EGBC Innovation Jan-Feb 2023

F E A T U R E

A variety of juvenile clams, a larger horse clam and a clam worm are among the marine organisms found during a sampling one year after the restoration. P hoto : V ancouver F raser P ort A uthority

Crews test and monitor the area a year after the Maplewood tidal flats restoration is complete. P hoto : V ancouver F raser P ort A uthority

Once all the washers were attached and the eelgrass was bundled together, it was time to hand them over to the underwater dive transplant crew. “The divers strategically and carefully planted them on a meticulous grid. It was one metre on-centre planting with a bundle of eight shoots over a 1.5-hectare area. On average, the divers were able to plant about 3,000 eelgrass shoots a day. It took about 50 days to complete the process.” MONITORING AND THE FUTURE The project is already showing positive results after a year and the port authority is working with Indigenous Nations on the long-term effectiveness monitoring program. Another benefit of the project extends to animals and birds in the neighbouring wildlife conservation area, immediately south of the site. “There are a variety of bird species in the area. Every time I go out there,

The newly created rock reef has seen some impressive changes. "After just one year of monitoring, we are already seeing species diversity and richness comparable to the reference site," Olson said. "It is well known that rock reefs tend to colonize very quickly and provide highly productive habitat to a variety of marine species to use right away." The marine construction was completed in 2020. Then it was time to transform the rest of the area by transplanting eelgrass in 2021. THE IMPORTANCE OF EELGRASS One of the main components of the project was transplanting eelgrass from existing healthy eelgrass donor sites into the Maplewood basin. The port authority worked with Indigenous Nations on the planning and implementation of the transplanting work. The fast-growing eelgrass provides important shelter and acts as a nursery habitat for young fish, including

salmon, as well as a variety of shellfish including Dungeness crab. Bringing their numbers back up was of ecological, cultural and recreational importance. Over 125,000 eelgrass shoots were transplanted to a 1.5-hectare eelgrass bed, the largest eelgrass transplant ever performed in Burrard Inlet. To create this biodiverse area, Olson explained, “It’s a three-step process. We had divers carefully harvest the eelgrass shoots from the donor sites. Then they were brought onto the shore where workers from Inlailawatash, a Tsleil-Waututh Nation-owned business, hand prepared the shoots." The shore crew attached small loonie size steel washers to individual eelgrass shoots to anchor them to the marine sediment. The rust from the anchors is expected to chelate with sulphites in the surrounding sediment to improve the environment for establishing the eelgrass.

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