AMSA Indigenous Workshop Outcomes

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Promoting collaborative and respectful partnerships for Sea Country research in WA

Some 60 Indigenous and marine science participants at the Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA) Indigenous Workshop held in Fremantle in July this year identified the Kimberley saltwater science guidelines as a potential blueprint for regionalising processes and protocols for research.

The fourth annual Indigenous workshop convened under a partnership between the NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub and the AMSA brought together a representative group to discuss a way forward on developing better ways of working together on sea country.

The WAMSI Kimberley Indigenous Saltwater Science Project (KISSP), which subsequently led to the development of the Indigenous Saltwater Advisory Group (ISWAG), has been recognised for its success in establishing a pathway for right-way research.

CEO Luke Twomey said the WAMSI science partnership was happy to support the rollout of the KISSP process and is already working with regions where WAMSI is developing science plans.

“We have just completed a three-day workshop with the Malgana people in Gathaagudu (Shark Bay) where the key objective was to understand the science priorities for the Malgana people so their voices could be incorporated into the Shark Bay Science Plan process,” Dr Twomey said. “Part of that process is providing the Traditional Owners with an understanding of what science has already been done on Country, who the science  organisations are and what guidelines have been developed elsewhere. From there the Aboriginal Corporations can develop their own processes and protocols for working with scientists on Country.”

The 2019 AMSA Indigenous Workshop Summary Report is available here.

Support Grows for Digital Environmental Impact Assessment Transformation

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An ambitious project to harness the vast amounts of environmental data being produced in Western Australia that will ultimately improve outcomes for the state has received strong support from the meeting of Environment Ministers with the Commonwealth. 

The meeting of Federal Government, State and Territory ministers on November 8 discussed critical environmental issues including Digital Transformation of Environmental Assessments.

In a statement posted by the Meeting of Environment Ministers the Ministers agreed: to work together to digitally transform environmental assessment systems, providing greater access to shared environmental data, less duplication and greater transparency.

The agreement goes on to state: Delays within the current system are a costly frustration to both proponents and environmental groups and have already been identified as a key area to address within the review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act under Professor Graeme Samuel.

Professor Samuel is leading a review of Australia’s environmental law to tackle green tape and deliver greater certainty to business groups, farmers and environmental organisations.

If successful, Western Australia’s Digital Transformation of Environmental Assessments project being led by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) and its terrestrial counterpart, the Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute (WABSI), in conjunction with the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) and the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), will transform the systems for environmental impact assessments.

A report released this month by the project Working Group lists a number of recommendations under two broad catergories: Streamlining Current Environmental Impact Assessments and Developing a Shared Analytic Framework for the Environment (SAFE).

In the report, which uses the Westport freight strategy as a case study, Dr Tom Hatton, EPA Chair and Chair of the Digital Environmental Impact Assessment Working Group describes the project as: “timely given current policy drivers to reform environmental assessment and approval systems”.

“There is an imminent explosion in the volume and variety of data that will help our understanding of the natural environment and biodiversity,” Dr Hatton said. “This includes genetics, species traits, species interactions, population ecologies, and more. With appropriate resourcing, we can establish the systems and skills that will allow us to take advantage of these developments as they occur over the next decade.”

 

Digital Transformation Pathway

 

Uncovering the Secrets of Saltwater Country

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A $30 million, five-year research project has seen more than 200 scientists from 25 organisations work with Traditional Owners and Indigenous rangers from seven saltwater country groups, across 23 projects, to gain a better understanding of the unique marine ecosystem of Western Australia’s Kimberley region. This work will help inform a compromise between protecting one of the world’s few remaining near-pristine coastal and marine environments, while supporting the region’s social and economic development. It could also help answer some global questions about environments that live on the edge of extreme conditions.

Click here to read the full story by Kelly Waples and Aleta Johnston in Landscope

Seafood Industry Hall of Fame honour for WAMSI Research Director

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Feature Image: Worthy recipients of this year’s 2019 National Seafood Awards. Left to right: Jim Mendolia, Dr. Jenny Shaw, Alex Ogg, Greg Jenkins and Justine Arnold (Photo: Courtesy WAFIC)

Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) Research Director, Dr Jenny Shaw, has been recognised at the 2019 National Seafood Industry Awards for her long-standing commitment to fisheries in Australia.

Jenny was inducted into the National Seafood Industry Hall of Fame in Melbourne at Australia’s biggest biennial celebration of the seafood industry, along with fellow Western Australians Greg Jenkins and Jim Mendolia, and Dawn Jordan from Tasmania.

The WA Fishing Industry Council (WAFIC) Chief Executive Officer Alex Ogg said that the awards were a well-deserved acknowledgement to showcase and reflect on the achievements throughout Australia’s seafood industry, and an incredible success for WA’s contributions at a national scale.

“Jenny, Greg and Jim have all been pivotal in the development of WA’s seafood industry. Jenny has a long history with the seafood industry having occupied roles in fisheries and marine related areas for her entire working career,” Mr Ogg said.

“As an industry body, we recognise the importance of acknowledging those individuals and organisations who make a substantial contribution to benefiting  and promoting our industry, and these winners are certainly worthy of this recognition. We are incredibly proud of their achievements,” Mr Ogg concluded.

WAMSI CEO Dr Luke Twomey congratulated Jenny saying her knowledge of fisheries, the respect she has in the industry and her strong leadership skills were a tremendous asset to the Institution.

“Jenny has been actively involved in a lifetime of change in fisheries and marine areas within the government and private sectors in Australia and internationally,” Dr Twomey said. “She is a great asset to marine science in Western Australia and WAMSI as we forge ahead with identifying regional science priorities and developing protocals and processes for Indigenous engagement with scientists on Country.”

Jenny was a founding member and inaugural Director of the Women’s Industry Network Seafood Community. She has been a mentor for a number of highly successful women in the industry and has always been available both formally and informally for strategic advice, technical knowledge and confidence building. She is one of only four life members of the organisation and last year was inducted onto their Honour Role and has been instrumental in helping the development of a similar organisation in Ireland.

As an accomplished speaker at State, National and International Conferences and workshops, Jenny has been able to increase the visibility of the seafood industry on a large stage. Recently she was a speaker and panel member at the World Seafood Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland addressing the invisibility of women in the seafood industry and the consequences from often-unintended policy impacts.

Dr Shaw said it was an honour to be inducted into the National Seafood Industry Hall of Fame.

“It’s a great honour to receive this recognition and I’m particularly proud of the fact that this year the industry inducted two women, myself and Dawn Jordan, to the Hall of Fame,” Jenny said. “As Research Director at WAMSI I remain a strong advocate for commercial fishers and the value of a well-managed, well-researched commercial fishing industry with strong and diverse fisher voices as part of decision making.”

Click here to view the full WAFIC media release and list of winners

WAMSI Bulletin September 2019

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Shark Bay Priorities Update

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Feature image: WAMSI Research Director Dr Jenny Shaw conducts interviews with members of the community at the Shark Bay rec centre in May

Work for the Shark Bay Priorities Project is well underway. There will be a number of outputs produced by the end of the year, including two publications:

1. Literature and data synthesis

2. WAMSI science plan

A large number of lead scientists (35), both local and international have been formally approached to contribute to the project by providing publications and metadata of their Shark Bay research.

This information has been supplemented with workshops and a literature search and so far has netted 530 research papers. The information is being synthesised under multiple categories (54) built from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions values and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Ecoystem Based Management process.

There has been considerable engagement with the Shark Bay community with face-to-face interviews (47), workshops and presentations. Approximately 200 stakeholders (including community, Indigenous, industry, managers and researchers) have put forward their values, views and concerns for Shark Bay.

These data will be amalgamated to identify the gaps, prioritise the outcomes and produce a draft science plan for Shark Bay.


Below: a schematic diagram showing the WAMSI process for delivering the Shark Bay science plan.

WAMSI appoints community partnerships role for Shark Bay research

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Acknowledging that partnerships and processes have not yet been established between scientists and the community in Shark Bay, the Western Australian Marine Science Institution has made a key community liaison appointment to support input into the marine science plan for the area.

Taking on lessons learned from WAMSI’s Kimberley Marine Science Program and the Kimberley Indigenous Saltwater Science Project, Gina Lincoln, from Mosaic Environmental, has been engaged to undertake this work.

Gina will offer the group assistance to start developing their own community-led research processes to inform how researchers engage with Malgana Traditional Owners.

Shark Bay is the traditional country of three Aboriginal language groups: Malgana, Nhanda and Yingkarta. In working with Traditional Owners through the science planning process WAMSI hopes to foster lasting, reciprocal relationships between Indigenous knowledge holders and scientists.

Gina was recently involved in several aspects of the AMSA Indigenous workshop held in Fremantle in July, with the aim of ‘promoting the establishment of collaborative and respectful partnerships for sea country research and monitoring in Western Australia’.

The primary outcomes of the AMSA workshop were for:

  1. Indigenous community representatives to propose the establishment of a preference (standard) for how they want marine science institutions to go about commencing and progressing engagement with WA Indigenous communities – and agree on next steps to develop and agree on a standard.
  2. Indigenous sea country people to identify their interests for working with marine science institutions and marine management agencies that are implementing or planning major marine science and monitoring programs in WA.
  3. Representatives from marine science institutions and marine management agencies to identify their interests for working with Indigenous communities in sea country in WA.

One of the first tasks for the community partnerships and processes role will be to open a dialogue with Malgana people through their Land and Sea group, around Malgana saltwater Country research and science return priorities for Gutharraguda (Shark Bay).

A workshop is currently being planned to take place in Shark Bay within the next few months.

Dredge Plume Modelling Guidelines

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New guidelines for dredge plume modelling are being developed by CSIRO in partnership with the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI).

Dredging and EIAs

Dredging activities form part of many coastal developments in Australia, ranging from small maintenance activities to large scale dredging campaigns which involve the removal of large amounts of sediment. Some of the dredged sediment can be stirred up in the sea water surrounding the dredger and the smaller sediment particles can be driven considerable distances by marine currents before settling onto the seabed. These clouds of suspended sediment are referred to as dredge plumes. Many dredge campaigns are conducted near sensitive marine ecological receptors (e.g. corals) and as such are subject to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs).

As part of the EIA process, potential impacts of dredge plumes on benthic communities and habitats are evaluated using the output of dredge plume models which are then compared to ecological thresholds. A challenge for regulators and proponents has been a lack of consistency in the approaches taken in setting up and executing the models, given there has been a lack of suitable protocol or standards to follow.

Practical modelling guidelines

With funding support from the WAMSI Dredging Science Node, CSIRO is leading the development of a practical guideline for dredge modelling practitioners and environmental regulators. The guideline focuses on establishing a consistent and sound approach to the modelling of dredge plumes for predicting the pressure fields of suspended sediments when seeking EIA approval. This will help improve the quality and robustness predictions made by proponents through the provision of recommendations on modelling strategies and addressing specific issues around modelling, including source term estimation, 2D versus 3D modelling, ambient sediment dynamics, baseline data collection, and reporting of model parameters and data. The increased confidence should lead to a reduction in the monitoring and management burden required by regulators.

The Guideline is intended as a point of reference instead of a rigid standard and provides the current best practice for the application and review of dredge plume models in the context of Australian statutory EIA.

Contact chaojiao.sun@csiro.au or paul.branson@csiro.au to receive the Guideline when published.

The WAMSI Dredging Science Node is made possible through $9.5 million invested by Woodside, Chevron and BHP as environmental offsets. A further $9.5 million has been co-invested by the WAMSI Joint Venture partners, adding significantly more value to this initial industry investment. The node is also supported through critical data provided by Chevron, Woodside and Rio Tinto Iron Ore.

Perspectives on Dredging Symposium

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Australia has experienced unprecedented levels of dredging over the last two decades and recently there has been a focus on dredging research in Western Australia.

As a result, there have been some incredible advances in our understanding of impacts to the marine environment from dredging and how to better predict, monitor and manage dredging programs, such as the WAMSI Dredging Science Node.

The “Perspectives on Dredging” AMSA symposium brings together scientists, regulators, managers, industry and consultants with practical experience of dredging practices in the marine environment.

The session will focus on impact prediction, monitoring and the lessons learnt from implementing the vast range of dredging programs ranging from those associated recent mega-projects in Western Australian and Queensland, to small maintenance dredging programs in coastal waterways.

“Perspectives on Dredging” provides an opportunity for dredging professionals to demonstrate their contemporary practical experience and how the impacts of dredging on the marine environment are predicted, managed and monitored in real-world scenarios.

When: Wednesday 10 July 4-6pm

Where: AMSA Conference, The Esplanade Hotel, Fremantle, WA

 

Speakers

Dr. Chaojiao Sun

Senior Research Scientist

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

New guidelines on dredge plume modelling for environmental impact assessment

Mr. Paul Branson

Research Fellow

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation & The University of Western Australia

2D or not 2D: Is three-dimensional modelling required for passive dredging plume modelling?

Dr. Des Mills

N/a

N/A

Recent Developments in Estimating Source Terms for Far-Field Dredge Plume Model

Mr. Sterling Tebbett

PhD Student

James Cook University

Sediment Impacts and the Role of Algal Turfs in Sediment Dynamics on Coral Reefs

 

Prof. Paul Lavery

Professor

Edith Cowan University

Response and recovery of tropical seagrasses to variation in the frequency and magnitude of light deprivation

Dr. Brett Kettle

Visiting Scientist

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Oceans and Atmosphere

Closing the Gap: Perspectives on Using Best Practice Science in Best Practice Dredge Management

A/Prof. Kathryn Mcmahon

A/Prof

Edith Cowan University

Timing anthropogenic stressors such as dredging to mitigate their impact on marine ecosystem resilience

Mr. Ben Davis

Senior Consultant

BMT

Effectiveness of an environmental management framework in small-scale maintenance dredging

Chair

Dr Ross Jones

Australian Institute of Marine Science

Dredging report builds confidence for environmental regulators

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A report released on one of the largest single-issue environmental research programs in Australia that gained unprecedented access to industry dredging data, has been recognised by industry and government as a ground-breaking step forward for environmental regulation.

“Strategic Integrated Marine Science: Dredging – new Knowledge for better decisions and outcomes” is a synthesis of research from the WAMSI Dredging Science Node was released today by WAMSI CEO Dr Luke Twomey at the AMSA Conference in Fremantle.

The findings from the five-year Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) Dredging Science Node (DSN), are contributing to increased confidence, timeliness and efficiency of the environmental approval and regulatory processes associated with dredging projects, which is ultimately expected to reduce the cost to government and industry.

According to WA Environmental Protection Authority Chairman Dr Tom Hatton, it’s estimated that monitoring and management costs can exceed $100 million on a major dredging program in addition to the predictive uncertainty of risks to the environment itself.

“This program has delivered on its promise in full and in a form that has increased the confidence, timeliness and efficiency of the environmental approval and regulatory processes associated with dredging projects,” Dr Hatton said.

Woodside Energy Chief Environmental Scientist Dr Luke Smith said the $19 million program – $9.5 million of which came from industry offsets – has delivered a valuable set of information on environmental dredging thresholds.

“The Dredging Science Node was valuable for industry and the state – it provides important technical data to improve our environmental impact assessments and support industry approval documentation. By bringing together the key stakeholders – state, industry, ports and research agencies – we maximised the available funding and the scientific knowledge that came from the Node. This knowledge will support better and more concise dredging-related environmental impact assessments moving forward,” Mr Smith said.

The Node’s 114 scientists from 26 research organisations gained unprecedented access to environmental monitoring data on four large-scale capital dredging projects in the Pilbara region including the Pluto LNG project at Burrup Peninsula (Woodside), Cape Lambert A and B projects (Rio Tinto), the Gorgon project at Barrow Island (Chevron), and the Wheatstone project at Onslow (Chevron).

WAMSI Dredging Science Node Leader, Dr Ross Jones from the Australian Institute of Marine Science said the Node had brought together a raft of scientific literature on sediments in the water column in relation to dredging.

“Little of the available research on sediments was able to be used by dredging proponents and regulators to adequately assess risk, so we have designed the Node as a tool that gives industry and regulators greater confidence to better predict environmental outcomes around dredging,” Dr Jones said.

WAMSI CEO Dr Luke Twomey said the more than 55 scientific publications produced by the Node so far was an extraordinary achievement for the investment and will go a long way towards much more informed debate and decision making on how best to predict and manage the potential impacts.

WAMSI DREDGING SCIENCE RESULTS IN USE 

  • Key findings from the project have been incorporated in the newly published Maintenance Dredging Strategy for Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area Ports by the Queensland Government, a dredging management plan for maintenance dredging in Darwin Harbour (INPEX), a series of Sustainable Sediment Management Studies underway at various ports in northern Queensland (commissioned by the North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation), and in a forthcoming publication by PIANC on Best Practice Guidelines for Dredging and Port Construction near Coastal Plant Habitats.
  • Internationally, relevant findings of the Node are being incorporated into dredging programs in the USA, the Netherlands, Monaco, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia.
  • The new insights from the program are now being translated into improved dredging guidelines that will serve to streamline monitoring by focusing on the relevant and most sensitive aspects and help to improve the effectiveness of management approaches to minimise the hazards from dredging.
  • New guidelines for dredge plume modelling are being developed by CSIRO. The guidelines focus on establishing a consistent and sound approach to the modelling of dredge plumes for predicting the pressure field of suspended sediments when seeking Environmental Impact Assessment approval.
  • The WAMSI Dredging Science Node has been shortlisted for the WA Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety’s 2019 Golden Gecko Award for Environmental Excellence which recognises outstanding contributions to innovation and environmental outcomes in the resources sector.

 

The WAMSI Dredging Science Node is made possible through $9.5 million invested by Woodside, Chevron and BHP as environmental offsets. A further $9.5 million has been co-invested by the WAMSI Joint Venture partners, adding significantly more value to this initial industry investment. The node is also supported through critical data provided by Chevron, Woodside and Rio Tinto Iron Ore.

Category:

Dredging Science