Aquaculture in Saline Groundwater Evaporation Basins A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation by Fiona Gavine and Michael Bretherton July 2007 RIRDC Publication No 07/114 RIRDC Project No MFR-3A © 2007 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. All rights reserved. ISBN 1 74151 511 4 ISSN 1440-6845 Aquaculture in Saline Groundwater Evaporation Basins Publication No. 07/114 Project No. MFR-3A The information contained in this publication is intended for general use to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the development of sustainable regions. You must not rely on any information contained in this publication without taking specialist advice relevant to your particular circumstances. While reasonable care has been taken in preparing this publication to ensure that information is true and correct, the Commonwealth of Australia gives no assurance as to the accuracy of any information in this publication. The Commonwealth of Australia, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), the authors or contributors expressly disclaim, to the maximum extent permitted by law, all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any act or omission, or for any consequences of any such act or omission, made in reliance on the contents of this publication, whether or not caused by any negligence on the part of the Commonwealth of Australia, RIRDC, the authors or contributors. The Commonwealth of Australia does not necessarily endorse the views in this publication. This publication is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. However, wide dissemination is encouraged. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the RIRDC Publications Manager on phone 02 6271 4165. Researcher Contact Details Fiona Gavine Department of Primary Industries Private Bag 20 Alexandra Victoria 3714 Phone: 03 5774 2208 Fax: 03 5774 2659 Email: [email protected] In submitting this report, the researcher has agreed to RIRDC publishing this material in its edited form. RIRDC Contact Details Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Level 2, 15 National Circuit BARTON ACT 2600 PO Box 4776 KINGSTON ACT 2604 Phone: 02 6271 4100 Fax: 02 6271 4199 Email: [email protected]. Web: http://www.rirdc.gov.au Published in July 2007 Printed on environmentally friendly paper by Canprint ii Foreword Inland salinity is a critical problem in Australia that has rendered large areas of agricultural land unproductive and caused a marked deterioration in the quality of surface waters. Large-scale evaporation basins have been built as an engineering response to this issue. These schemes are costly to build and operate and this project investigated the potential role of aquaculture in offsetting some of these costs. Inland saline aquaculture is still largely in the experimental phase in Australia. The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) has been an early investor to-date in keeping with its charter to operate across sectors. Recently, a National Research and Development (R&D) Strategy for commercialisation has been published by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) and an implementation program has begun to co-ordinate the commercialisation of inland saline aquaculture R&D in Australia. The specific aim of this research project was to investigate the commercial viability of aquaculture in inland saline waters by setting up and operating a pilot scale system at a salt interception scheme (SIS) in northern Victoria. The results showed that aquaculture could be commercially viable in inland saline waters and would contribute to the costs of operating the SIS, provided the appropriate species and technologies were adopted for the resources available. This research has direct relevance to organisations involved in the management of a SIS as well as regional communities adjacent to the evaporation basins that may be able to capitalise on the opportunity of building a new rural industry. Australia’s rural industries make a fundamental contribution to the Australian economy and way of life. In addition to the major industries, numerous new and emerging rural industries bring opportunity, diversity and resilience to rural Australia. The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation invests in new and emerging industries on behalf of government and industry stakeholders. New industries provide opportunities to be captured by rural producers and investors. They also provide avenues for farmers facing adjustment pressure to diversify and manage change. The establishment of new industries contributes to community resilience and regional development. Increasingly, new industries are also contributing to a distinctive regional character in rural Australia. New industries face a number of challenges – developing product quality and quantity, developing markets and supply chains, and industry leadership. Many of these issues are underpinned by research and development. Often, too, they are hampered by a lack of basic technical information, which is why RIRDC has invested in this report. This project was funded from RIRDC Core Funds which are provided by the Australian Government. This report, an addition to RIRDC’s diverse range of over 1600 research publications, forms part of our Environment and Farm Management program, which aims to foster the development of agri- industry systems that have sufficient diversity, integration, flexibility and robustness to be resilient enough to respond opportunistically to continued change. Most of our publications are available for viewing, downloading or purchasing online through our website: • downloads at www.rirdc.gov.au/fullreports/index.html • purchases at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop Peter O’Brien Managing Director Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation iii Acknowledgments We gratefully acknowledge the co-investment, support and guidance of the directors of Pyramid Salt Pty. Ltd., Gavin Privet and John Ross who were instrumental in making this project work. Similarly, the staff at Pyramid Salt (including Desne, Danny, Wendy and Pete) provided invaluable support to the staff on site. The funding support provided by the Federal Government through RIRDC and the Victorian Government through the Ecologically Sustainable Agriculture Initiative of the Department of Primary Industries (DPI), underpinned project activities and is acknowledged. During the course of the project, co-investment was also sought from the Innovation Key Project of Our Rural Landscapes Initiative of DPI to allow the Solar Pond™ technology to be integrated into aquaculture production. Over the course of the three-year project a number of staff were employed and all of them made valuable contributions that are gratefully acknowledged. Jeff Boylan was the first project officer and was tasked with re-commissioning the site and upgrading the facility. Ben Powell took over after Jeff left and conducted the first technical trials at the site. Anthony Jenyns developed and refined the techniques developed by Ben and also began the arduous process of market development. Finally, Bill Balmer provided a reliable and consistently high-quality product that allowed us to meet the demands of the growing market. Bill was also a pleasure to work with. The contribution of support staff at DPI Snobs Creek Centre including Morgan Edwards, Brendan Larkin and Geoff Gooley is also gratefully acknowledged. Abbreviations ANRA Australian Natural Resource Atlas (http://ea.gov.au/ANRA) AQIS Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service DPI Department of Primary Industries (Victoria) ESAI Ecologically Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (of the Victorian DPI) IAAS Integrated Agri-Aquaculture Systems ISA Inland saline aquaculture MDB Murray-Darling Basin MDBC Murray-Darling Basin Commission NAC National Aquaculture Council NAP National Action Plan (for Salinity and Water Quality) ORL Our Rural Landscapes Initiative of Victorian Government R&D Research and Development SIS Salt Interception Scheme iv Contents Foreword............................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments................................................................................................................................. iv Abbreviations........................................................................................................................................ iv Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ vii Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Salinity in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) ..................................................................................... 2 Large-scale salt interception schemes in the MDB ......................................................................... 2 Status of Inland saline aquaculture in Australia.................................................................................. 3 State R&D Programs....................................................................................................................... 3 Commercial developments .............................................................................................................