This project includes four complementary elements that will significantly improve the resilience and preparedness of the NSW oyster industry for future natural disasters through:
1.
Development and adoption/implementation of a natural disaster preparedness handbook. This will be achieved by documenting learnings and lived experiences of growers who endured recent disasters, and combined with more generic preparedness materials, developing a highly contextualised disaster handbook. This will be rolled out through shed workshop series with on-ground training.
2.
Establishing a new network of emergency oyster relay areas. On land, Emergency Stock Management Plans can be enacted to move stock during disasters. Equivalent plans do not exist in estuarine environments. We will work with local growers to identify feasible emergency oyster relay areas and engage with authorities to identify and document approval pathways in preparation for future events.
3.
Marketing campaign. Whole of industry marketing for NSW oysters is in its infancy, having been initiated on the back of the 2019 fires. Taking the learnings from the marketing initiative funded through Sector Development Grants, this project will resource the creation and distribution of new marketing collateral.
4.
Establishing industry’s baseline carbon emissions. This element of the project will help a cross-section of NSW oyster farmers to complete carbon emission audits. By extrapolating data across the sector, baseline sector-wide emissions can be established. This will provide guidance on next steps, should the industry desire to pursue a sector-wide approach to carbon neutrality.
This project will run from early 2023, through until late 2024.
For questions, please contact:
Andy Myers
0488 656 366 |
[email protected]
Funding acknowledgment:
The Storm & Flood Industry Recovery Program is jointly funded by the Australian and the NSW Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.