at Lipsons Reach.

While the seagrass had good cover in large patches north and south of the Quarantine Station in 2018, and that’s continued, it’s the effective spread and coverage of Zostera at Lipsons Reach that has been really encouraging. Given the extent of Lipsons Reach, ECF is now setting up 3 monitoring sites there.

While the seagrass cover at Lipsons isn’t continuous, it is thickening and it’s now visible on either side of the inlet, by the AGL facility (inlet shown in bottom of first right photo below).

Very low daytime tides over summer provide ideal times for monitoring and on the best of days for Steve Papp, Chris Gates and Catherine McMahon the River is peaceful, birds are feeding, dolphins swim by, the breeze is light and the days not too hot.