A PROJECT to restore the once magnificent shellfish beds of the Pumicestone Passage is about to be launched in Bribie Island, using technology never before seen in Australia.

Shellfish have been synonymous with indigenous culture and Moreton Bay for thousands of years, but shellfish communities are now functionally extinct in the Pumicestone Passage due to over-harvesting and disease.

Tomorrow the second stage of The Pumicestone Shellfish Habitat Restoration Project will be launched with the aim of enhancing marine biodiversity and fish stocks and ultimately improving water quality in the Moreton Bay region.

After 18 months of planning, Healthy Land and Water has secured approval from the State Government to help restore these crucial habitats by installing artificial reef structures on the sea floor.

The project is a community-led collaboration more than 20 year in the making and involves traditional owners, all levels of government, community groups, industry and water utilities.

Three different types of artificial shellfish reefs will be installed in a one-hectare location of Kakadu Beach, including a biodegradable potato starch matrix known as BESE-Elements that was developed in the Netherlands and has never been used before in Australia.

Steel cages filled with shells and a patch reef construction used to simulate natural reef structure will also be installed.

To honour their inextricable link to Moreton Bay and shellfish communities, relatives of traditional owners will help assemble the BESE-Elements under the guidance of the Dutch developers who have made the journey to Australia for the launch.

Project leaders are asking fishers to be custodians of the project and to support the restoration effort by not anchoring in the area as anchors could damage potato starch matrix installations and severely hamper the project.

A special illuminated yellow marker buoy will be installed to indicate to water users where the reef structures are located beneath the water.

The project will be monitored for three years by the University of the Sunshine Coast marine science team and it is hoped a successful trial will encourage similar restoration work to be replicated elsewhere in the Moreton Bay Marine Park.