Whale Point Nursery Expansion

This new RAS facility will increase Huon’s capacity to grow our fish longer on land, and put larger smolt to sea, enabling the supply of ideal size fish all year round. This means reduced growing time in marine pens. Huon salmon will spend as little as 10 months at sea, instead of 14 (as per industry averages). Huon’s marine operations will continue as normal, with fish from the new facility to grow out in existing marine farms at Huon’s Storm Bay lease.

Importantly, fish raised at Whale Point are directly transferred to our well boats and taken to marine farms, which eliminates the need for fish to travel in trucks on local roads.

The new facility will be located next to Huon’s existing Whale Point RAS facility on Whale Point Road. The building will be located on an already cleared space and other supporting infrastructure such as the pipeline to transfer fish to the well boat and water supply, are already in place and do not need to be upgraded.

The benefit of this expanded Recirculating Aquaculture Facility is up to 99% of all water used is recycled on site and reused.

The remaining 1% of wastewater generated from the Whale Point Nursery Facility will be used in Huon’s offshore bathing operations. By doing this, Huon reduces the need for freshwater supplies, minimising the requirement for the extraction of water resources from freshwater dams.

Traffic movements are expected to increase during construction. Once the facility is completed and operational, an additional 1-2 trucks per day can be expected.

The proposed location of the new facility is shielded by existing vegetation and sits behind the current facility meaning it will not impose on the current Port Huon view.

Noise management is incorporated into the design of the facility with the majority of equipment housed internally. External equipment will use the building as a sound barrier, minimizing the potential for noise emissions. A recent noise assessment indicated that noise from the facility will not be above ambient levels.

Staff numbers at Huon’s Port Huon site have expanded from 10 fulltime staff in 2017 to 52 fulltime staff in 2023. The site is now one of the largest employers of fulltime staff in the Huon Valley.

This project will enhance employment opportunities within the business once the new facility is operational, creating 8 additional full-time jobs at Huon.

Construction work while the new facility is built is also expected to have a significant economic multiplier effect on the local community, with hundreds of construction workers and tradespeople likely to require accommodation, meals and supplies.

Huon aims to work with local contractors where possible.

There is no expected increase in well boat movements as current vessels utilise approximately 50% of their total capacity. As part of the expansion Huon aims to increase production and utilise the full capacity of the vessels, meaning no additional vessel movements will be required.

Huon is committed to keeping the community and our stakeholders well informed throughout all stages of the project, particularly our immediate neighbours of Whale Point, the local community, and the wider Tasmanian community.

This will include direct engagement with the local community, mail, social media and website updates.