Freight Supply and logistics (particularly around supporting mining and resources) has been significantly upgraded in several places, through both private sector and government investment to assist industry to undertake business in the Kimberley. These include: • Port of Broome • Port of Derby • East Kimberley Regional Airport • Kimberley Marine Offloading Facility is a prospective project and not yet built. • Role of Great Northern Highway and opportunities associated with the Australian Government’s budget announcement to seal the Tanami Road (i.e. connection to Eastern States markets and improved feasibility for many mining and resources projects in the East Kimberley). Food Hubs and Aquaculture Aquaculture The Kimberley marine environment has the largest tropical tides in the world producing some of the fastest ocean currents and vast intertidal areas. Complex geology results in thousands of islands and sheltered bay area’s offering protection from destructive tropical cyclones and other weather conditions. Three marine bio-regions meet at the tip of the Dampier Peninsula, each with different ecologies offering different aquaculture opportunities. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) established the Kimberley Aquaculture Development Zone as an ‘investment ready’ platform for marine-based ventures with reduced environmental approval times, lower costs and less red tape. A number of suitable locations within this Aquaculture Zone have been identified by DPIRD as suitable for aquaculture. Broome and Wyndham have established marine operations capabilities. This provides a ready export gateway to overseas markets. Aquaculture operations in the Kimberley include: 42 • Cone Bay Barramundi, by Marine Produce Australia, is the largest producer and supplier of ocean grown Barramundi in Australia. Planning is underway to increase scale to 30,000 tonnes per year within 10 years for domestic and export markets. 43 • Project Sea Dragon, by Seafarms, is a proposed large scale $1.5 billion prawn aquaculture development in the Northern Territory, which includes a planned processing facility in Kununurra and links to a brood stock facility at Exmouth in the Gascoyne Region. 44 • Maxima Pearling Co. is the third largest Western Australian producer of Australian South Sea Pearls. They are currently trialling rock oyster development in the Kimberley. 45 • Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm is situated 200 kilometres from Broome on the tip of the Dampier Peninsula. The operation now includes industry tours, tourism accommodation, restaurant and the Kimberley Marine Research Station. 46 • Clipper Pearls Pearl Farm which was established in 1988 and is situated 50km north of Broome at Quondong Point. It is part of the Autore Group.
42 Aquaculture in the Kimberley, Kimberley Development Commission https://kdc.wa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Kimberley- Aquaculture-2016-forum.pdf 43 https://barramundi.com/brands 44 https://seafarms.com.au/about-project-sea-dragon 45 http://maximapearling.com 46 www.cygnetbaypearlfarm.com.au
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