Australia’s New South Wales government has approved 50 hectares of aquaculture leases on the state’s south coast to assist NSW in meeting the increasing demand for quality seafood.
Approval has been granted for three aquaculture leases in Jervis Bay, including a 10 hectare site off Vincentia over a previous mussel lease, and two areas of 20 hectares off Callala Beach.
Katrina Hodgkinson, Minister for Primary Industries, said: “Sustainable seafood production is an important focus for the NSW Government as approximately 85% of the seafood currently purchased in NSW is imported.”
The leases will now be tendered to commercial enterprises to allow them to grow a number of native shellfish species including blue mussels, scallops and oysters. They will help continue Jervis Bay’s long history of aquaculture which began in the 1930’s with oysters.
“The lease can also be used to grow edible seaweeds and other marine algae. This activity is likely to complement a newly established Shoalhaven industry cluster that uses algae to manufacture high-tech biomaterials for the medical, food, cosmetic and renewable energy sectors,” Ms Hodgkinson added.
The State Significant Infrastructure application was approved following an extensive community consultation process in 2013 by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) during which 133 submissions were received.
This included assessment under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 because the aquaculture leases are located in a Habitat Protection Zone of the Jervis Bay Marine Park, which is a multiple use zone that caters for a wide range of sustainable activities.
