Council archive · source document
Att 3 - Site Based Management · MCU17/0020
Attached to the e-mail Development application - Aquaculture MCU17/0020.
Operational Management Plan 1 Introduction Grouper Industries ABN 96613867682 was formally incorporated 25/7/2016. The company has formed to take advantage of the growing market in aquaculture particularly in the premium product of farmed table fish such as giant grouper and gold spot cod delivered live to market. These live fish command a significant price premium. Grouper Industries Pty Ltd has developed its experience and skills over a period of 20 years and has now piloted the reliable production of healthy saleable live fish via its unique small R.A.S. (Recirculated Aquaculture System) 6 x 2.5m tanks. This system allows for the intensive production of farm fish indoors and represents a substantial input saving in land cost and allows Grouper Industries Pty Ltd to operate with extreme flexibility, enhanced quality control and reliable production output. The uniquely effective Grouper Industries Pty Ltd system allows for reliable production capacity utilising pure oxygen injection, advanced electronic management and the use of specifically designed filtration systems to ensure water quality. All operational requirements are therefore able to be kept within narrow parameters for ideal fish growing conditions. The system also delivers and exceeds all environmental operating conditions with close to zero effluent discharge, which can therefore be discharged into normal municipal sewage outlets. The intention of Grouper Industries Pty Ltd is now build on its established processes and to build a Grouper hatchery. This hatchery will be used to produce fingerlings for its sister company Oceanic Technologies Pty Ltd. Oceanic Technologies Pty Ltd grow out system is under expansion to produce over 70 tonne p.a. of marine finfish. Once our technicians have successfully completed larval rearing of our existing grouper species Grouper Industries will begin to close the live cycle of other marine finfish species that are under threat due to over fishing. 2 Product Overview 2.1 Species and Quantity of Fish 1) Giant Grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) 2) Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) 3) Flowery Cod (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus) 4) Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) 5) Baramundi Cod (Cromileptes altivelis) 6) Maori Wrass (Cheilinus undulates) 7) Mud crab (Scylla serrata) Not all of the species listed above will be cultured at once however the Giant Grouper is our preferred species as we have experience growing these and find them to be a hardy fast growing fish that gets a high price when sold both chilled and live. Trials will be carried out on the Flowery Cod, Cobia and other species to see if they are a viable species to grow in a RAS. 2.3 Stocking Densities
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In past trials we have found that the Giant Grouper fill the entire water column allowing us to have an average stocking density of 75 Kg/m3 with a maximum density of 100kg/m3. With past experience on other farms we have found that Barramundi can also be grown using the same stocking densities as the Giant Grouper. The stocking densities of the Cobia and Flowery Cod are unknown until we do our own trial on the stocking densities. Our experience with Gold spot cod which are similar in behaviour to the Flowery Cod has shown us that they can’t be grown at densities as high as Giant Grouper and Barramundi as they like to sit on the bottom of the tank which limits their stocking densities in tanks with low diameter to depth ratios like our grow tanks. Bribie Island research Centre lead scientists have told us they believe a maximum stocking density of 40kg/m3 should be achievable with the Cobia which is very low but they grow twice as fast as the other species so this means we can get 2 crops to 1 of the other species which should make up for the low achievable stocking densities. 3 Location Our proposed facility is located at 3 Sanders street, Noosaville Queensland. Our company currently secured a 5x5x5 lease on both sheds on the property. The property has town water supply, Single phase and 3 phase power supply and connection to municipal sewer. 4 Farming Methods and Aquaculture Equipment 4.1 Farming Method At our chosen site we will be operating a Hatchery and Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS). The fish will be cultured in varying sized tanks. We will be turning the water over in the tanks 1.5 times an hour during feeding and 2 times an hour when feeding is completed. The effluent water from the grow tanks will go through a 60micron drum filter then flow into an aboveground sump. From the sump the water will be pumped through a Protein skimmer where ozone will be injected. The water from the protein skimmer will then enter a Moving Bed Bio Reactor (MBBR) containing a mixture of k1 Kaldness biomedia and the new mutag bio chip at a ratio of 1:1. The water will then flow into the sump where it will be pumped back to the grow tanks. A Denitrification tank will also be incorporated in the system. The Denitrification tank will draw raw water from the return pipe from the grow tanks. The Denitrification tank contains k1 Kaldness bio media and the water is pumped into the bottom of tank and flows up through the media and then flows out the top into a 200 ltr drum. From the drum the water is pumped up into the MBBR where any excess Nitrogen (N2) gas can be gassed off. Waste from the Protein skimmer will be used as the carbon donor for the de nitrification tank. This waste will be dosed into the de nitrification tank to keep the ORP between -50-+50 mv any excess waste from the protein skimmer will be pumped into the waste storage tank. Discharge water will be drawn from the return pipe from the grow tanks at a rate of 3500 litres per day. The drum filter will be washed using fresh water and will be discharged into the sewer in the early stages. In the early stages the total volume will only be 190000ltrs so we will use 4800ltrs of system water and 5200ltrs of water to wash the drum filter screens. As the system grows we will install 2 x 35000ltr settling tanks which will contain fresh water to wash down the drum filter screens. One tank will supply the water to clean the drum filter screens while the other tank is settling the solids out. When the solids are settled (after a 24hr period) the sludge
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will be pumped out into the waste storage tank then the tank will be topped up with more fresh water and used to supply water to the drum filter wash down. When the waste water from the drum filter is pumped into the settling tank it will be dosed with Polyacrylamide to act as a flocculent, this will allow the solids to settle to the bottom of the settling tank where it can be pumped out into the waste storage tank. 4.2 Aquaculture Equipment Broodstock Poly tanks 50 m3 100 micron filter Protein skimmer Moving Bed Bio Reactor (MBBR) Larval Rearing Poly tanks 10 m3 Live Feed Poly tanks 0.5 m3 Nursery Poly tanks 10m3 60micron drum filter Protein skimmer Moving Bed Bio Reactor (MBBR) Denitrification tank 5 Livestock Environment Management and Monitoring 5.1 Water quality parameters will be monitored and recorded as follows Water quality Method of testing Testing regularity Recording Parameter method PH Sensor Constant Computer logged PH Manual Weekly Hard copy on file Ammonia (TAN) Manual Weekly Hard copy on file Nitrite NO2 Manual Weekly Hard copy on file Nitrate NO3 Manual Weekly Hard copy on file ORP (Outlet of Sensor Constant Computer logged protein skimmer to control ozone output) ORP (de nitrifying Sensor Constant Computer logged tank to control carbon donor dosing) Carbon Dioxide CO2 Sensor Constant Computer logged Dissolved Oxygen Sensor Constant Computer logged Salinity Sensor Constant Computer logged Temperature Sensor Constant Computer logged Form to be used to record water quality manually is in Appendix B
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5.2 Water quality reaction plan
Water quality Low High Emergency Plan
Parameter setpoint setpoint
PH 7.8 8.2 Manually test and adjust with
Hydrated lime to increase PH or
Hydrochloric Acid to decrease PH
Ammonia (TAN) N/A 1ppm Inspect grow tanks for dead fish
Inspect Bio filter for correct
operation.
Reduce feed rate equal to the date
of last acceptable ammonia test.
Increase feed rate at slower rate to
allow bio filter bacteria to grow. If
ammonia levels increase to high
levels ensure there is enough bio
media in bio filter.
Nitrite NO2 N/A 1ppm Check De nitrification tank for
correst dosing of carbon donor and
ORP level correct to ensure there
is no nitrite build up in de
nitrification tank outlet.
Inspect Bio filter for correct
operation.
Reduce feed rate equal to the date
of last acceptable ammonia test.
Increase feed rate at slower rate to
allow bio filter bacteria to grow. If
ammonia levels increase to high
levels ensure there is enough bio
media in bio filter.
Nitrate NO3 N/A 200ppm Check denitrification for correct
operation. Check for correct ORP
reading. Ensure at 3% of system
water is being discharged.
Decrease feed rate until solution is
found.
ORP (Outlet of +300mv +350mv If below 300mv check ozone
protein skimmer to generator for correct operation
control ozone including ORP Probe. Check
output) oxygen generator that produces
oxygen for the ozone generator.
If above 350mv turn ozone
generator off immediately. Check
ORP probe and recalibrate then
turn on ozone generator and
monitor for correct operation.
ORP (de nitrifying -50mv +50mv If below -50mv check dosing pump
tank to control for correct operation and check
carbon donor Nitrite levels in system water to
dosing) ensure nitrite levels are not at high
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levels. If above +50mv check
oxygen level in tank to ensure it is
<2mg/l check flow rate to ensure
there is a 2hr dwell time
Carbon Dioxide CO2 N/A 20mg/l Check maintenance log to Ensure
probe has been recalibrated to
manufacturers recommendations.
Check protein skimmer and MBBR
for correct air flow to ensure CO2
is being gassed off.
Dissolved Oxygen 4mg/l N/A When low set point triggered turn
on manual bottled oxygen to feed
oxygen into emergency diffusers in
grow tanks immediately. Check
oxygen generator for correct
operation. Check water flow is
sufficient in grow tank that has low
oxygen. Clean oxygen probe,
check membrane for damage and
check maintenance log to ensure
probe has been calibrated to
manufacturers recommendations.
Salinity 13ppt 22ppt Check storage tank to ensure
supply water is correct salinity then
adjust accordingly
Temperature 25C 33C Check heater/ chiller for correct
operation
6 Biosecurity
6.1 Animal source
Animals should be obtained from disease-free farms or sources only, after appropriate health
testing and disease-free certification by a reputable veterinary laboratory; disinfect eggs or
larvae where appropriate, quarantine (isolate) all animal introductions from the rest of the farm
for an appropriate period of time. The length of quarantine time depends on the species of
aquatic animal and potential disease or parasite. Contact DPI&F veterinary and extension
officers for advice.
b) Seek advice on appropriate preventative treatments for parasites to all introduced animals
while still in quarantine.
6.2 Hygiene
a) Seek advice on the disinfection of eggs or larvae prior to use.
b) Remove sick and dying animals as soon as possible and treat in a quarantine section or
dispose of appropriately, so there is no contamination of the farm animals or aquatic
environment.
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6.3 Record Keeping
a) Record all introductions and disposals of aquatic animals; include their source or destination.
b) Record all outbreaks of sickness and deaths.
c) Measure and record growth rates.
6.4 Chemical use
a) Ensure all personnel are aware of the hazards of the chemicals used, and that they have
training on the storage, use and handling of the chemicals used and are provided with
appropriate protection gear to the chemical. This will be clearly stated at the staff induction
process.
b) Comply with the regulations on the use of chemicals in aquaculture. Be aware of the
chemicals registered for use in aquaculture and the need to consult a registered vet. No
antibiotics or feeds containing antibiotics are to be used whatsoever – you must consult a vet.
If you use anything that is not registered or prescribed you will be in breech of the legislation.
Controls over the supply and use of Agvet chemicals in Queensland are provided for in
legislation, in particular the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemical (Queensland) Act 1994
(Agvet Code), the Chemical Usage (Agricultural and Veterinary) Control Act 1988 (Chemical
Usage Act), Agricultural Chemicals
Distribution Control Act 1966 and The Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulation 1996
(What Veterinary Surgeons Need to Know).
6.5 Disease
6.5.1 Disease Identification
If you suspect that there is a disease on the premises you must notify the Department in
accordance with the Disease Notification Procedure. The criterion for notification of disease is
if there is any unusual mortality in conjunction with ANY TWO of the following criteria:
a) Animals coming to the edge or water surface of the pond/tank/cage.
b) Animals demonstrating unusual swimming patterns.
c) Reduced feeding and failure to thrive.
d) Unusual changes in the physical appearance of the animal such as red or black colouration
of prawn, ulcers or mouldy growth on skin, blackening of skin, pop eye, erosion of fins and
tails, fouling of gills etc.
6.5.2 Disease Management
a) Isolate any animals showing signs of any disease or ectoparasitic infestation to affected
tanks only.
b) Prevent bird, animal, vehicle and human vectors from spreading disease through the
farm/hatchery.
c) Personnel should work on the healthy animals each day before they have any contact with
the sick ones.
d) Obtain veterinary laboratory assistance to determine the cause(s) of any losses; always
attempt to get a diagnosis.
e) Where appropriate/requested collect sick specimens of affected aquatic animals for
laboratory examination
f) Seek advise from the Department on the destruction, disposal and disinfection methods for
diseased and dead aquatic animals.
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g) Chemicals and therapeutics are to be used only on the advice of an aquaculture veterinarian,
and withdrawal times must always be observed.
6.5.3 Disease Emergencies
If you suspect a disease outbreak, there are steps you can take to limit the spread of the
disease and protect healthy animals. As well as advising Fisheries Queensland of a disease,
you should:
isolate any animals showing signs of disease or infestation in separate ponds and tanks
quarantine all equipment from other ponds and tanks
prevent birds, animals, vehicles and humans from spreading disease through the farm
tend to healthy animals each day before you have any contact with sick ones
Collect specimens of affected aquatic animals for laboratory examination fill out the Fin
Fish Lab exam form (Appendix A) and send to below address.
Safely dispose of diseased and dead animals, and effluent water.
Biosecurity Sciences Laboratory
Health and Food Sciences Precinct
Specimen receipt (Loading Dock 12)
39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains Qld 4108
Phone: 07 3276 6062 (Aquatic Pathologist - submission enquiries)
Fax: 07 3216 6620
6.5.4 Disease Notification Procedure
Under Section 100 of the Fisheries Act 1994 ‘A person who knows or reasonably suspects a
fisheries resource or a fish habitat is showing signs of disease, or knows or reasonably
suspects disease may be in fisheries resources or a fish habitat, must immediately notify the
chief executive or an inspector’
An aquaculture licence or permit holder must therefore notify a Fisheries Research Centre or
a Fisheries Extension Officer or the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol (QB&FP) of the
occurrence of, or the possibility of, a disease outbreak. Officers may be contacted by calling
the Call Centre on 13 25 23 Friday (excluding public holidays) or DPI&F after-hour emergency
number 3830 8550 for suspected exotic disease The Fisheries or QBFP Officer will then
contact the designated DPI&F expert for the particular event and will receive advice on an
appropriate course of action, eg site inspection, sample collection etc. The reporting
aquaculturist will then be advised of this course of action. In instances of disease in freshwater
or marine aquaculture the regional expert will be: Duty Fish Pathologist (or Laboratory
Manager) Animal Research Institute, Yeerongpilly Department of Primary Industries and
Fisheries TEL: (07) 3362 99471 (w)
6.5.5 Farm Procedures to prevent spread of disease
Foot baths and hand washing facilities will be placed at both of the entries to the juvenile and
grow out system. Foot baths and hand washing facilities will be available at the entrance to the
quarantine system.
If the facility is to be managed by 1 person at any time, the grow out facility and juvenile system
must be maintained before entering the quarantine system. If it is required to go back into the
grow out or juvenile system then the employee must change into clean clothes and put dirty
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clothes into laundry baskets supplied. The employee must wash themselves down with disinfectant wash shoes in foot bath and then enter the facility. Water is never to be swapped between systems and discharged; water from quarantine system must be discarded into approved waste disposal system. Water can be moved between juvenile and grow out if there are no signs of disease in either part of the facility. All employees are to stay away from trucks bringing in replacement water and at no time are water truck drivers allowed inside the facility. When loading market sized fish into transport trucks the fish must be taken outside to be loaded and then the vessels containing the fish are to be washed with chlorine and left in the sun for 24hrs before bringing back into the facility. at no time are the delivery drivers allowed into facility. 7 Feed Feed will be sourced from Big Nutrition in Brisbane. The food they import is Ewos which is a Norwegian company that has a feed plant in Vietnam where our food is produced. The food is tested for Land animal based protein so it only contains plant and marine based protein. We have been using this food in our pilot system and we have achieved excellent food conversion ratios (FCR) and specific growth rates (SGR) 8 Waste Management 8.1 Waste Water Management We have obtained approval from Unity Water trade waste department to discharge our waste into the sewer connection. All water to be discharged will be pumped into our 10000ltr waste storage tank where it will be dosed into the council sewer at a maximum rate of 3500ltr / day discharge allowance. A u-trap will be placed in the discharge pipe with a tap so samples of the waste water can be taken by any regulatory government departments. The waste water flow rate and salinity will be monitored by inline sensors and the data logged by our monitoring system, PC’s and remotely by unity water. 8.2 Mortalities Mortalities will be kept in our onsite freezer if we have a large mortality event the dead fish will be loaded into our utility which will be lined with plastic and taken to the Local Noosa landfill site.
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9 Water Collection The input water to top up the system will be trucked in, using our existing transport truck that has a capacity of 12500ltrs, from Noosa River which is 2.8klm away. The water is of good quality and is of the correct salinity for our system. We have been collecting water from Noosa River for our pilot system for the past 3 years and have found it to be a reliable source of good quality seawater.
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Site Management Plan 1 Input Water Input water is transported to site from the mouth of the Noosa River by truck. The water is pumped into our 22500ltr water storage tank where it is mixed with freshwater from the town supply. This is done to reduce the salinity of the water. The water is treated using liquid chlorine at a concentration of 5ppm for a 24hr period. The chlorine is removed by adding Sodium Thiosulphate. When water is required to top up the system the water is pumped through UV for backup disinfection and oxidisation of any residual chlorine. 2 Food storage The fish food is stored to manufacturer’s requirements. It is stored in a room that is rodent proof and regularly treated for pests. The food is stored on pallets to keep it off the floor and allow air to circulate around the food bags. 3 Mortality Disposal Any fish mortalities will be recorded and stored in the onsite freezer until the council rubbish day when they will be removed from the freezer and placed in the council bins to be disposed of correctly. If we have a large mortality event the dead fish will be loaded into our utility which will be lined with plastic and taken to the Local Noosa landfill site. 4 Bio Security Foot baths and hand washing facilities will be placed at both of the entries to the Broodstock, hatchery, live feed and Nursery systems. Foot baths and hand washing facilities will be available at the entrance to all systems. If the facility is to be managed by 1 person at any time, the nursery and Hatchery system must be maintained before entering the Broodstock system. If it is required to go back into nursery or hatchery system then the employee must change into clean clothes and put dirty clothes into laundry baskets supplied. The employee must wash themselves down with disinfectant wash shoes in foot bath and then enter the facility. Water is never to be swapped between systems and discharged; water from Broodstock system must be discarded into approved waste disposal system. All employees are to stay away from trucks bringing in replacement water and at no time are water truck drivers allowed inside any part of the facility. When loading market sized fish into transport trucks the fish must be taken outside to be loaded and then the vessels containing the fish are to be washed with chlorine and left in the sun for 24hrs before bringing back into the facility. at no time are the delivery drivers allowed into facility. 5 Waste Water Management All water to be discharged will be pumped into our 22500ltr waste storage tank where it will be dosed into the council sewer at a maximum rate of 3500ltrs / day discharge allowance. A u-trap will be placed in the discharge pipe with a tap so samples of the waste water can be
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taken by any regulatory government departments. The waste water flow rate and salinity will be monitored by inline sensors.
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Appendix A [OCR of page images] Appendix A FINFISH SPECIMEN ADVICE SHEET Date: Name of sender: Postal address: Telephone: Facsimile: als Purpose of submission: (Health test/translocation sick/health monitoring) interstate/overseas sale/diseased/ DETAILS OF AFFECTED FISH SAMPLED Pond/tank | Hatchery No. No. fish sampled Age Length (mm) Weight (9) No. Deaths per day Date of first signs of sickness TOTAL NUMBER OF PONDS/TANKS AFFECTED ON FARM: TOTAL NUMBER OF PONDS/TANKS SAMPLED & SENT TO LAB: DETAILS OF SAMPLED PONDS/TANKS Please fill out the table below for each pond/tank from which fish were sampled for the laboratory. POND/TANK NUMBER Species: Origin: Date of Stocking: Date of onset of sickness: Number mortalities/day- List any previous disease problems in this pond/tank List any previous treatments for this pond/tank
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Appendix B
Date Ammonia(TAN) Nitrite NO2 ppm Nitrate NO3 ppm Phosphate PO4 PH Water exchange
ppm ppm (Ltrs)
am pm am pm am pm am pm am pm am pm
Used in these records
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