Our Story
Byssal was formed by passionate West Aussies with local marine challenges in mind. We pride ourselves on our ‘on water’ actions, collectively working toward tangible outcomes for better oceans.
Background
Why Cockburn Sound is important
Cockburn Sound is a unique and sheltered stretch of ocean on Perth’s coastal doorstep, loved by tens of thousands of West Aussies who fish, dive, swim, sail, kayak, windsurf, watch nature and/or simply enjoy being in, on or around the Sound.
Importantly, Cockburn Sound is home to one of the largest known spawning aggregations of Pink Snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) in Western Australia. It is also home to many other important marine species.
Cockburn Sound’s iconic marine species
Some of Cockburn Sound’s iconic marine species include
Pink Snapper
Southern Calamari
Whiting species
Australian Herring
Tailor
Blue swimmer crab
Octopus
Blue mussel
Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor)
a listed marine species under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)
Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea)
listed as endangered under Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act (1999) and the WA Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016
The Challenge
Cockburn Sound is currently faced with a tsunami of challengers including industrial developments, a changing climate (especially warming ocean temperatures), nutrient loads, oceanographic constraints, loss of benthic habitat and water quality issues. Combined, these have led to a reduction in habitat quality and biodiversity and raised serious concerns on the health of its waters.
What will the mussels be used for?
Byssal’s mussels will be used to enhance Cockburn Sound (and surrounding waters) by providing extensive ecosystem services to a system under constant stress.
Our mussels will play roles such as:
At full capacity the aquafarm has the potential to filter 2880 megalitres of water per day, the equivalent of 1152 Olympic swimming pools. Per year, the aquafarm can filter the waters of Cockburn Sound in its entirety over 2.5 times.
The Byssal Solution
Grow mussels on scale in a repair effort to bring back lost biodiversity in Cockburn Sound and surrounding waters, and build local ocean resilience!
Byssal have established a Blue Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) aquafarming operation in the heart of Cockburn Sound.
The operation has deployed kilometres of juvenile mussel settlement ropes within our 100Ha lease area in the Sound, successfully catching mussel (and other shellfish) spat across Winter/ Spring of 2025.
On a Mission
Byssal is on a mission to harness the power of mussels to solve today’s toughest marine environmental challenges. We’re looking for forward-thinking partners and stakeholders ready to scale a natural, proven solution for healthier, more resilient oceans.