Aquaculture Stewardship Council Salmon Standard Full Assessment Report

161 Pages·2015·2.23 MB·English

SCS Global Services Report

Aquaculture Stewardship Council Salmon
Standard
Full Assessment Report

Tassal Operations Pty Ltd Macquarie Harbour MF 266 Franklin

Tassal Operations
Level 9, 1 Franklin Wharf, Hobart 7000, Australia

Client Contact:
Heidi Hanson – [email protected]

USING: ASC Salmon Standard V1.0 June 2012

AUDITORS: Dr. Christine Crawford,
D.B. O’Sullivan, Todd Frank and
Dr. Sabine Daume
ONSITE DATES: 11-15th May 2015
REPORT RELEASED: 16th October 2015

Prepared by:
SCS Global Services Sustainable
Seafood Program
NATURAL RESOURCE DIVISION

SCS Global Services, 2000 Powell Street, Suite 600, Emeryville, California, 94608 USA
+1.510.452.8000 main | +1.510.452.8001 fax| [email protected]
www.SCSglobalServices.com
Table of Contents

Acronyms ....................................................................................................................................................... 2
1. Summary .............................................................................................................................................. 5
2. Historical Background of Farm and Farming Area ................................................................................ 6
3. Scope .................................................................................................................................................... 7
4. Audit Plan ............................................................................................................................................. 8
4.1 Previous Audits ..................................................................................................................................... 8
4.2 Names of the Auditors .......................................................................................................................... 8
4.3 Audit Plan as Implemented................................................................................................................. 10
4.4 Staff Interviews ................................................................................................................................... 10
4.5 Stakeholder Submissions .................................................................................................................... 11
5. Grading of Findings ............................................................................................................................ 12
6. Certification Determination – Pending ............................................................................................... 13
7. Evaluation Results .............................................................................................................................. 13
8. Determination of the Start of the Chain of Custody (CoC) ............................................................... 144
9. Non- Conformity Reports ................................................................................................................. 147
10. References ....................................................................................................................................... 153
Appendix 1. Stakeholder Comments Assessment Team Responses ........................................................... 156

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Acronyms

ABM Area Based Management
ADAS Australian Diver Accreditation Scheme
ADD Acoustic Deterrent Device
AHD Acoustic Harassment Device
AGD Amoebic Gill Disease
AMA Area Management Agreement
AMAMG Area Management Agreement Management Group
AMBI AZTI Marine Biotic Index
APC Australian Packaging Covenant
APVMA Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority
AS Atlantic salmon
ASC Aquaculture Stewardship Council
ASI Accreditation Services International
ASX Australian Stock Exchange
ATO Australian Taxation Office
ATP-ase ATP-ase is an enzyme that is produced by the chloride cells in the gills when fish undergo
smoltification
AWU Australian Workers Union
AZE Allowable Zone Effect
BAP Best Aquaculture Practices
BEMP Broadscale Environmental Monitoring Program
BET Bigeye Tuna
BMP Best Management Practices
BOD Biochemical oxygen demand
BQI Benthic Quality Index
CAB Conformity Assessment Body
CMF Compound Manufactured Feed
CoC Chain of Custody
CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
DHI DHI Water and Environmental Consulting Company
DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acids
DO Dissolved Oxygen
DPIPWE Department of Primary Industry, Parks, Water and Environment
DTL Dive Team Leader
EIS Environmental Impact Statement
EMP Environmental Management Plan
EPA Environmental Protection Authority
EPBC Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act
EPIRB Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon
EPN Environmental Protection Notice
EPO Eastern Pacific Ocean
ERP Emergency Response Plan
EUL Estimated Unexplained Loss
FCR Food Conversion Rates
FFDRo Fish Oil Forage Fish Dependency Ratio
FFDRm Fishmeal Forage Fish Dependency Ratio
FFEMP Fish Farm Environmental Management Plan
FFL Fish Farm Licence (Freshwater Operations)
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FHMP Fish Health Management Plan
FHT Fish Health Team
FIP Fisheries Improvement Project
FL Franklin Lease
FM Fish meal
FO Fish oil
FRDC Fisheries Research & Development Corporation
FY Financial Year
GG CFM GlobalGAP Compound Manufactured Feed standard or certification
GHG Greenhouse Gas
GMO Genetically Modified Organism
GO Gordon Lease
GPS Global Positioning System
GWP Global Warming Potential
HAC Huon Aquaculture, another member of AMA
HO Head Office
HoS Head of Sustainability
IALA International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities
IFFO RS The International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation - Responsible Supply
IFS Inland Fisheries Service
IMAS Institute of Marine & Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania
ISEAL International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labeling Alliance
ISO International Organization for Standardization
ITI Infaunal Trophic Index
IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature
IUU Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported
JSA Job Safety Analysis
LCA Life Cycle Analysis/Assessment
MAS Marine Aeromonad Disease of Salmonids
MAST Marine & Safety Tasmania
MDS Multidimensional scaling
MF Marine Farm
MFB Marine Farming Branch (DPIPWE)
MFDP Marine Farm Development Plan
MH Macquarie Harbour Region
MHAMA Macquarie Harbour Area Management Agreement
MiH Middle Harbour Lease
MOP Marine Operations
MSC Marine Stewardship Council
MSDS Material Safety Data Sheet
MUP Minor Use Permit
NATA National Association of Testing Authorities
NC Nonconformity
NCR Non-conformance report, sometime NC Register
NES National Employment Standard
OH&S Occupational Health and Safety
OIE World Organization for Animal Health
OT Ocean Trout Onchorhynchus mykiss
OTC Oxytetracycline
PA Petuna Aquaculture
PPE Personal Protective Equipment
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QA Quality Assurance
RAF Ridley Aqua Feed
RCD Residue Current Device
RM Regional Manager
ROV Remotely Operated Vehicle
RTRS Roundtable for Responsible Soy
SAD Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue
SAI Social Accountability International
SARDI South Australian Research and Development Institute
SCAT Southern Coastcare Association of Tasmania
SCSG SCS Global, a certification body
SDS Safety Data Sheets (new term for MSDS)
SKA Skretting Australia
SMFH Senior Manager, Fish Health
SOP Standard Operating Procedure
SPP Special Plumbing Permit
SRAC Sustainability Report Advisory Committee
SROI Social Return on Investment
TAB Tasmanian aquabirnavirus
TARFISH Tasmanian Association for Recreational Fishing
Tassal Tassal Operations Pty Ltd, another member of AMA
Tas-SR Tasmanian Salmonid Rickettsiosis
TBM Toolbox Meeting
TCT Tasmanian Conservation Trust
TFDA Tasmania Fisheries Development Authority
TIMS Tassal’s Integrated Management System
TSGA Tasmanian Salmonid Growers Association
TSHSP Tasmanian Salmonid Health Surveillance Program
TSIC Tasmanian Seafood Industry Council
TWG Technical Working group
TWWHA Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area
USA United States of America
VHF Very High Frequency
WCC West Coast Council
WDP Waste Disposal Plan
WHS Work Health and Safety
WHO World Health Organization
WIP Wildlife Interaction Plan
WPA Workplace Partnerships Agreement
YC Year Class

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1. Summary
The Tassal Operations Pty Ltd.’s (Tassal) salmon culturing site within the scope of this full-assessment, MF
266 Franklin in Macquarie Harbour, demonstrates good overall compliance to the ASC salmon standard.
The assessment team evaluated the operations against the ASC Salmon Standard v1.0 June 2012.
Seven minor non-conformities (NCs) were identified during the full assessment. Overall, Tassal showed 93%
compliance against the 152 compliance criteria of the ASC salmon standard v1.0. A proportion of these
(17%) are in the not applicable (N/A) category.
None of the non-conformities identified are graded as Major and therefore do not preclude award of
certification. The client has provided SCS with a root cause analyses and an action plan to address the
minor non-conformities (see Table 2). Progress against the action plan will be assessed at the first
surveillance audit.
The assessment team identified two minor non-conformities in Principle 2 (Conserve natural habitat, local
biodiversity and ecosystem function), one pertaining to non-compliance with licence conditions because of
significant visual impact at compliance sites showing presence of numerous opportunistic polychaetes on
the sediment surface outside lease areas and extending into the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage
Area, one related to average weekly dissolved oxygen levels and monitoring at reference sites. Two NCs
were identified in Principle 7 (Be a good neighbour and conscientious citizen), the first one related to
informing the community regarding antibiotics treatments, in particular that the community forum had not
been notified of antibiotic use, and the second NC was raised because there was no policy for resolution of
complaints by community stakeholders. Three non-conformities were identified in Principle 8
(Requirements for smolt suppliers); the first related to hatcheries with total phosphorus values greater than
ASC standards at Russel Falls and no data from Saltas, the second was raised because no quarterly water
quality monitoring of river outlets from SALTAS was conducted in February 2015, and the third is related to
two biomonitoring reports for the Florentine hatchery in 2014 not being in compliance with ASC Salmon
Standards for aquatic macroinvertebrates.
Three recommendations were also made: 1. that a standard method of feed sampling and testing be used
at each Tassal lease every quarter; 2. that results of the IMAS studies on low DO and 3. on polychaete
ecology and abundance in Macquarie Harbour and the effects on benthic ecology in general be examined.
Table 1. Summary of ASC criteria where a non-conformance was identified, the general aspect of the standard that
the criteria relate to and the designation of whether the non-conformity was identified as a minor or major.
Criterion Related to Rating

2.1.2 Visual impact near compliance sites, re. Licence conditions, Schedule 3. minor
2.2.1 d DO reading at lease site minor
7.1.3.c informing the public during therapeutic treatment periods minor
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7.1.1d
7.1.2.a policy for the presentation, treatment and resolution of complaints by community minor
stakeholders
8.3.2 Water Quality monitoring for the two rivers outlets minor

2. Historical Background of Farm and Farming Area
The Tassal site assessed during this full-assessment, the MF 266 Franklin, is located in the Macquarie
Harbour farming region – Strahan, Tasmania, Australia (Figure 1). The lease is located closest to the head of
MH estuary and 1-5 km from the World Heritage Area.
Tassal Group Ltd is an ASX 300 public company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Tassal is the
largest salmon aquaculture company in Australia, employing over 900 people. A vertically integrated
company, Tassal operates two salmon hatcheries, three processing facilities, two retail outlets and marine
farms in six regions throughout the state. Tassal is producing salmon predominately for the Australian
market, and has a retail presence in over 2,000 outlets around Australia. Tassal farms Atlantic salmon (Salmo
salar) in open net cage farming systems that are polar circles with 120 m circumference, and maximum
stocking densities of 15 kg/m3. Tassal holds BAP salmon certificates for the Macquarie Harbour farm sites as
well as for their processing facilities in Dover.
Marine farming of salmonids in Macquarie Harbour has been occurring for almost three decades. The
Marine Farm Development Plan (MFDP) for Macquarie Harbour was approved in 1998 and production of
salmonids grew to approximately 9,000 tonnes by 2011, when industry requested an increase in allowable
production. Macquarie Harbor has advantages over SE Tasmania for salmonid production because AGD is
not present, the water is generally cooler and there are fewer interactions with wildlife. The three salmonid
producing companies in MH, Tassal, Huon Aquaculture and Petuna, together prepared an EIS for expansion
which included detailed hydrodynamic and biogeochemical modelling. The Tasmanian Government
approved an amendment to the MFDP in 2012 which permitted an increase in farming area from 564 ha to
926 ha and an increase in production to 29,440 tonnes, based on modelling of peak biomass and effects on
the environment. It also included relocation of several leases and the establishment of one new zone.
However, the modelling did not include effects on bottom waters.
A monitoring program for water quality was established with interim trigger levels, initially determined by
the commonwealth under the EPBC Act, and later accepted as statutory limits after a review of the
environmental data that had been collected. An interim biomass limit of 52.5% of the modelled maximum
sustainable biomass was also agreed to by the three companies as expansion occurred and environmental
data necessary to the recalibration of models were collected.
Compliance monitoring as part of annual licence agreements commenced in 2011. Each marine farm
licence includes Schedule 3 with conditions relating to environmental management of a fish farm.
Compliance conditions include visual impacts and indicators and limits for nutrients (ammonia, nitrate) and
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dissolved oxygen concentrations. 11 sites around the harbor are monitored, including in the Tasmanian
Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) and methods of monitoring and frequency of sampling are
described in Schedule 3 BEMP (Broadscale Environmental Monitoring program) Macquarie Harbour in the
MF licence. Annual video surveys required at each lease are also documented in the MF licence.

Macquarie Harbour

MF 266 Franklin

A

B

Figure 1. Map A: Area that contains the site (MF 266) in Macquarie Harbour (indicated by black box), Tasmania,
Australia. Map B: Close-up location of the lease site (266 Franklin).

MH Franklin lease 266 is the newest of three Tassal farms in Macquarie Harbour. Tassal commenced
farming at the site in January 2014. Macquarie Harbour is one of six farming region sites. The Franklin lease
has 46 available pen bays and the maximum leasable area is 120 ha.
3. Scope

Reference ASC Salmon Standard V1.0 June 2010 Audit
Standard & Manual, ASC Salmon Standard V1.0
Guidance
Scheme ASC Certification and Accreditation Requirements V1.0
Documents
Audit Scope Single site, farm-level production (Atlantic salmon - Salmo salar)
Macquarie Harbour region, Franklin Lease (MF 266)
Receiving water Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, Australia
body

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4. Audit Plan
4.1 Previous Audits
Tassal Operations Pty Ltd (Tassal) Macquarie Harbour Sites Lease 214 Middle Harbour and Lease 219 Gordon
received ASC certification (cluster certification1) on 4 April, 2014. Lease 266 Franklin, the subject of this
report, was not audited at the time because it had not yet been stocked with fish. All aspects of the
assessment process were carried out under the auspices of SCS Global Services (SCS), an ASC-accredited
conformity assessment body (CAB), and in direct accordance with ASC requirements.
4.2 Audit Team Members
The following auditors comprised the assessment team: Dr. Sabine Daume, Dr. Christine Crawford, D.B.
O’Sullivan, and Todd Frank.
Dr. Sabine Daume, SCS Global Services – MSC and ASC lead auditor
Dr. Daume is responsible for leading SCS’s Sustainable Seafood Certification program in Australia, which
includes aquaculture, and fishery certification under the auspices of both the Aquaculture Stewardship
Council and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). She has been part of the global steering committee for
the Abalone Dialogue to develop the Abalone standard for ASC and sits on the Technical Advisory Group for
the Aquaculture Stewardship Council. Prior to joining SCS Dr. Daume worked as a Senior Research Scientist
at the Research Division of the Department of Fisheries in Western Australia and at Deakin University in
Victoria, Australia.
Past research conducted by Dr. Daume has focused on invertebrate aquaculture and fisheries. She has led
several nationally FRDC funded, multi-year research grants on abalone broodstock conditioning and
improvements to hatchery and nursery production as well as fisheries enhancement. Dr. Daume is a
certified lead auditor under the ISO 9001:2008 and SAI’s training for SA 8000 (social accountability) and
trained to conduct ASC audits against the salmon and abalone standards. She has led numerous pre- and
full- MSC assessments of various size and scale, including many fisheries in Australia. She also has
experience working with diverse stakeholder groups, often in remote marine environments. Sabine has
published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature (e.g. Aquaculture Research, Journal of Shellfish Research)
as well as produced research reports and produced interactive training materials for the industry and led
industry workshops.

1
A cluster under the ASC CAR v 1.0 is defined as a number of cages, pens or beds used for aquaculture production that meet one or
more of the following criteria: 1 Are located within one (1) kilometre of each other. 2 Discharge into the same receiving water or
into waters that demonstrate hydrographic connectivity. 3 Are maintained using the same equipment.

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David Bruce “Dos” O’Sullivan, Dosaqua Pty Ltd – Technical Expert
Dos O’Sullivan is a Director and Principal Consultant with Dosaqua Pty Ltd. He has been involved in
information dissemination since 1986, not only through industry workshops and seminars but also as a
lecturer at three universities and several TAFE colleges. His consulting specialties include project
development and downstream management; industry status and potential; freshwater crayfish production;
expert witness; environmental management / impact assessment; education, feasibility and risk analyses;
industry liaison and extension; and independent analysis. With AusAID funds PSM established a 100-
tonne/yr. marine finfish farm in Philippines in 1999. For 5 years he was non-technical director of a large
(800 tpa) Barramundi farm located in NE USA which was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, this
company has also developed a 2,000 MT capacity barramundi sea pen farm and hatchery in Vietnam. Until
2012 Dos wrote annual reports on the status of aquaculture in Australia and he is recognised as the major
commentator on industry issues and trends. He also has a major interest in promoting Aboriginal
aquaculture and training; he is currently working with communities in Tasmania and South Australia. For
the past four years Dos has been specializing in the establishment, implementation or improvement of
Management Systems including effective Internal Audits and Management Reviews as well as training of
auditors (RABQSA certified). In addition, he has been providing contract Third Party Certification for
Environmental Systems (ISO 14001, EMAS, Ecomapping), Food Safety (ISO22000) & HACCP, Quality (ISO
9001) and OH&S (AS4801/OHSAS 18001), MSC Chain of Custody, GAA BAP (Hatcheries, Farms, Seafood
Processing – GFSI standard) and Global GAP (Farms and Aquaculture).
Dr. Christine Crawford – Technical Expert
Dr. Christine Crawford has over thirty years’ experience in shellfish and finfish aquaculture, including
hatchery and intertidal shellfish production, and effects of aquaculture on the environment, both in
Australia and overseas. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic
Studies, University of Tasmania. Dr. Crawford has also lead research projects investigating the ecology and
health and monitoring of estuaries, including environmental flows and links between changing climatic
conditions and estuarine water quality. Dr. Crawford has worked for the Tasmanian government for many
years. In recent years she has conducted ecological sustainability assessments for aquaculture operations in
Australia and overseas for WWF.
Dr. Crawford has published widely in the international peer-reviewed literature, including 38 papers, 6
book chapters, book co-editor and over a hundred reports to industry and government. Her work has also
a diverse range of stakeholders, often in remote locations.
Todd Frank – SCS Global Services
Mr. Frank is the Director of SCS Southeast Asia and President Director of PT SCS Indonesia. Mr. Frank
represents SCS at the regional level and provides daily oversight, management and business development
for the subsidiary. In this role, he has helped establish a strong presence for SCS in the region across a wide
range of industries with a focus on forestry and timber legality. Mr. Frank also serves as lead auditor for a
range of certification programs and has conducted audits in 13 countries. Previously Mr. Frank helped to
establish the SCS Greenhouse Gas Program during which time he was the founding manager and lead the
program to become a global leader in the areas of forest carbon and REDD+ verification, carbon footprint
verification and industrial carbon offset verification. Mr. Frank also helped lead the initiative to establish
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