Harvest Road Export Pty Ltd is proposing to undertake a two year trial of rock oyster aquaculture at nine sites within the Wooramel Bank, situated along the eastern shoreline of Shark Bay, in the Gascoyne Region. The Wooramel Bank forms part of the Shark Bay Marine Park and World Heritage area.
The trial project comprises of nine small sites along a 40 kilometre length of the Wooramel Bank. Seven sites will have intertidal culture systems of oyster baskets held on longlines such that baskets are aerially exposed at low tide. Longlines will be 25m in length and constructed as thee sets of triplicate lines with a 700m2 footprint. The intertidal sites would be in 1-2m of water approximately 1-2 kilometres offshore. Two sites would be placed further seaward at 3-6m depth and have subtidal systems of a single 140m longline with baskets held on floats just below the water surface.
Rock oysters from the locally occurring milky oyster, Saccostrea scyphophilla and black lip oyster, Saccostrea cucullata species will be cultured.
The trial will include periodic visitation of the sites using a small boat during which oysters will be examined. The trial will also include a series of environmental monitoring projects to investigate the potential for a full commercial project to cause environmental impacts.
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