OCEAN REEF MARINA —
ROE'S ABALONE TRANSLOCATION
617. Hon RICK MAZZA to the minister representing the
Minister for Fisheries:
I refer to the translocation
project for Roe's abalone from the development envelope of the Ocean
Reef Marina redevelopment.
(1) How many abalone have been
translocated so far?
(2) What is the survival rate?
(3) Has an
extension of the abalone translocation project been considered for the area
immediately north of the Ocean Reef Marina redevelopment?
(4) If no to (3), why not?
(5) How much money has been
allocated to fund the abalone translocation project?
(6) If funding
has been allocated, how much has been expended, and can it be replenished for
future abalone translocation projects?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for the
question. The Minister for Fisheries has provided the following information.
(1) To date, over 68 000 Roe's
abalone have been translocated.
(2) Following each translocation day, checks at the
release sites and adjacent beaches have observed low numbers of dead Roe's
abalone. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development will
undertake ongoing monitoring of translocated stocks, including survivability,
how the adult abalone adapt to the new habitat, and if there is an increase in
numbers of juvenile abalone in the area.
(3) Following the
Environmental Protection Authority assessment, a condition of the project was
for the proponent, DevelopmentWA, to identify options for the translocation of abalone
from the development envelope. The current translocation project aims to move
approximately 100 000 Roe's abalone from the development envelope to
reef platforms between Trigg and Hillarys. This will be the largest abalone
translocation project undertaken in Australia.
(4) Not applicable.
(5) DevelopmentWA,
the Ocean Reef Marina proponent, has provided $150 000 to the Department of
Primary Industries and Regional Development to complete the translocation
project. The project is being funded by DevelopmentWA to meet the conditions of
the Minister for Environment, following the Environmental Protection Authority
assessment.
(6) Based on the
completed translocation days, approximately $90 000 has been expended.
Expansion of the current project is not being considered at this point in time.