South Australia’s aquaculture industry generates nearly 50% of the State’s seafood economic output, and was worth $229m in 2019/20. The Aquaculture Act 2001 provides the State government regulatory agency, the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, with the capacity to regulate aquaculture development in South Australia. A fundamental feature of this legislative framework is the capacity to establish dedicated aquaculture zones in State waters. These zones represent a unique marine spatial planning approach for access to a shared resource; one that provides certainty to all groups, including fisheries, marine parks, tourism, shipping, and indigenous communities. The aquaculture zone process illustrates how dedicated legislation can effectively encompass integrated ocean management for the development of this industry sector.
Twelve aquaculture zone policies are prescribed in South Australia. These zone policies occupy approximately 7% of State waters. More than half (52%) of this area is allocated to aquaculture exclusion zones, where no aquaculture activity is permitted. The remaining 48% is set aside to allow aquaculture to occur, with generally 5-10% allocated at any one time.
The current review process for the Aquaculture (Zones—Lower Eyre Peninsula) Policy 2013 will be detailed as a case study. The Policy covers one of the most diverse and in-demand aquaculture areas in South Australia, in addition to competing marine interests such as recreational, indigenous and commercial fisheries, shipping, tourism, conservation and marine parks. Permitted groups of species within the Policy includes bivalve molluscs, abalone, echinoderms, algae (seaweed), southern bluefin tuna, yellowtail kingfish, and other finfish. The Policy provides for adaptive management, and includes carrying capacity for supplementary fed species based on hydrodynamic modelling of nutrient emissions where nutrient offsets can be considered. A second case study will outline the review of the Aquaculture (Zones—Eastern Spencer Gulf) Policy 2005, focussing on the creation of two new intertidal aquaculture zones aimed at fostering Aboriginal and seaweed aquaculture following consultation with the Narungga Nations Aboriginal Corporation (NNAC) and the Point Pearce Aboriginal Corporation (PPAC).
The effective and efficient process undertaken to design, consult with stakeholders, finalise and implement an aquaculture zone policy, and the opportunities for aquaculture in South Australia will be described.