information package ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm at abbot bay

Pacific reef Fisheries | december 2014

all comments and submissions to:

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

Assessments Team

Po box 1379, townsville Qld 4810

email: assessments@gbrmpa.gov.au

website: www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-us/consultation

we now seek any public comment under regulation 88d of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Parks Regulations 1983 (c’th) and s15 of the Marine Parks

Regulations 2006 (Qld). Public submissions will be considered by the Great barrier reef marine Park authority (GbrmPa) and the Queensland

Parks and wildlife service (QPws) in making a decision on this permit application.

ii

Jacobs Group (Australia) Pty Limited

ABN 37 001 024 095

Level 5, 33 King William Street

Adelaide SA 5000 Australia

PO Box 8291

T +61 8 8424 3800

F +61 8 8424 3810

www.jacobs.com

COPYRIGHT: The concepts and information contained in this document are the

property of Jacobs Group (Australia) Pty Limited. Use or copying of this document

in whole or in part without the written permission of Jacobs constitutes an

infringement of copyright.

| ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm | PaciFic reeF Fisheries

1

1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................3

2. Company profile .............................................................................................................4

3. Assessment process and making a submission .......................................5

4. Project location and values .....................................................................................7

5. Description of Project .................................................................................................9

6. Managing Environmental Impacts ......................................................................11

7. Public use of the project area ................................................................................17

8. Next Steps after public consultation period closes ................................18

9. Further information .......................................................................................................19

Appendix A. Concept Drawings

table oF contents

ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm | PaciFic reeF Fisheries |

2

3

Pacific reef Fisheries proposes to establish

new prawn aquaculture operations at a site

near Guthalungra in north Queensland through

the staged construction of 259 hectares of new

prawn ponds and associated infrastructure. at full

production the farm will produce approximately

2,500 tonnes of black tiger prawns and create

88 full time equivalent jobs.

Prawns will be sold in domestic and international

markets, where Pacific reef Fisheries has a

strong reputation for quality and environmental

sustainability from the operation of existing

aquaculture facilities at alva beach near

townsville.

the proposed prawn farm will be industry-

leading in its water treatment facilities, using

sand filtration to remove particulate matter and

beds of algae to remove nutrients. this approach

will increase the amount of waste water that

can be recycled within the farm and reduce

the discharge of water containing nutrients and

particulate matter to the marine Park.

once the concentrations of nutrients and

particulate matter in waste water have been

reduced to as low as possible, an environmental

offset program will be funded and implemented

to provide an off-farm reduction in nutrient

and sediment discharges from neighbouring

agricultural land-uses in the region. this offset

program will result in a nil net discharge of

nutrients and sediments from the Guthalungra

Prawn Farm’s operations to the Great barrier

reef marine Park.

while the vast majority of the proposed prawn

farm’s infrastructure and operations will occur on

freehold land owned by Pacific reef Fisheries,

some use of public land is proposed for the sea

water intake and discharge pipelines. such areas

include tidal and sub-tidal areas located within

the Great barrier reef marine Park.

this Information Package has been prepared by Pacific reef Fisheries to provide an overview of its

proposal to construct a new prawn farm facility at Guthalungra near bowen, involving works within

the Great barrier reef marine Park. details of the proposal, company applying for the permit, project

timelines, potential environmental impacts and the assessment process are provided in this Information

Package. Further detailed information about the project is available at the applicant’s website

www.pacificreef.com.au

1. introduction

ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm | introduction

4

Pacific reef Fisheries is a family-owned

aquaculture and seafood company, which

currently operates aquaculture grow out

facilities at alva beach, near townsville in north

Queensland. In order to produce a high quality

product, Pacific reef Fisheries also operates

its own prawn hatchery at Guthalungra which

supplies seed stock for the 98 earthen prawn

grow out ponds located at its main facility at alva

beach. the pelagic fish cobia is also grown at the

alva beach facility and is in demand for

high-end markets.

the company currently employs between 40 and

100 staff, with staff numbers changing seasonally

according to the prawn growing season. the

operation provides significant employment

opportunities and associated economic benefits

for the local community. Pacific reef Fisheries

and its staff are dedicated to growing prawns

of outstanding quality for the enjoyment of

consumers in australia and overseas.

Pacific reef Fisheries is a committed participant

in research and development to ensure the very

best methods and technology are harnessed to

grow their premium quality black tiger prawns.

Pacific reef Fisheries prides itself on being a

progressive organisation and is always looking

at ways to improve its production efficiency and

environmental outcomes. recent examples

relevant to the Guthalungra Prawn Farm proposal

include significant investments in research and

development of sand bed filtration and advanced

algal treatment technologies.

Pacific reef Fisheries is also committed to

sourcing feed from sustainable suppliers,

including recently developed noVacQ fish meal

replacements.

2. comPany ProFile

comPany ProFile | ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm

5

3. assessment Process and makinG a submissionPacific reef Fisheries has been developing the

Guthalungra Prawn Farm proposal for more

than a decade. the proposal was declared

a “significant Project” by the Queensland

coordinator General in 2001, and an

environmental Impact study (eIs) was prepared

in 2005 to facilitate assessment of the project

by government agencies. Further information in

the form of a supplementary eIs was prepared

in 2006 in response to comments received from

the coordinator General, arising from a public

comment and assessment phase. In January

2008, the coordinator General completed an

assessment report and recommended that

the project could proceed, subject to several

conditions.

In march 2010, the Federal minister for

sustainability, environment, water, Population

and communities (now known as the minister

for the environment) approved the project under

the commonwealth Environment Protection and

Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (ePbc act),

subject to several conditions. this approval

was subsequently amended by the minister in

november 2011, following consideration of a

request from Pacific reef Fisheries.

the final stages of project planning are now

being completed, prior to the commencement

of construction and operations, in accordance

with the conditions of environmental approvals.

as part of this process, environmental approvals

are being sought from relevant state and

commonwealth Government agencies, including

the Great barrier reef marine Park authority

(GbrmPa).

the proposed prawn farm is located adjacent to

the Great barrier reef marine Park and involves

the following activities within the marine Park:

• Constructionofnewinfrastructure,includinga

sea water intake pipeline and pump station

• Extractionofseawaterforuseattheprawn

farm facility

• Dischargeoftreatedwastewatertothe

marine Park via an outfall pipeline

ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm | assessment Process and makinG a submission

6

a marine Parks permit is required under the

provisions of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Act 1975 (commonwealth) and the Marine Parks

Act 2004 (Queensland) for the construction and

operation of the new prawn farm. while the

project has been approved by the coordinator

General and the commonwealth minister for

sustainability, environment, water, Population

and communities (ePbc act approval),

assessment of a marine Parks permit application

is required before the project can proceed within

the marine Park.

the commonwealth and state Governments

have established a joint assessment framework

under which consideration of projects within the

Great barrier reef marine Park is made. relevant

assessment criteria are outlined in the Great

Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 1983 and

Marine Parks Regulations 2006.

section 88d of the Great Barrier Reef Marine

Park Regulations 1983 requires that assessment

documentation for the project be advertised for

public comment. this provides an opportunity

for stakeholders and existing users of the marine

Park to have a say in the assessment process.

GbrmPa has therefore invited public comments

on the proposal and will consider these

comments in as part of its final assessment of the

marine Parks permit application.

assessment Process and makinG a submission | ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm

7

4. Project location and values

the project site is located near the small coastal

town of Guthalungra, approximately 40 km

north of bowen and 175 km south of townsville

(Figure 1). the properties upon which the prawn

farm is proposed to be built are cleared, freehold

land owned by Pacific reef Fisheries and are

currently used for grazing purposes and for

the operation of a small prawn hatchery. the

properties are located adjacent to abbot bay,

a shallow coastal embayment located between

cape upstart (to the north) and abbot Point (to

the south).

the site was identified by Pacific reef Fisheries

after an extensive search along the Queensland

coastline. many of the site’s attributes make it

an excellent candidate for the establishment of

a prawn farm, including climate, land tenure,

previous land use (already cleared), proximity to

the regional centre of bowen, local infrastructure,

site characteristics (water, soil types, slope) and

location in an area subjected to low levels of

recreational and commercial use. Prawn farm

aquaculture is also consistent with marine Park

zoning in the area (allowed to occur through the

granting of a marine Parks permit).

the site is located within the don river

catchment (also referred to as the abbot bay

catchment), the majority (83%) of which is

used for agricultural production. Grazing is the

dominant land use, with small amounts of sugar

production and horticulture also in place within

the catchment. extensive sugar cane production

occurs in the neighbouring burdekin catchment

to the north.

coastal waters surrounding the project area are

subject to a diverse range of uses, from national

park to heavy industry. the abbot Point coal

terminal is located approximately 20 km to the

south-east of the site and is a large coal export

facility. cape upstart national Park is located

approximately 12 km to the north of the site,

and is used for conservation and nature-based

recreational purposes. abbot bay is rarely

accessed by visitors or commercial operators

from land and has low levels of public use.

the marine environment of abbot bay has a

sandy bottom and supports sparsely distributed

ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm | Project location and values

8

patches of seagrass and invertebrates. a small,

algae-dominated fringing coral reef is located

at camp Island, approximately 3 km east of the

abbot bay shoreline, to the north of the mouth

of the elliot river. Fringing coral reefs are also

located around the rocky shorelines of cape

upstart. abbot bay provides general foraging

habitat for dugong and turtles. some nesting

of flatback turtles has also been recorded on

beaches in the area.

the Great barrier reef marine Park is divided

into several zones, which are used as a basis for

its management. the Zoning Plan describes the

purpose and location of zones, and the activities

which may occur within each zone, either with or

without a permit. some activities are prohibited

within certain zones. the Zoning Plan was

established using contemporary principles of

marine protected area design, and protects a

representation of the various habitats within the

marine Park, while allowing reasonable public use

and enjoyment of the marine Park.

the majority of inshore waters of abbot bay,

including those located adjacent to the proposed

prawn farm, are within a habitat Protection

(dark blue) Zone of the marine Park (Figure 1).

the habitat Protection Zone provides for the

conservation of areas of the marine Park by

protecting and managing sensitive habitats and

ensuring they are generally free from potentially

damaging activities. some activities such

as trawling are not permitted in the habitat

Protection Zone, which makes up approximately

28 per cent of the marine Park. however, the

habitat Protection Zone provides for reasonable

use of the marine Park and many activities

including aquaculture may occur in the zone, if

approved by a permit.

areas to the south and offshore of the proposed

site are zoned General use (light blue). the

objective of the General use Zone is to provide

opportunities for reasonable use of the marine

Park, while still allowing for the conservation

of these areas. areas to the north of the site

surrounding the cape upstart national Park are

zoned marine national Park (Green) Zone. this is

a no-take zone, and no fishing or collecting may

occur without a permit. Pacific reef Fisheries

is not proposing any activities within the marine

national Park Zone.

Project location and values | ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm

!Guthalungra

Elliot

Rive

r

Euri C

reek

!Townsville

I:\QENV2\Projects\QE06643\Spatial\ArcGIS\Figures\Figure_1_Proprosed_Prawn_Farm_Location_141028.mxd Produced: 4/11/2014

Jacobs does not warrant that this document is definitive nor free of errors and does not accept liability for any loss caused or arising from reliance upon information provided herein.

±[GDA 94 | MGA 55]

A4

0 5 10Kilometres

1:250,000

LEGENDWater Disposal PipelineWater Supply PipelineWaterwayState Controlled Road

Great Barrier Reef Marine ParkHabitat Protection ZoneConservation Park ZoneMarine National Park ZoneGeneral Use Zone

FIGURE 1: PROPOSED PRAWN FARM LOCATION

Cape Upstart

Project Site

Intake and DischargeLocations

ABBOT BAY

Great Barrier ReefMarine Park

Port ofAbbot Point

9

5. descriPtion oF Projectthe Guthalungra Prawn Farm will be developed

in three stages, with each stage taking

approximately 2 years to construct. each of the

three production areas will remain independent

within the farm, having its own water supply,

drainage, exchange water treatment and re-use

facilities. the first stage comprises 91 production

ponds, each with an area of approximately

1 ha. construction and operation of the second

stage of the farm (comprising an additional

112 ha of production ponds) will not commence

until stage 1 of the operation has completed

a full production cycle (1 year), and it can be

demonstrated that the nutrient and sediment

limits of approval conditions for discharge to

the marine Park have been met. this approach

will also be applied for stage 3 (comprising an

additional 56 ha of production ponds) in relation

to the successful operation of the combined

stages 1 and 2. at full production, the prawn

farm will comprise a maximum of 259 ha of

production ponds, plus water treatment and

storage ponds, with a total pond development of

approximately 315 ha.

Infrastructure proposed to be constructed within

the marine Park includes a sea water intake pipe,

water discharge pipe and a pump station which

will transport sea water from the intake pipe to

the farm storage facilities. the discharge pipeline

will extend approximately 520 metres from the

level of highest astronomical tide into the marine

Park at abbot bay. the separate intake pipeline

will extend approximately 270 metres from the

level of highest astronomical tide into the marine

Park at abbot bay. the proposed alignment of

the intake and discharge pipelines is shown in

concept drawings located in the appendix of

this Information Package. both the intake and

discharge pipelines will be buried within the sand

dunes and inter-tidal zone, and will therefore not

be visible to users of the beach.

a pump station will be installed within the marine

Park at the end of the intake pipeline pipeline

(19° 51’ 4.60” s, 147° 52’ 2.92” e; Gda94),

concealed within a concrete pit underwater. the

pump station will pump water from the marine

Park up to the prawn farm water storage ponds.

a grill will be placed over the pump station inlet

to prevent marine fauna being sucked into the

intake pipeline. biological organisms growing on

ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm | descriPtion oF Project

10

the internal surfaces of the pipes will be removed

periodically, using a process known as ‘pigging’.

this involves launching a device along the inside

of the pipe to remove benthic organisms. where

possible, pigging will be conducted in an inland

direction towards the prawn farm. however,

some small quantities of biofouling will be

discharged to the marine Park when pigging is

completed in a seaward direction.

a diffuser will be constructed at the end of the

discharge pipeline. this consists of a series of

nozzles along the final 100 metres of pipeline

through which water will be discharged. the

diffuser will maximise the near-field dilution of

waste water. the intake and discharge pipelines

will be buried between the marine Park and the

prawn farm, and run along a series of public

land tenures with permission from the relevant

Government agencies. Inshore of abbot bay,

the intake and discharge pipelines will also

be buried below a saltmarsh habitat, which

is occasionally inundated by high tides. this

section of the pipeline alignment is approximately

500 metres in length and is located within the

marine Park between the points (19°52’ 23.15”

s, 147°50’58.03” e and 19°52 ‘16.12” s,

147°51’05.02” e; Gda94).

construction of the intake and discharge

pipelines and the associated pump station will

be completed using a cutter section dredge

over a period of up to two weeks. a trench will

be excavated along the sea bed for a length

of approximately 520 metres. the intake and

discharge pipes will be laid in the trench,

which will then be backfilled with the previously

excavated sand. approximately 750 cubic metres

of excavated sand (equivalent to the volume of

the buried pipelines) will be disposed of outside

of the marine Park.

the prawn farm will operate over a typical

growing season each year, which involves

introducing small prawns from the hatchery

to production ponds from July. the prawns

take approximately 180 days to mature prior

to harvest, and the stocking program will be

staggered between July and december so that

prawns may be harvested from december to

June of the following year. during June, the

production ponds are emptied and there is

minimal exchange of water with the marine Park.

descriPtion oF Project | ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm

11

a detailed eIs and supplementary eIs were

completed for the project between 2003 and

2006, and describe the environmental impacts

of the project. the eIs demonstrated that the

project could be developed with minimal impact

on the environment, and was the basis for the

granting of approvals from the coordinator

General and the commonwealth minister for

sustainability, environment, water, Population

and communities. copies of the eIs and

supplementary eIs are available on the Pacific

reef Fisheries website www.pacificreef.com.au.

a summary of environmental impacts relevant to

the Great barrier reef marine Park is provided

below.

construction of the sea water intake and

discharge structures will result in the temporary

disturbance of sandy benthic and saltmarsh

communities of the marine Park. surveys of the

abbot bay area indicate that the sea floor is

comprised primarily of bare sand, with patches

of seagrass and benthic invertebrates (e.g.

crustaceans, polychaete worms and bivalves).

no corals will be disturbed by construction of the

water intake and discharge pipelines. mitigation

measures such as silt curtains will be used to

reduce the impact of sediment disturbance on

water quality during the construction process.

most of the prawn farm will be constructed on

land outside of the marine Park. a comprehensive

survey of acid sulphate soils was completed at

the site as part of the eIs. this identified a small

amount of potential acid sulphate soils at the

site and informed the development of an acid

sulphate soils management Plan. Implementation

of the plan, and other environmental management

plans, will avoid impacts on the marine Park from

the construction of prawn farm infrastructure.

Prawns within production ponds are fed

specialised pellets and produce waste in the

form of nutrients and particulate organic matter.

Prawn ponds must be kept clean by introducing

new clean water from the ocean, with waste

water treated to reduce the concentration of

waste products as much as possible, prior to

recirculation within the farm or discharge to

the marine Park. water treatment is therefore

an important aspect of any prawn farm’s

6. manaGinG environmental imPacts

ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm | manaGinG environmental imPacts

12

management, to maximise the health of prawns

and reduce the environmental impacts of waste

water discharges.

a key objective for the management of waste

water at the Guthalungra Prawn Farm will be

to treat water to industry-leading standards,

reducing the concentrations and total amount

(load) of nutrients and solids discharged to the

marine Park. Pacific reef Fisheries is making

continuous improvements in its water treatment

practices at its existing prawn grow out facilities

at alva beach, and has been working with mbd

energy and James cook university to develop

and test conceptual models for advanced water

treatment practices. this work has resulted in the

operation of pilot-scale water treatment facilities

within the alva beach farm, with detailed data

collected on the efficiency of treatment systems

at each stage of the treatment process. this

water treatment approach will be extended to a

larger scale for the Guthalungra Prawn Farm, with

waste water at the prawn farm flowing through

settlement ponds, sand filtration and then

tertiary treatment systems involving constructed

wetlands and/or algal beds to remove nutrients

and suspended solids.

Initially, waste water will be collected in a series

of settlement ponds, which will remove large

particles from the water. water will then flow

through a sand filtration process, where fine

particulate matter is removed, and nitrogen

(a key nutrient of interest) will be converted

from dissolved organic forms to dissolved

inorganic forms. this aspect of the sand filtration

process makes the nitrogen more available

to plants and algae, which assists in the next

phase of the treatment process. water will

then run through a series of beds containing

dense, living algae, which will remove available

nutrients as part of its natural growth process.

water leaving the algal treatment beds will

have the majority of particulate matter and

biologically-available nutrients removed. this

water will then be suitable for recycling and

re-use within the prawn production ponds or

discharged to the marine Park, in accordance

| manaGinG environmental imPacts | ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm

13

with relevant approval conditions. maximum

daily discharge limits have been specified within

approval conditions for the proposed prawn

farm. detailed discharge conditions will also be

introduced by the department of environment

and heritage Protection as part of the approval

process under the Environmental Protection

Act 1994. the volume of water discharged from

the prawn farm will vary throughout the growing

season. discharge will increase gradually from

July, peaking in the period from november to

march, before gradually reducing to zero in

June. monitoring of water quality and other

environmental values within the marine Park will

take place prior to commencement of operations

and during the various stages of operations to

determine whether any environmental impact is

occurring.

dilution modelling of the discharge of waste water

to abbot bay was completed as part of the eIs

studies to assess potential impacts on water

quality and seagrass. modelling demonstrated

minimal impacts on water quality, and less

than 5% of the seagrass in abbot bay was

predicted to be adversely affected by discharges.

this assessment was completed prior to the

development of advanced algal treatment

technologies by Pacific reef Fisheries and its

research partners, which will now be applied to

further reduce the concentration and volume of

discharged water. Indeed, the results of trials

have shown that waste water can be of a higher

quality than ocean water once treated.

throughout the planning stages of the project,

the predicted nutrient and sediment discharges

to the marine Park have reduced over time, due

to the development of improved water treatment

technologies.

the eIs in 2005 predicted the following nutrient

concentrations in water discharged to the marine

Park:

• TotalNitrogen0.6–1.5mg/L

• TotalPhosphorus60–200µg/L

• TotalSuspendedSolids–10–30mg/L

ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm | manaGinG environmental imPacts

14

Pacific reef Fisheries is confident that these

concentrations can be significantly reduced

through the application of advanced water

treatment practices involving sand filtration and

algal bioremediation .

such improvements are demonstrated in the

table below, showing the load of nutrients and

sediments predicted to be discharged from the

prawn farm to the marine Park at full production.

the load is equivalent to the concentration in the

water, multiplied by the annual discharge volume.

(see table 1 below)

a summary of the predicted nutrient and

sediment loads for each stage of the prawn

farm’s development is provided in the table 2.

It may not be possible to remove all nutrients

and sediments from waste water discharged to

the marine Park. however, Pacific reef Fisheries

| manaGinG environmental imPacts | ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm

ReferenceProposed treatment system

Nitrogen (tonnes/annum)

Phosphorus (tonnes/annum)

TSS (tonnes/annum)

eIs (2005, p. 4-57 to 4-60)

Primary sedimentation, settlement

36–61 3.5–5.5 2980–5410

supplementary eIs (2006, section 7.2.3)

Primary sedimentation, sand filtration, settlement and polishing

34.9 3.5 466

(mbd energy limited 2013)

Primary sedimentation, sand filtration, algal bioremediation

20.9 2.8 466

table 1

15

is committed to offsetting the discharge of

nutrients and particulate matter discharged

to the marine Park, by investing in projects

which reduce existing nutrient and sediment

discharges. a nutrient offset strategy has been

developed describing the approach to offsetting

nutrient and sediment discharges to the marine

Park, by funding improvements to existing land

management practices in nearby catchments. an

independent peer review of the nutrient offset

strategy confirmed that a nil net discharge of

nutrients from the Guthalungra Prawn Farm to

the Great barrier reef marine Park is feasible.

the nutrient offset strategy and peer review are

available on the Pacific reef Fisheries website

www.pacificreef.com.au.

ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm | manaGinG environmental imPacts

Development stage

Area (ha)Years after construction

Nitrogen (tonnes/annum)

Phosphorus (tonnes/annum)

TSS (tonnes/annum)

Production area 1 only

91 2 7.3 1.0 164

Production areas 1 & 2 only

203 4 16.4 2.2 365

Production areas 1, 2 & 3

259 6 20.9 2.8 466

table 2

16 | sand Filtration and alGal treatment | ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm

OceAN INleT

water is pumped into the prawn farm

direct from the ocean inlet. nitrogen

levels vary based on cane farm and

animal farming cycles.

OceAN INTAke WATeR

nitrogen level:

0.35mg/l–0.5mg/l

SAND FIlTeR

conversion of nitrogen

(organic to inorganic n)

PRAWN & cOBIA WATeR DISchARGe

nitrogen level:

1.1mg/l–1.4mg/l

recirculate or discharge

PRAWN FARMING

the water is used by the prawn farm

to grow prawns and fin fish. both

increase the level of nitrogen in the

water.

WATeR STORAGe

waste water from the farm is then

collected in a central storage dam.

the water is high in organic and

inorganic nitrogen.

SAND FIlTeR

the sand filter performs two key roles:

•Theremovalofsuspendedsolids

•TheconversionoforganicNtoinorganicN.

AlGAe PONDS

the nitrogen rich water is fed continuously into high growth ponds where

algae remediates the nitrogen and phosphorous to levels below the

levels in the ocean intake. the cleaned water then flows to the ocean

outlet via natural mangroves.

sand Filtration and alGal treatment – how it works

2

AlGAe PONDS

nitrogen level:

0.15mg/l–0.2mg/l4

1

3

17

there is limited existing use of the abbot bay

foreshore by members of the public. access

to the area by land is restricted by the location

of private land, the area’s remoteness and an

absence of public infrastructure. there are no

existing uses of the marine Park that would

appear to be significantly impacted by the

proposal. the mouth of the elliott river, located

south of the prawn farm site, is a popular location

for recreational boating and fishing. some

commercial and recreational fishing occurs within

parts of abbot bay, where such activities are

consistent with the marine Park Zoning Plan.

the sea water intake and discharge pipelines and

their associated pump station will be located out

of sight of most marine Park users, either being

buried or located on the sea floor well below the

level of low tide. a marker buoy will be installed in

accordance with the requirements of the harbour

master to provide for safe navigation of vessels in

the vicinity of the pump station. the presence of

the marker buoy will be the only indication of the

prawn farm’s infrastructure.

other potential users of the abbot bay area in

the vicinity of the proposed works include tourism

vessels, fishing vessels and scientific researchers.

such users may pass by the area occasionally,

but are unlikely to be adversely affected by the

proposed prawn farm’s activities. trawling is

prohibited within habitat Protection Zones of the

marine Park so the prawn farm’s infrastructure will

not disturb trawling activities.

7. Public use oF the Project area

ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm | Public use oF the Project area

18

Following receipt of comments from interested

stakeholders, GbrmPa will complete its

assessment of Pacific reef Fisheries’ marine

Parks permit application. all relevant comments

will be considered during the assessment

process and taken into consideration when

deciding the application. additional information

or clarification from Pacific reef Fisheries may be

sought by GbrmPa in response to comments

received on the application.

In the event that the permit application is

approved, Pacific reef Fisheries intends to finalise

the project’s planning phase and move into

construction during 2016. baseline monitoring of

environmental values prior to any work and the

finalisation of other statutory approval processes

will also commence.

8. next stePs aFter Public consultation Period closes

next stePs aFter Public consultation Period closes | ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm

19

would you like more detailed information about the proposal? Further information is available at the

Pacific reef Fisheries website www.pacificreef.com.au

this includes the following information sources:

Information Source Description of content

environmental Impact study (eIs)Provides a comprehensive description of the Project and assessment of its impact on the environment.

supplementary eIsProvides information additional to the eIs in response to questions raised by assessment agencies.

Information request responseProvides a response to additional information requested by GbrmPa to assist in making an assessment of the marine Park permit application.

nutrient offset strategydescribes the approach to achieving a nil net discharge of nutrients from the Guthalungra Prawn Farm to the Great barrier reef marine Park.

results of algal treatment trials

Provides detailed results of trials of advanced sand filtration and algal treatment technologies at the alva beach Prawn Farm. a similar system will be applied to the Guthalungra Prawn Farm.

9. Further inFormation

ProPosal to construct and oPerate the GuthalunGra Prawn Farm | Further inFormation

20

aPPendix a.

concePt drawinGs

21

head Office

1 / 1570 Centre Road

Springvale, Victoria 3171

Ph: 03 9549 5900

Fax: 03 9546 1204

Email: info@pacificreef.com.au

Operations, Ayr

Lot 1, Trent Road

Ayr, Queensland 4807

AUSTRALIA

hatchery, Guthalungra

370 Coventry Road

Guthalungra, Queensland 4805

AUSTRALIA