Environmental Risk and Impact Assessment of the Pearling Industry
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Environmental Risk and Impact Assessment of the Pearling Industry Dr P. Jernakoff Project No. 2001/099 TITLE: Environmental Risk and Impact Assessment of the Pearling Industry PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr P. Jernakoff ADDRESS IRC Environment PO Box 418 West Perth WA 6872 Telephone: 08 94810100 Fax: 08 94810111 PROJECT No.: 2001/099 DATE 28 June 2002 PUBLISHER IRC Environment ISBN 0-9581421-0-6 This work is copyright. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process, electronic or otherwise, without the specific written permission of the copyright owners. Neither may information be stored electronically in any form whatsoever without such permission. DOCUMENT REVISION STATUS REV DESCRIPTION AUTHOR REVIEW APPROVAL DATE Rev A Internal review Sarah Brown Peter Jernakoff 15 March 2002 Rev 0 Issued to client Sarah Brown Peter Jernakoff Peter Jernakoff 20 March 2002 Rev 1 Issued to FRDC Sarah Brown Peter Jernakoff Peter Jernakoff 28 June 2002 Date: 28 June 2002 Final Report: FRDC project 2001/099 - “Environmental risk and impact assessment of the pearling industry”. Document: E-Rep-01-032-Final Report Rev 1 Contents ABBREVIATIONS..................................................................................................................2 NON TECHNICAL SUMMAR Y..............................................................................................4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................................................................................................6 1 BACKGROUND.......................................................................................................8 2 NEED........................................................................................................................9 3 OBJECTIVES...........................................................................................................9 4 METHODS..............................................................................................................12 4.1 Task 1: Evaluation of current Pearling Industry practices and procedures ..........12 4.2 Task 2: Environmental risk assessment workshop ...............................................16 4.3 Task 3: Gap analysis of key environmental information........................................16 4.4 Task 4: EMS gap analysis .....................................................................................16 5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION..............................................................................17 5.1 Task 1: Evaluation of current Pearling Industry practices and procedures ..........17 5.2 Task 2: Environmental Risk Assessment workshop..............................................17 5.3 Task 3: Gap analysis of key environmental information........................................21 5.4 Task 4: EMS gap analysis .....................................................................................22 6 BENEFITS..............................................................................................................23 7 FURTHER DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................23 7.1 Task 1: Evaluation of current Pearling Industry practices & procedures ..............23 7.2 Task 2: Environmental risk assessment workshop ...............................................23 7.3 Task 3: Gap analysis of key environmental information........................................24 7.4 Task 4: EMS Gap analysis.....................................................................................26 8 PLANNED OUT COMES........................................................................................27 9 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................28 10 REFERENCES.......................................................................................................28 APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................29 Appendix 1 Intellectual Property .............................................................................................. Appendix 2 Staff ....................................................................................................................... Appendix 3 Task 1: Evaluation of current Pearling Industry practices and procedures ......... Appendix 4 Task 2: Risk assessment workshop ..................................................................... Appendix 5 Task 3: Gap analysis of key environmental information ...................................... Appendix 6 Task 4: EMS gap analysis .................................................................................... Appendix 7 PPA environmental code of practice .................................................................... Appendix 8 PPA environmental management system guidelines ........................................... IRC Environment Page 1 Date: 28 June 2002 Final Report: FRDC project 2001/099 - “Environmental risk and impact assessment of the pearling industry”. Document: E-Rep-01-032-Final Report Rev 1 ABBREVIATIONS AQIS Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service EMS Environmental Management System ERA Environmental Risk Assessment ESD Ecological Sustainable Development DFWA Department of Fisheries Western Australia IRCE IRC Environment ISO International Organisation for Standardisation MSC Marine Stewardship Council PPA Pearl Producers Association Inc. R&D Research and Development SCFA Standing Committee of Fisheries Aquaculture IRC Environment Page 2 Date: 28 June 2002 Final Report: FRDC project 2001/099 - “Environmental risk and impact assessment of the pearling industry”. Document: E-Rep-01-032-Final Report Rev 1 2001/099 Environmental Risk and Impact Assessment of the Pearling Industry PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr P. Jernakoff ADDRESS: IRC Environment PO Box 418 West Perth WA 6872 Telephone: 08 9481 0100 Fax: 08 9481 0111 OBJECTIVES: 1. Identify key environmental issues and risks facing the Pearling Industry. 2. Identify gaps that would need to be addressed in current Pearling Industry procedures in order to develop a PPA Environmental Code of Practice in line with the requirements of an Environmental Management System such as ISO 14001. 3. Source and obtain ecological information to assist the industry in identifying what environmental characteristics are key elements of successful pearl farming. 4. Recommend what environmental parameters should be used in monitoring program to ensure that any potential environmental impact of pearl farming on the marine environment is detected. 5. Recommend research priorities on pearl oyster fishing / farming environmental issues. 6. Provide information that is transferable to similar types of aquaculture eg black lipped pearl fishery, abalone hatchery operations. 7. Position the Pearling Industry to satisfy the Environment Australia/SCFA ESD assessment processes. IRC Environment Page 3 Date: 28 June 2002 Final Report: FRDC project 2001/099 - “Environmental risk and impact assessment of the pearling industry”. Document: E-Rep-01-032-Final Report Rev 1 NON TECHNICAL SUMMAR Y OUTCOMES ACHIEVED The following outcomes align with the project objectives: · Integration with the SCFA Ecological Sustainable Development (ESD) process. · Demonstration of environmental due diligence and environmental stewardship of the Pearl fishery. · A strategy with which the Pearling Industry can enhance its position in the light of current government policy. · The development of a PPA Environmental Code of Practice along the lines of an Environmental Management System (EMS) (eg, ISO14001). · Provision of knowledge that could be transferred to similar fisheries such as black lipped pearls and abalone hatcheries. · A report outlining gaps in key environmental information required to address government policy issues on sustainability. · A report outlining gaps in the current management system in the Pearling Industry and an ISO 14001 fishery. · A report of the ecological risk assessment workshop. To achieve the objectives and outcomes that the PPA set, essentially four tasks were required. · Task 1: Evaluation of current Pearl Industry practices and procedures; · Task 2: Environmental risk assessment workshop; · Task 3: Gap analysis of key envi ronmental information; and · Task 4: EMS gap analysis. Task 1: Evaluation of current Pearl Industry practices and procedures A site visit was conducted to evaluate current Pearl Industry practices and procedures. The objectives of the site visit were to: · visit at least 3 pearl farms, fishing vessels and interview staff to assess how the fishery operates and how closely its procedures and practices are in line with those required of an internationally recognised environmental management system. · assess the degree to which existing practices and procedures are implemented. · report on the site visit and evaluate physical conditions, existing practices and procedures of a pearl industry in operation in the Broome, Darwin and Kimberley region. The locations visited were Bynoe Harbour, Kuri Bay and Talbot Bay. During the visit the observed farming activities included growout, seeding and harvesting. The physical conditions were observed in which the activities operated and the extent to which management systems were implemented. Task 2: Environmental Risk Assessment Workshop The PPA required a comprehensive and scientifically defensible assessment of the impact of fishery and