Transforming Australian Shellfish Production

In Partnership With:

University of Technology Sydney

NSW Department of Primary Industries

WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

NSW Farmers

This project was completed in June 2024. Read the final report.

Project impact

The research delivered estuary-specific models relating to oyster growth, disease risk, harmful algal bloom risk, sources of contamination, and other factors influencing industry productivity.

Each model relies on measurements from real-time sensors deployed across multiple commercial estuaries in both NSW and WA.

The high-frequency data collection has allowed accurate modelling of harvest area conditions, informing farm management decisions for the local oyster industry.

Oyster farmers reported overwhelming satisfaction with project outcomes, citing improved relationships with regulators, heightened confidence to advocate for the protection of these environments, and increased collaboration within oyster farming communities.

This project follows on from the success of the ‘NSW Oysters Transformation' project, which proved that real-time temperature and salinity sensors used in regulatory harvest management can lead to cost efficiencies for oyster farmers.

The Challenge:

As filter feeders, shellfish like oysters and mussels accumulate particles from surrounding waterways. Following high-risk events such as heavy rainfall, harmful algal blooms, or shellfish disease outbreaks in the estuary, regulators like the NSW Food Authority implement precautionary harvest area closures to manage potential food safety risks.

Shellfish farmers in Australia are not currently able to predict the likelihood of a harvest area closure due to these high-risk events. If farmers were aware of an imminent closure, they could take meaningful action such as harvesting early, or moving stock to lower risk areas of their lease to reduce mortality risk.

The Solution:

This project will deliver estuary-specific models relating to shellfish growth, disease risk, harmful algal bloom risk, sources of contamination, and other factors influencing industry productivity. The project, led by researchers from The University of Technology Sydney and DPI Aquaculture Research, will continue working with NSW shellfish farmers from the previous project, and expand to include additional estuaries in NSW and WA.

Each of the models will rely on measurements from real-time sensors developed by ICT International (NSW) and In Situ Marine Optics (WA), which will be deployed across a number of commercial estuaries in both states. The high frequency data collection will allow more accurate modelling of harvest area conditions, which will inform farm management decisions for the shellfish industry in these areas.

These estuary-specific models will be used in two ways:

To inform revised regulatory procedures for the NSW and the WA regulators, which will use the models to determine in real-time whether shellfish are safe for harvest or not and communicate this with growers.

Integration into existing farm management software currently being used by producers which will send automated alerts to growers when real-time water quality data hits pre-determined thresholds. These alerts can be configured to fall ahead of any expected regulatory closures.

In addition to the project partners, this project is also proudly funded by the NSW Government through the Bushfire Industry Package Sector Development Grants initiative.