Artificial reef and shellfish restoration project at Ardrossan: Final report for assessment of soft sediment benthic fauna, Report for The Nature Conservancy Australia

Prior to the establishment of shellfish reefs, background data were obtained for benthic fauna and sediment properties. During May 2017 investigations were undertaken of the unvegetated sediments of a planned artificial reef location at Rogues Point, Ardrossan, in Gulf St. Vincent. Various works including assessment of bare soft sediments were part of the pre-planning before installation of the artificial reef structure which commenced in June/July 2017. This report provides findings from the first assessment of soft sediment macrofauna and sediment characteristics throughout the designated location for the artificial reef. Description of further field sampling of an adjacent southern control site is also presented, but the laboratory processing and discussion of this control site are subject to further funding and not included in this report. The assessment of soft sediments of the artificial reef location in this report includes macroinvertebrate species counts, sediment grain size and organic matter content of sediments.