Incentivising Growth of Inland Aquaculture within Water Quality Limits

The Queensland Inland Intensive Prawn Aquaculture Industry (a high value industry) within the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Marine Park catchments have cited stringent water quality regulations and lack of industry support as key factors constraining industry expansion. No new prawn farms have been commissioned in over 15 years despite strong global demand for Australian prawns. Promotion of sustainable industry growth that respects ecological limits of the GBR is a key Government policy objective within GBR catchments. This book considers firm level compliance constraints and the decision making framework for point source discharge sites within the GBR region. The proposed Pacific Reef Fisheries Ltd. Guthalungra prawn farm development, located in the Don sub-catchment in the North Queensland dry tropics is used as a best practice case study. A cost effectiveness model is used to derive a firm level annualised marginal cost of abatement required to simultaneously achieve combined nutrients and sediment water quality objectives. Recommendations are provided to improved allocative efficiency, improved regulatory flexibility and reduce the compliance cost for aquaculture operators.