Indo-Pacific Environmental was approached by Mount Gibson Island to facilitate the capture and relocation of marine fauna that were trapped within the Koolan Island main pit after repairs of the collapsed seawall resulted in the creation of a large land-locked lake which entrapped numerous bony fish, sharks, rays, and turtles. Adding to the challenge was that the mine pit remained in operation with large mobile earth moving equipment. IPE developed an effective and safety conscious relocation plan. Once captured, fish were placed in an aerated 1500 litre insulated transport vessel and relocated from the mine pit as rapidly as possible. Several hundred fishes of a wide variety of species were successfully relocated to the marine environment, including rays in excess of 40 kg and a Hammerhead Shark over 1.5 metres in length.
