WAMSI Bulletin September 2019
Shark Bay Priorities Update
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
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
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
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
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 report builds confidence for environmental regulators
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.
South coast on national stage
The waters off Western Australia’s south coast will be a focus of discussion at a special symposium of a national marine science conference to be held in Fremantle in July.
Western Australian Marine Science Institution Research Director Jenny Shaw says the symposium is an opportunity to bring the south coast to the attention of government bodies and the wider marine science community.
“This is the first step in understanding what knowledge is available ahead of canvassing government, industry, community and research views on management and what’s important to them about the south coast,” Dr Shaw says.
Symposium: The South Coast of Western Australia: research for management
The South Coast of Western Australia: research for management symposium aims to uncover previous and current research being conducted off the south coast and to bring the south coast to the attention of the wider marine science community and government bodies.
The economic, social and environmental dimensions of the waters off the isolated south coast of Western Australia are poorly understood. Knowledge gaps identified by researchers and the impacts the south coast faces under a changing climate will help to develop a strong case for a future Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) research program to support marine management in this region.
This symposium brings together 15 researchers working off the south coast of Western Australia and welcomes collaborative input into informing management with good science.
When: Tuesday 9 July 10.30am-3.30pm
Where: AMSA Conference, The Esplanade Hotel, Fremantle, WA
Chair: Jenny Shaw, Research Director, WAMSI
Speakers:
Dr. Mark Buckley
Research Fellow
The University of Western Australia Wave Energy Research Centre
Observations and modeling of waves and currents in Albany, WA
Dr. Michael Cuttler
Research Associate
The University of Western Australia
Seasonal and interannual variability of the wave climate at a wave energy hotspot off the southwestern coast of Australia
Connor Gorham
Edith Cowan University
CARBON STORAGE BY TIDAL MARSH ECOSYSTEMS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Mr. Jeffrey Norriss
Research Scientist
Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
Bycatch of Flesh-footed shearwaters (Ardenna carneipes) recorded by a purse seine fishery is closely associated with their annual breeding cycle
Dr. Harriet Paterson
Lecturer
UWA
Seasonal Dynamics of Plastic on the South Coast of WA and its Impact on Flesh-footed Shearwaters
Mr. Thomas Crutchett
Master’s Student
The University of Western Australia
Microplastics identified in commercially caught Western Australian Sardines (Sardinops sagax)
Dr. Claire Ross
Research Scientist
Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation And Attractions
Growth and physiology of high-latitude corals in Bremer Bay, Western Australia (34.4°S)
Mr David Juszkiewicz
Honours Student
Curtin University
Phylogeography of Plesiastrea versipora (Cnidaria: Scleractinia: Plesiastreidae): an integrated taxonomic approach reveals cryptic speciation
Miss Savita Goldsworthy
Student, Curtin University
The Composition of Shallow Water Temperate Reef Assemblages in Western Australia
Mr. Jack Parker
Master Student, Curtin University
The changes in distributions and function of Labridae in temperate South Western Australia.
Kyle Stewart
Murdoch University
Food resource partitioning among three key fishery species in the Walpole-Nornalup Estuary
Mr. Tim Leary
Technical Officer
Western Australian Department Primary Industries And Regional Development
Human capital in the south coast WA fishing industry: an exceptional ageing workforce or in line with broader demographic trends?
Dr. Wiebke Ebeling
Centre Manager, Wave Energy Research Centre
The University of Western Australia
Great Southern Marine Research Facility – a new hub for Australia’s Blue Economy
Dr. Elke Reichwaldt
Environmental Officer
Western Australian Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
Linking the management of catchment and sandbar opening to estuary health – a case study from Wilson Inlet, Western Australia
Mrs Alessandra Mantovanelli
Environmental Officer
Western Australian Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
Integrated approach for managing estuaries of South-West Australia