See the actual video at http://cnn.com/video/?/video/international/2011/08/14/ecosolutions.williams.oyster.farm.cnn

Joint forces to clean up the river

We recently got this good press from the Hornsby and Upper North Shore Advocate, proving our commitment to our clean river system…

HAWKESBURY RIVER: The Broken Bay Oyster Association and Hornsby Council will formalise their partnership to protect and manage the Hawkesbury River by signing a memorandum of understanding.

The partnership will aim to monitor and improve water quality, respond to pollution incidents and support industries on the river in the years ahead.

The council has already worked with the oyster farmers after the outbreak of QX disease in 2004 and continued to do so until Australian Quarantine provided export approval earlier this year.

President of Broken Bay Oysters John Stubbs said the partnership is a continuation of the work they have done with the council.

“Because our farmers are out and about on the river every day, we can help to provide the council with first-hand updates on pollution incidents and water quality,” he said.

One of the first projects to be completed under the new partnership is the removal of about 325 tonnes of derelict oyster infrastructure covering half a hectare adjacent to Bar Island, which poses a navigation and safety risk for boats, especially at high tide.

“By removing the old leases, the Broken Bay Oyster Association is helping to improve safety and estuarine water quality on the river,” Cr Wendy McMurdo, Chairperson of the Lower Hawkesbury Estuary Management Committee, said.

The removal of the old oyster leases is being financially assisted by the Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment Management Authority.

For details, visit www.water.hornsby.nsw.gov.au.

Oyster farmers on the Hawkesbury River will partner with Hornsby Shire Council to monitor and improve water quality, respond to pollution incidents and support industries on the river in the years ahead.

“We’ve already worked closely with the oyster farmers for many years following the devastating QX disease outbreak in 2004,” said Councillor Wendy McMurdo, Chairperson of the Lower Hawkesbury Estuary Management Committee.

“It makes sense that we formalise the partnership so we can work on even more projects together.” By signing a Memorandum of Understanding, Broken Bay Oyster Association and Council will formalise their partnership in protecting and managing the Hawkesbury River.

“We’ve already achieved a great deal by working with Council over the last few years,” said John Stubbs, the President of Broken Bay Oysters, a co-operative of 12 farms.

“Because our farmers are out and about on the river every day, we can help to provide Council with first-hand updates on pollution incidents and water quality,” said John.

One of the first projects to be completed under the new partnership is the removal of derelict oyster infrastructure adjacent to historic Bar Island. The old leases pose a serious navigation and safety risk for boats on the river, especially at high tide.

“By removing the old leases, the Broken Bay Oyster Association are helping to improve safety and estuarine water quality on the river and also enhance the aesthetics of the river,” said Cr McMurdo.

The removal of the old oyster leases is being supported by Hornsby Shire Council with financial assistance from the Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment Management Authority. Approximately 325 tonnes of derelict infrastructure covering half a hectare will be removed from the river as part of the project.

“With the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service providing export approval earlier this year, the oyster industry on the Hawkesbury is

continuing to go from strength to strength,” said Cr McMurdo.

For more information, visit www.water.hornsby.nsw.gov.au.

Bush Telegraph 11 Aug 2011

Recently some students from Pangkep Polytechnic visited BBOA to learn about our organisation. See the letter received by Dr Minh Nguyen.

Dear Steven,

Sorry it has been a while to report as the students went back to their tropical environment and have only recently completed their assignments and feedbacks. These were the Pangkep Polytechnic teachers, who were sponsored by the World Bank for a short training course on Entrepreneurship and Marketing for Export in Australia- Aquaproducts.

They had a week of lectures, tutorials and visits to the Newcastle Fish Co-op, Port Stephens Research Institute and your oyster farm. Overall they enjoyed their visits and learned many things. Regarding the visit to your farm, they appreciated it very much. Two of them never tasted oyster before. They were impressed with the science and technology required  and the need to have the community, the government and the industry organisation engaged with the individual farmers. One of them would like to look at the possibility of farming oysters in South Sulawesi as his action plan from the course.

Please find attached a couple of photos taken during the visit.

Thank you again for your kind assistance.

Best regards,

Minh

Dr Minh Nguyen
Conjoint A/Professor,
School of Environmental and Life Sciences
PO Box 127, Ourimbah
NSW 2258
Australia

Listen to an expert explain the methods behind Oyster Tasting…

Simon attended our OceanWatch EMS Launch and wrote an article about his experience, from a foodies point of view.

To read the article click here.

Katrina Hodgkinson said that while oysters are the main aquaculture industry in NSW valued at $42.3 million, there are many other industries that are also performing strongly.

“Aquaculture in NSW is a growing industry supplying a diverse range of high quality seafood including oysters, prawns, marine and freshwater fish, yabbies and mussels,” Katrina Hodgkinson said.

“The NSW Government’s Aquaculture Production Report 2009/2010 shows that the sector in NSW is performing strongly valued at $53.9 million and is growing steadily, up 1.5 per cent from 2008/2009.

“The annual NSW Aquaculture Production Report provides a snapshot of the aquaculture industry including growth patterns.

“The breaking of the drought in many NSW districts is reflected with a 10.4 per cent increase in production from the previous year in the land based sector.

“Export demand has resulted in the production of long-finned eels increasing by 18.4 tonne.”

Katrina Hodgkinson said that aquaculture in NSW continues to advance using industry best practice and sustainable production techniques which are promoted in the NSW Oyster and Land Based Sustainable Aquaculture Strategies.

“The industry not only provides high quality seafood for consumers but also employment opportunities and economic benefits to many regional communities,” she said.

“With increasing pressure on wild fish stocks, aquaculture is becoming an increasingly important industry and it is good to see continued growth.”

The NSW Aquaculture Production Report for 2009/2010 and previous year’s reports are available on the department’s website:

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/aquaculture/publications/aquaculture-production-reports

An “Environmental Management System (EMS)” is a process that you put in place to identify and manage environmental impacts, risks and opportunities that affect your business.

The future of the oyster industry depends on the capacity to demonstrate that natural resources and the environment in which we work, are utilised in a sustainable, responsible way. One way of doing this is to develop an Environmental Management System to demonstrate how impacts and risks are managed.

OceanWatch Australia (in partnership with the NSW Farmers Association) and Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority have respectively received $400,000 and $240,000 through he Australian Government’s Caring for our Country program to develop, review and implement Environmental Management Systems for the NSW oyster industry.

Participation in an Environmental Management System is voluntary, however engaging in the process offers significant benefits, including the opportunity to:

• document farmers current stewardship of the environment and aspirations
• identify realistic and achievable environmental improvements
• identify external water quality concerns and engage with landholders
• increase profits by identifying business development opportunities
• increase exposure to, and prospects of receiving grants

To gain maximum benefit from the process, an estuary-wide EMS is the most effective and efficient approach. For the oyster industry, this means engaging with as many oyster farmers in the catchment as possible.

Incentives will be available through these projects to implement actions identified in the EMS, and to improve environmental conditions in oyster producing estuaries.

Across NSW two grants will be available:

• $100,000 for oyster-growers to make internal (on-farm) improvements
• $100,000 for growers and land-holders to address external influences affecting wtaer quality in oyster-growing areas

In Southern Rivers catchments additional grant funding will be available:

• $150,000 to assist growers who wish to convert from tarred-stick to environmentally friendly cultivation infrastructure, including plastics
• $50,000 to rehabilitate water quality hotspots in the Pambula catchment

All grant money will be distributed through an ‘Expression of Interest’ process. Calls for EOIs inviting oyster growers to apply for incentive funding will be advertised in June 2011.

For more information, and to express your interest in participating in Oyster EMS please contact:

Andy Myers
NSW Oyster EMS Officer
E: andy@oceanwatch.org.au
M: 0488656366
P: 02 96602262

References:
This article was sourced from http://www.oceanwatch.org.au/our-work/environmental-management-systems-nsw-oyster-industry/

“I have met with members of OceanWatch Australia and the Broken Bay Oyster Association, a group of oyster farmers based in the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales who are committed to providing fresh and high quality oysters to consumers through the use and continual improvement of Environmental Management Systems,” Dr Kelly said.

The move towards Environmental Management Systems began when the future of the oyster industry was threatened several years ago.

“Sydney rock oysters and four years of stock in the river were largely destroyed by a parasite in 2004,” Dr Kelly said.

“Since then, the farmers have partnered with a number of organisations including the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Authority and OceanWatch Australia to not only remove run-down oyster infrastructure but to provide advice to land managers on how to improve practices to help protect the marine environment.

“Farmers are actively working with OceanWatch Australia to make the industry more sustainable and supply safe oysters to consumers.

“This is in line with the Australian Government’s commitment through Caring for our Country to protect and maintain our unique biodiversity while helping commercial fishers and aquaculture farmers to improve their practices and optimise sustainability.

“The government applauds the efforts of an industry that looks internally first and develops best practice.”

The development of the Broken Bay Oyster Association Environmental Management System and OceanWatch Australia’s NSW Oyster Environmental Management System project has been assisted by Caring for our Country.

This initiative has invested over $1.7 billion since 2008 to achieve outcomes to support our unique biodiversity and sustainable production across Australia.

For more information about Caring for our Country visit www.nrm.gov.au.

References:

This article has been sourced from http://www.thefarmtrader.com.au/articles/sustaining-our-oyster-industry

It is also published at http://www.getfarming.com.au/pages/farming/articles_view.php?fId=9200020110418100959&cId=11 &