Above: Marine biologist Anita Nedosyko. Photograph by Keryn Stevens.
Anita Nedosyko goes deep Story by Nina Keath.
Anita Nedosyko is speaking to me via phone from the front seat of her dusty 4WD as she overlooks the vast mud flats of Port Germein. She’s travelled there from her campsite in the southern Flinders Ranges seeking phone reception and respite from the forty degree heat. Typically unflappable, she hasn’t let a flat tyre get in the way of our pre-arranged interview. Anita describes the scene in front of her through her marine biologist lens: ‘The tide is out and I’m looking across one kilometre of rich, beautiful mud flats. They’re filled with shore birds, crustaceans and marine life.’ But this idyllic scene is tainted by Anita’s knowledge of the damage caused to this environment by the leaching of lead and heavy metals from the Port Pirie smelter. It’s an example of an acute problem overlaying longer term chronic degradation of our entire marine ecosystem – degradation that Anita has tracked in her own lifetime.
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Growing up on the Yorke Peninsula, Anita spent every spare moment snorkelling and exploring the beachfront. She recalls, ‘I had a deep fascination with all the marine life and critters and wanted to be at the beach as much as I could. Over time, I grew a sense of ownership and custodianship.’ This sense of personal responsibility was heightened by the changes she observed. ‘I’ve snorkelled certain places all my life and they’re still beautiful, but the schools of fish are smaller than when I was a child and there is less diversity,’ she explains. ‘I feel such sadness and grief knowing that our extinction rate in Australia is one of the worst in the world. Nature needs a voice and an advocate, and I’ve got a passion for trying to address the ecological crisis that we’re in.’ Anita channels this drive through her role as Marine Restoration Coordinator at not-for-profit The Nature Conservancy where she is making real strides towards regenerating some of our most degraded marine environments. Now a Fleurieu local, she’s working to restore shellfish reefs in Port Noarlunga and Kangaroo Island, while also managing restored reefs in Glenelg and Windara. Her goal is to restore shellfish reefs right around the Fleurieu and South Australia, along with seagrass meadows and salt marshes. These habitats are important nursery
