Aquaculture Services

 

We offer all the services you need to get your aquaculture operation approved and running in an ecologically sustainable fashion.

Do you need help with government permits or aquaculture lease & licence applications?

We use our history of working successfully with government regulators as a basis to minimise delays to our clients’ projects and facilitate smooth, cost effective operations. While the requirements of obtaining leases, licences and other environmental approvals can appear complex to potential operators and existing leaseholders, this is an area we work in all the time. In most cases, this is simply a matter of getting some key details into an acceptable format, or helping you develop them. We offer a one-stop shop for:

• Document development;
• Mapping of aquaculture leases and surrounding habitats;
• Development of nutrient budgets;
• Development of management and environmental monitoring plans (see below);
• Producing annual monitoring reports; and
• Conducting baseline surveys and impact assessments.

Do you need to develop and implement an Aquaculture MEMP?

Aquaculture Management and Environmental Monitoring Plans (MEMPs) are a key part of all aquaculture approvals in Western Australia (see the Department of Fisheries Guidance Statement here). Our MEMPs are simple to understand and implement, while meeting regulatory requirements and achieving the standards set by the Aquaculture Council of Western Australia (ACWA) Codes of Practice. They are generally able to be developed to fit into your operations with minimal extra cost.

Do you need to conduct environmental monitoring for you aquaculture operation?

Environmental monitoring is an important component of farm operations. We offer our clients comprehensive, cost effective and tailored environmental monitoring services which meet all regulatory requirements. Some examples of field programs we can provide are:

• Water sampling;
• Sediment sampling;
• Seagrass mapping and monitoring;
• Deployment and maintenance of water quality instruments;
• Benthic community and habitat surveys; and
• Marine mammal surveys.

Our field teams are highly experienced and work with aquaculture operators to ensure field programs do not interfere with farm operations and can be executed in a time-effective manner. MScience has a proven history of running field programs independently or providing protocols for our clients’ staff to undertake sample collection.

Do you need guidance on aquaculture codes & standards?

We use our multidisciplinary background and years of experience to work with our clients to achieve leading industry accreditation. This includes working through audits of assessment with ACWA codes or preliminary assessments for accreditation by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.

Do you need assistance with the Australian Shellfish Quality Assurance Program?

Compliance with the Australian Shellfish Quality Assurance Program (ASQAP) or the Western Australia Shellfish Quality Assurance Program (WASQAP) can be expensive and complex. Our staff have comprehensive understandings of the ASQAP/WASQAP requirements and, coupled with our inhouse experts in ecotoxicology and marine biology, can provide sound scientific interpretations of plankton data to assist with farm management. Some services we offer specific to ASQAP/WASQAP are:

• Desktop and field surveys for sanitary surveys;
• Coordinate sampling plan development;
• Liaise with regulators;
• Write monitoring reports;
• Conduct field sampling;
• Provide staff training; and
• Provide site selection advice.

Do you need to produce a nutrient budget for your aquaculture operation?

Experienced marine scientists at MScience are able to provide comprehensive desktop assessments of the likely nutrient flux surrounding aquaculture operations to support your lease and licence applications or pinpoint potential issues.