Great Sandy regional marine aquaculture plan

The Great Sandy regional marine aquaculture plan (PDF, 2.8MB) establishes guidelines and identifies suitable sites for sustainable, non-intensive marine aquaculture development. It also streamlines and standardises the assessment process for future aquaculture applications within the boundaries of the Great Sandy Marine Park.

The plan identifies the most appropriate sites for rack, line and ranching aquaculture (not sea cages) in line with provisions of the marine park. Following extensive consultation between industry and government, the sites were chosen to minimise conflict with other user groups and reduce impacts on the social and environmental values of the region.

Management controls provide clear rules regarding the approval of future aquaculture activities and the conditions under which aquaculture farms can operate. They include infrastructure design specifications, an environmental bond requirement, environmental monitoring programs and general biosecurity measures. Details are provided in the implementation guide (PDF, 1442KB).

Please note: Under a federal conservation agreement and marine parks accreditation, applications that comply with the plan do not require a separate approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 or a separate marine parks permit (these matters are considered during development approval and resource allocation authority assessments).

Maps for the Great Sandy regional marine aquaculture plan

These maps show the spatial datasets with the aquaculture sites overlain on each map for reference:

Last updated: 09 Mar 2022