Just off the coast of Ardrossan, something special is taking place  

Something that will enrich our marine environment and enhance our recreational fishing experience

 

Windara Reef - the first of its kind in South Australia and the largest in Australia.  This shellfish restoration reef will provide great fishing for our recreational fishers with species such as King George Whiting and Snapper finding a home here.  

Windara is the name of the Narungga people who lived in the eastern area of Yorke Peninsula.  The Narungga people were made up of four clans sharing the Guuranda (the Yorke Peninsula), Kurnara in the north, Dilpa in the south, Wari in the west and Windarra in the east.

The Reef

Phase one of the Windara Reef site is four hectares in size, and has been built with a mixture of 60 custom made concrete structures and 800 tonnes of local Yorke Peninsula limestone. This structure has been layered with Pacific Oyster shells which are covered in juvenile native oysters.  Phase 2 will see the reef expand to 20 hectares, and will be completed by the end of 2018.

Windara Reef is 7 kms off the coast south of Ardrossan, near Rogues Point.  It sits in a water depth of approximately 8 to 10 metres.

Why build a shellfish reef? 

Historically shellfish reefs were prevalent in the Yorke Peninsula region, and more than 1500 kms of these habitats have been lost from South Australia's coastline, the consequence of activities such as overfishing and dredging. Shellfish reefs are made up of oysters and mussels and provide an important habitat for marine life. Just like coral reefs, they support the growth of fish species like King George Whiting and Snapper. They also help to improve water quality, reduce coastal erosion and increase biodiversity.

Windara Reef will provide new habitat for marine life and help to improve recreational fishing opportunities for Yorke Peninsula.

The Rules

There are some rules which will ensure the long term sustainability of the reef.  These include the following permitted and prohibited activities:

Permitted

• Boating
• Drift recreational fishing by rod and line or handline and hand (dab) net
• Diving

Prohibited

• No commercial fishing activity of any kind is permitted in this zone
• Collection or removal of any bottom dwelling organisms, such as oysters, coral, seaweed, sea urchins, snails, crabs, abalone or any other shellfish
• No anchoring
• No spearfishing

The GPS coordinates of the current Windara Reef are:

34^o30.496' South, 137^o53.953' East

34^o30.604' South, 137^o53.949' East

34^o30.499' South, 137^o54.083' East

34^o30.607' South, 137^o54.079' East

Size, bag and boat limits apply.  More information is available in the Windara Reef Recreational Fishing Guide.

Windara Reef is a partnership between the South Australian Government, the Nature Conservancy (a not-for-profit conservation organisation and international leaders in shellfish restoration), Yorke Peninsula Council, RecFish SA, University of Adelaide and the Yorke Peninsula community.