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“It is the first of its kind and hopefully that can expand into other areas.”<\/p>\n
The boat was funded through the NSW Government’s Community Building Partnership grants and BCF, Boating, Camping, Fishing.<\/p>\n
Ballina MP Tamara Smith supported the project, with the group’s large volunteer base dedicating hundreds of hours to river restoration.<\/p>\n
The Richmond River Chapter has spent years working on oyster recovery and last year contributed almost 1,000 volunteer hours using borrowed boats for clean-ups, monitoring and shellfish reef restoration.<\/p>\n
“This will allow more volunteers to get involved with hands-on restoration, which will now be much easier,” White said.<\/p>\n
“The boat can take eight people at a time with room for the baskets we need to transport for the oysters.<\/p>\n
“It will be well maintained and looked after so it lasts for many years.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OZFISH Unlimited has launched its first dedicated River Repair Boat in Ballina, marking a major step forward for reef restoration and waterway conservation in the region. The purpose-built vessel features a flat-bottom design, allowing volunteers from the Richmond River group to access areas that were previously difficult or impossible to reach. It will play a […]<\/p>\n