1. AquaSpace Case Study Houtman – Abrolhos Archipelago, Western Australia: Issues and Tools
The research leading to these results has been undertaken as part of the AquaSpace project (Ecosystem Approach to making Space for Aquaculture, and has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under grant agreement n°
Horizon 2020

2. Coral-reef fringed islands (122)
Houtman - Abrolhos
Coral-reef fringed islands (122)
~65 km from coast, across 100 km of ocean
Tropical/Temperate (water 20-24°C)
Marine conservation area
Multiple uses:
4 reef observation areas
Recreational tourism (dive trails)
Rock-lobster industry
Pearl farming (8 oyster sites)
Protected historical wrecks
Important geological history
Fish Habitat Protection Area
Western
Australia
Map from:
From:

3. Aquaculture zone approach
(Department of Fisheries WA)
Support development of marine finfish aquaculture industry
Ensure aquaculture is environmentally responsible and socially acceptable
Survey and sample 4,740 ha
Identify 3000 ha suitable for finfish aquaculture
Species to be cultured:
Yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi)

4. Main Questions
What is the optimum use of space within the planned zones based on sound environmental protection,  biosecurity and disease control  principles?
What are the best principles of operation with regard to these same principles?
Which are the best strategies for:
reducing the risk of disease emergence
(e.g., through incorporation of fallowing strategies aimed at breaking pathogen persistence and potential evolution)
containment in the event of a disease outbreak
prevention of spread of disease to the wider industry

5. Case study issues Policy / Management: Environmental: Other sectors:
Streamline the licensing approvals and on going management of activities
Assessment of site suitability and carrying capacity to reduce compliance costs
Need for ongoing monitoring and management of aquaculture activity in the zones
Environmental:
Improve spatial planning to enable better targeting and monitoring requirements in order to ensure environmental protection
Development of tools to assess the suitability and carrying capacity of new sites
Other sectors:
Defining best principals of operation to account for the interaction of multiple uses
Best strategies for reducing the risk of disease emergence and prevention of spread

6. Sediment diagenesis model – FABM-AED (UWA)
Tools Applied: Aquatic Ecodynamics (AED)
Sediment diagenesis model – FABM-AED (UWA)
open-source
different components for simulation of:
turbidity
nutrients
algal blooms
pathogens
acid sulphate soils and
general ecosystem
interactions
Allow customisation
From:

7. Output so far: Modelling results showed:
High deposition of organic waste confined to the area of seafloor immediately beneath the sea cages
Example for an extreme aquaculture production scenario (30,000 tonnes)
Yellow to Light blue indicate significant reductions in organic deposition in the area immediately beneath the sea cages

8. Planned tool to be applied – EcoWin
Requires the integration of several models
Hydrodynamics
EcoWin Ecosystem
Physiology
Enter larger box areas, volumes etc from GIS into EcoWin
Implement individual growth model in EcoWin, test, and then add population dynamics
Run hydrodynamic model of the larger scale region
Simulate individual finfish physiology
Use results to conceptualise an energy budget model for individual growth
Define larger boxes within the Abrolhos Archipelago with GIS using bathymetry and marine use data
Run full EcoWin model, calibrate and validate
Management scenarios
Implement and validate individual growth model in Stella or other simple modelling package
Use model to calculate water fluxes across these larger boxes
Extract EcoWin initial conditions for state variables in each box, boundary conditions and calibration data
Prepare a water quality database including both the individual lough and inputs from freshwater and ocean boundaries (measurements)
Measure individual finfish growth rates in the field
Hydrodynamic transport simulated to be supplied to EcoWin 2000 via spreadsheet. Text file, etc.

9. Hydrodynamics (in development) Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS)
Grid extends from ~22.5 to 34.5̊ S and from to 116̊ E
Spatial resolution of approximately 800 m with 25 sigma layers
Outputs from ROMS have been up-scaled to larger boxes for the case study
Testing the results in EcoWin to see if we can proceed with applying the selected tool to the Abrolhos Archipelago

10. Physiology - Yellowtail Kingfish growth model
Solves the energy budget of the fish and used to:
Predict growth
Calculate the nutritional requirements
Predict the chemical excretion(e.g. ammonia and phosphates) and oxygen consumption from the surrounding water
Model has been coded in R
Developed in collaboration with South Metropolitan TAFE