Meet the site
The Dromana Shellfish Reef is one of the restoration sites created under the Victorian Shellfish Reef Restoration Project run by The Nature Conservancy and the Victorian Fisheries Authority, which aims to bring back the native flat oyster and blue mussel reefs that once covered much of Port Phillip before dredging destroyed them in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Five clusters of limestone rubble base seeded with mussels and oysters were laid on a one-hectare patch of bare sand in 8–9 m off Dromana, chosen after survey work that also mapped previously unknown seagrass beds nearby; the site is buffered 350 m from the nearest seagrass and is thought to overlie an historic natural shellfish reef. For divers the result is a low-relief artificial reef that is still maturing: the rubble mounds rise perhaps half a metre above the sand and are being colonised by mussels, oysters, sponges and algae, and they already attract far more fish than the surrounding seafloor – snapper, King George whiting, leatherjackets, wrasse and juvenile schooling fish, along with octopus, crabs and seastars using the crevices. It is a dive of ecological interest rather than spectacle, best approached as a chance to see a reef being rebuilt from nothing and to compare the clusters with the empty sand around them. Depth and conditions are gentle and it is well within reach of a small boat or a fit kayak diver from Dromana beach on a flat day. Anchoring on the clusters is the one thing to avoid; the project asks visitors to anchor on sand. The reef complements the Dromana Pier shore dive and the nearby Cicada wreck for a day of easy diving in the lee of Arthurs Seat. It suits Open Water divers with their own boat, marine science students and anyone curious about the bay's restoration programme.
What you might see
Blue mussel, native flat oyster, snapper, King George whiting, leatherjackets, wrasse, Maori octopus, decorator crab, seastars, sponges, juvenile schooling fish
Location
Five clusters of restored shellfish (mussel and oyster) reef on a one-hectare patch of sand in 8–9 m, about 1.3 km west-north-west of Dromana Pier in Dromana Bay.
Facilities nearby
Boat ramps at Safety Beach (Martha Cove), Anthonys Nose and Rye; toilets and cafés at Dromana foreshore; air fills at Extreme Watersport (Capel Sound) or The Scuba Doctor (Rye).
Before you make plans
Conditions, access and operator schedules can change. This is a location guide, not a dive plan. Ask a local operator about current conditions and suitability for your training and experience.
Sources & further reading
scubadoctor.com.auRecord updated 26 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.