Australian Prawn Farms Pty Ltd, Mackay, North Queensland
BACKGROUND
Australian Prawn Farms Pty Ltd, based at Ilbilbie near Mackay in north Queensland, agreed to participate in an eco-efficiency program being funded by the Australian Government Department of Environment & Heritage and coordinated by the Australian Prawn Farmers Association. There were five farms involved in the project. The goal of each farm was to become ISO14001 certified.
APF’s EMS Project Manager, Matt West said the company wanted to achieve ISO14001 to become one of the first prawn farms in the world to gain such accreditation.
“We believe this is an important initiative to help us improve our environmental management practices, reduce operational costs and assist in gaining access to markets in Europe and Japan,” Mr West said.
Australian Prawn Farms Pty Ltd is an aquaculture facility specialising in growing tiger prawns (P. monodon). The farm site consists of a large modern hatchery; a not sure is still 33? hectare grow out section, and an onsite processing plant.
Part of the grow out facility is a 20 hectare settlement system which aims at reducing suspended solids, total nitrogen, and total phosphorous. It is very well regulated, and fortnightly tests are carried out to ensure its efficiency. The entire site is currently operating under strict government regulations, and has already implemented such standards as HACCP for processing. Australian Prawn Farms has built up a good rapport with the regulatory agencies and prides itself on constantly improving its system to better the environment.
“Our companies approach to reduce environmental pressures is very proactive, which is why implementing an EMS through ISO 14001 is very important,” according to Mr West.
“The system is an important tool to ensure efficiency throughout the entire workplace, through identifying certain environmental risks, and having a documented approach to deal with them.”
“Achieving and maintaining ISO14001 accreditation is a big challenge, requiring a comprehensive review and assessment of our management practices and the environmental risks associated with running our business.”
The company conducts annual reviews which include assessment of the following practices and procedures:
- Maintenance records (eg vehicles, equipment, bins, down time, accidents, fuel usage and electricity)
- Feed use and feed use monitoring systems
- Water usage and water monitoring
- Communications (eg on the farm and between farms)
- Disease management and monitoring
- Disease response
- Emergency Action and Response Planning
- Daily task lists
- Induction and training verification systems
- Administration efficiencies
- Recycling and re-use