Seagrass Trials

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (15:15): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development on the topic of seagrass trials.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: What in previous times was called seagrass is currently often referred to as seaweed. While it is a minor difference, the change clearly demonstrates the value that we as humans attach to this marine plant. This pejorative term of 'weed' for a plant growing where it is unwanted is dismissive of the reality of how important it is. Happily though, more recently we seem to be evolving in our understanding of the invaluable role played by seagrasses, and we better appreciate the benefits they bring to our coastal ecosystems and to human life along the coast and beyond.

Not only do they oxygenate water, reduce acidification and provide both habitat and food for numerous marine species, they also stabilise sand, minimise or even prevent coastal erosion and can provide better results than emissions-intensive hard infrastructure or sand carting as responses to sand drift. While terrestrial forests bind carbon for decades and their survival is often at the whim of bushfires, seagrass meadows can bind carbon for millennia.

Trials such as those that the South Australian government is currently undertaking through SARDI and the University of Adelaide show just how important this is. The trial, which began in winter 2022, saw approximately 100,000 naturally biodegradable hessian sandbags planted out, with the plan being to allow wire weed seagrass seedlings to naturally attach to them. Can the minister please provide the council with an update on the seagrass trials that are being undertaken by SARDI and the University of Adelaide off the South Australian coast at Port Gawler?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for her question. I am particularly appreciative of it because it recognises some of the important work that is being done at the South Australian Research and Development Institute, usually in partnership with other bodies which are equally committed to improving our environment, improving our knowledge about the benefits of such things as seagrasses, as well as the other variety of research that occurs. I am happy to take the specifics of the question on notice and bring back a response.