View our completed research projects below.
For a list of our current projects, click here.
A small but well-established land-based abalone aquaculture industry has existed in Tasmania since the 1980s. As the industry looks to expand, a better understanding of the environmental performance of these sites has become important. IMAS was commissioned by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tasmania) to undertake a thorough survey of environmental […]
This project aimed to investigate the distribution, biology and aquaculture potential of the red seaweed species Asparagopsis armata in Tasmania due to its potential to be part of the global solution to climate change. Methane emissions from livestock are a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Bromoform, a chemical compound produced by Asparagopsis seaweeds, […]
A major hurdle facing Tasmania’s growing seaweed aquaculture industry is low nutrient levels in our waters which can limit the growth of cultivated seaweeds. Salmon aquaculture faces the opposite challenge where excess nutrients produced by farming can have negative environmental effects. Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) is the idea that nutrients released into the environment by […]
This Sense-T project brought together the Tasmanian Salmonid Growers' Association, IMAS and CSIRO to collect and analyse data from salmon farms in Macquarie Harbour. Sensors were attached to individual 'sentinel' fish in pens in addition to sensors in the environment. Data was collected on fish behaviour as well as environmental conditions such as water temperature, […]
This project aimed to determine whether salmon aquaculture contributes to sedimentation on reefs in areas where they co-occur and to determine what analyses and methods might be most appropriate for detecting fish farm signatures. For more information, you can read the final report: The contribution of salmon farming material to sediment accumulation on reefs in […]
Using a lipid biomarker approach, this project aimed to determine whether aquaculture waste supplements the diet of key mobile invertebrate species (abalone, Haliotis rubra; sea urchins, Heliocidaris erythrogramma; and benthic shrimp, Palaemon intermedius) within reef ecosystems in south-east Tasmania. This project has been funded by the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife. The project interim […]
In order to secure the future of Australian aquaculture, it is increasingly clear that, alongside effective and responsible production, building and maintaining community support is vital. The Tasmanian salmon industry is acutely aware of the need to garner and maintain societal support. A number of factors contribute towards the achievement of community acceptability (or social […]
Salmon aquaculture is a major component of the Tasmanian economy (currently $700 millionwith plans to expand to $1 billion by 2030). However, the industry operates along a populatedcoastline in waterways shared with a range of other industrial and recreation uses. Bothgovernment and industry recognise that maintaining high environmental standards is not onlycritical to the husbandry […]
In 2019, the Derwent Estuary Program (DEP) engaged IMAS to assess the functional status of inshore temperate reef ecosystems within the Derwent estuary. The project was intended as a starting point to better understand how rocky reefs change over time and as a result of different pressures within the environment. Within the context of the planned expansion of salmon farming in Storm Bay the aim […]
Project No: FRDC 2016/067 Macquarie Harbour is a unique Tasmanian salmon farming environment with a complex ecological, hydrodynamic and industrial legacy. This project is focused on better understanding changes in dissolved oxygen within the water column and its significance for recovery of the benthic environment. The various reports associated with this project can be viewed […]
Social licence to operate is a key issue in sustainable aquaculture. This project explored how social license (or a lack thereof) plays out in Tasmanian salmon aquaculture using a single case study design. The results of this study can be viewed here.
Project No: FRDC 2015/024 In Tasmania, salmon farming takes place in a range of different environmental conditions. The aims of this project were to explore the environmental interactions of salmon farming in Tasmanian marine waters and provide recommendations to government and industry on monitoring and management strategies associated with these interactions. These management strategies were […]
The development of alternative sustainable aquaculture models is an area of ongoing research globally. This project will focus on developing an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture model that supports the commercial production of seaweed together with salmon and shellfish to ensure economic, environmental and societal benefits. It is a Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) grant funded project representing […]
Project No: FRDC 2018/131 When the salmon industry moves into new environments it is important that adequate environmental monitoring is undertaken to understand interactions between salmon farming and the environment. The focus of this project was to follow the expansion of the Tasmanian salmon industry into Storm Bay with a comprehensive environmental monitoring program in […]
The focus of this project was the development of robust indicators for social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability in aquaculture. A vast number of standards and indicators have been developed worldwide, however little is known about the use of these indicators, nor what aspects are missing/contradictory/overlapping/ inadequate. It is these aspects that this project […]
Project No: FRDC 2017/158 Societal support is of great importance for developing successful fisheries and aquaculture industries, but how to gain support is less well understood. The purpose of this project was to explore existing learnings to better understand societal support in the context of fisheries and aquaculture and present the findings to industry in […]
Dissolved oxygen within the water column is an important variable in Macquarie Harbour. This project was set up to collate and check Environmental Protection Agency Tasmania and industry monitoring data; to analyse historical time series of bottom water dissolved oxygen, salinity and temperature; to assist with analysis of factors related to bottom water dissolved oxygen […]
Project No: FRDC 2014/038 Farming salmon in Macquarie Harbour has highlighted a number of challenges over the years. The purpose of this project was to better understand the response of the environment to salmon farming by exploring the response of an environmental indicator (Dorvilleid polychaetes) to farming in the harbour. In the first part of […]
Project No: FRDC 2013/008 This project aimed to further explore the spatial distribution and ecology of the Maugean Skate, a species only known to exist in two estuarine systems located on the west coast of Tasmania (Macquarie Harbour and Bathurst Harbour). For more details on this project go to the final report: Movement, habitat utilisation […]
Project No: FRDC 2011/735 This project provides a decision support approach which provides guidance for the identification of the types (and sources) of information that would be needed to support an aquaculture development application in the coastal zone. The project also provides a framework for presentation and analysis of the resultant information such that it […]
Project No: FRDC 2012/047 The objective of this project was to examine the relationship between nutrient flux rates, nutrient pathways and also sediment and water variables in Macquarie Harbour in relation to salmon fish farming to help create an ecologically sustainable fish farming practice. The information and data obtained from this project was used to […]
Project No: FRDC 2011/041 There were three main aims of this study: 1) to identify the effect of existing sediment copper concentrations and recommend management guidelines; 2) to identify whether there is the “potential” for sediment copper load to decline (“recover”) and to determine the factors affecting recovery rate: identifying key environmental and ecological factors […]
Project No: FRDC 2010/063 This project provides a review and ranking of possible options for active sediment remediation under Tasmanian conditions, and then tested the viability of selected options in the lab and in the field.
Project No: CRC Project 4.2(2)/ FRDC Project 2004/074 The purpose of this project was to better understand the marine systems at play within the Huon Estuary and D’Entrecasteaux Channel in relation to environmental issues for salmon aquaculture. For further information on this project go to the final report: A whole of ecosystem assessment of environmental […]
The Tasmanian salmon industry has a vision for safe and sustainable growth in production over the next two decades, while increasing tangible benefits to the Tasmanian community. To support this development, scientists, industry, regulators and non-government organisations collaborated to draft an integrated roadmap for the future of the industry: The Report from the Global Salmon […]
Project No: Aquafin CRC project 4.1/ FRDC 2000/164 The purpose of this project was to develop new environmental monitoring methods for evaluating the level of sediment degradation in association with finfish cage aquaculture in south east Tasmania. Using these methods, the aim was to explore ways of incorporating these techniques into farm management protocols in […]
