Following successful monitoring programs in 2015 and 2016, Sustainability has again been engaged to conduct the 2017 marine and environmental compliance monitoring program for long-standing and valued client, MMA Offshore.

The program, which satisfies regulatory requirements and operational approvals, comprises three components:

• Biosentinel oysters;
• Sediment, and;
• Water quality profiling.

A related, yet separate scope of work (required biennially) was also conducted by Sustainability as part of the 2015/16 program. This involved the use of satellite imagery, remote sensing techniques and GIS applications to assess temporal and spatial changes in mangrove populations surrounding the Dampier Supply Base.

Sustainability’s environmental team were overwhelmed by the success of the 2015/16 program, particularly the biosentinel oyster monitoring program. The use of live species in monitoring programs presents a host of challenges which must be carefully considered and managed to ensure a robust and meaningful dataset is achieved.

Our marine monitoring specialist, Kim Cunningham, investigated a range of options to optimise the existing biosentinel oyster monitoring program. This included changing the species of oyster used, improving the translocation process to reduce stress-induced oyster fatality and improving the deployment apparatus to reduce loss of samples and equipment in bad weather. At the conclusion of the three-month deployment period, we were able to retrieve valid samples (live oysters) from all sampling sites, a feat which has not been achieved since the program commenced!

Sustainability has a broad range of experience and resource capability in marine and terrestrial monitoring services in addition to those mentioned above. Our team of specialists can design and tailor a competitively-priced monitoring program to meet any specifications, regardless of scale or complexit