With the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park through the Reef Joint Field Management Program, Queensland National Parks partnered with the Woppaburra First Nations people, Mars, Incorporated, local tourism operators Keppel Dive & Snorkel and Freedom Fast Cats, and Konomie Island Environmental Education Centre for Yarul Dhingiga (meaning Yarul - connecting rope, Dhingiga - setting down) — a reef rehabilitation trial in the Keppel Bay Islands, located just 15 kilometres from Yeppoon.
The trial is the third of its kind on the Great Barrier Reef and uses live coral fragments and MARRS (Mars Assisted Reef Restoration System) ‘reef stars’ to build new, stable areas of coral reef habitat.
The focus of this trial is to develop rehabilitation methods for our toolbox, should we need them following major weather events or devastating crown-of-thorn starfish outbreaks in localised areas.
While the Keppel Bay Islands are home to diverse, healthy and resilient reefs, however, there are some of areas at Great Keppel Island (Monkey and Shelving reefs) and Humpy Island where coral rubble and macroalgae are hampering recovery — making them ideal locations for this trial.
Learn more - Yarul Dhingiga: Keppel Bay Reef rehabilitation project | gbrmpa
