Mixing science and culture snags win in seagrass rescue

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Mixing science and culture snags win in seagrass rescue

Traditional knowledge and western science are being combined to restore seagrasses in Western Australia, which have been impacted by marine heatwaves.

At Gathaagudu (Shark Bay), Malgana Aboriginal Corporation rangers and scientists from the University of Western Australia are working together to restore seagrass in the area.

Malgana man and ranger coordinator Sean McNeair said elders asked for seagrass to be a priority as the plants are culturally and ecologically important.

“We have a lot of biodiversity that relies on the seagrass to live and thrive in this area,” he told AAP.

“It’s really important and a high priority in our culture to ensure that it’s being looked after and maintained to the best of its ability.”

Mr McNeair said an “important ingredient” to the program was combining cultural and scientific knowledge.

“They always have to work hand-in-hand together to ensure the best outcome for our Country,” he said.

Dr Elizabeth Sinclair, from the University of Western Australia’s school of biological sciences, said that two methods had so far been identified that would work to restore seagrasses at Shark Bay.

One of the methods involves transplanting seagrasses in the affected areas.

A diver will take a cutting from a healthy plant and plant it in another location, which can be a time-intensive exercise, Dr Sinclair said.

The other method involves what is called a “seagrass snagger”.

“It’s a bit like that sand filled tube you put behind your front door to stop the draft … in winter,” Dr Sinclair said.

“We use a hessian fabric and that actually slows sand movement down on the bottom of the sea but it enables sea grass seeds or bits of broken fragments to get trapped and then they can actually start to grow.”

These methods have been tested on areas that are about one hectare, and Dr Sinclair said the challenge now was to scale them up.

“It’s not very big compared to the 1000 square kilometres that was impacted during the marine heatwave but what we’ve developed are methods that we are starting to see or we know work,” she said.

“We’ve been monitoring them for a number of years so we know they work but now the challenge is actually to take these methods and scale them up to hundreds of square metres so we can actually start to make an impact on the whole Shark Bay area.”

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