Project Sea Dragon (PSD) is a proposed, large-scale, integrated, land-based prawn aquaculture project being developed in northern Australia.
The Project is designed to produce high-quality, year-round reliable prawn volumes for export markets. The project has made significant progress to date, including Commonwealth and Territory environmental approvals of the prawn grow-out facility to be located on Legune Station. As the Project progresses Seafarms maintains strong partnerships with its stakeholders and the local community.
Locations
Project Sea Dragon will be a staged development of up to 10,000 hectares of prawn production ponds, supported by a series of geographically separate facilities across northern Australia.
Exmouth, Western Australia
Quarantine and founder stock centre
Gunn Point, Northern Territory
Hatchery
Kununurra, Western Australia
Processing plant
Project Sea Dragon is implementation ready, with the following key milestones complete:
Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA)
- Reaching agreement with Native Title Holders, a critical milestone.
Major Project Status Granted
- The Project has been granted Major Project Status by the Commonwealth, Northern Territory and Western Australian Governments.
Environmental Approvals Granted
- Environmental approval granted by both the Commonwealth Department of Environment and the Northern Territory EPA for Stage 1 at Legune Station.
- Environmental approval granted by the NT EPA for the Project’s breeding facilities at Bynoe Harbour.
Other Approvals
- Subdivision and planning approval for the proposed hatchery at Gunn Point to the east of Darwin in the Northern Territory.
Licences
- Surface Water Extraction Licence for Legune Stage 1.
- Waste Discharge Licence for Legune Stage 1 and Bynoe Harbour.
- Consent to clear pastoral land for Legune Stage 1.
- Development Permit for clearing of native vegetation for the Core Breeding Centre and Broodstock Maturation Centre.
- Aquaculture Licence has been granted for Project Sea Dragon’s Core Breeding Centre and Broodstock Maturation Centre.
Feasibility Study Completed
- A detailed feasibility study, inclusive of engineering, estimating, range analysis, construction planning and transport planning has been completed. This included the test pond earthworks, surveys and geotechnical data acquisition for Stage 1 at Legune Station.
Vendor Due Diligence
- An extensive program of vendor due diligence is complete.
Operational Founder Stock and Quarantine Centre at Exmouth
- The opening of this facility is a key milestone. This is where commercial production of domesticated animals from Seafarms breeding program has commenced, providing high health founder stock and where the second generation of prawns will be established.
Meet the Project Sea Dragon Team
A highly experienced management team across project development,
management, aquaculture operations, finance and business development.
Government
Project Sea Dragon was awarded Major Project Status by the Federal Government in 2015, and there is significant ongoing support for the Project, most recently demonstrated by the Northern Territory, Federal and Western Australian Governments through their respective commitments for the upgrade of the Keep River public road. The upgraded road will provide all year access between Kununurra in WA and Legune Station in the NT.
The Australian Government’s strategy for northern Australia and several policy initiatives have importance for Seafarms Project Sea Dragon, including the White Paper on Developing Northern Australia (2015). One of these new policy initiatives for developing Northern Australia is the A$5 billion Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility which will provide concessional loans to suitable projects being developed in this region.
The Australian Government has also successfully finalised new Free Trade Agreements with a number of countries in the high growth regions of Asia, including China. The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement will allow Australian businesses unprecedented access to the world’s second largest economy and will lead to significant reductions in tariffs for Australian exporters. Importantly in relation to Project Sea Dragon, the agreement includes the elimination of up to 8% tariffs on prawn imports within 4 years.
Environment
Our Approach
Project Sea Dragon embraces sustainability, aiming to deliver a safe, secure and sustainable product.
Environmental Commitments
Seafarms will implement a number of environmental programs as part of stage 1 of Project Sea Dragon.
Water
Minimising impact on water quality is a core focus.
Monitoring Program
For details on our environmental monitoring programs and reporting.
Documentation
For EIS details for Project Sea Dragon.
Community
Seafarms is focused on maintaining
strong partnerships with its stakeholders
and the local community.
strong partnerships with its stakeholders
and the local community.
Community
Seafarms is focused on maintaining
strong partnerships with its stakeholders
and the local community.
strong partnerships with its stakeholders
and the local community.