Project Overview
Project Sea Dragon is a large-scale, integrated, land-based prawn aquaculture project in northern Australia designed to produce high-quality and reliable supply of Black Tiger Prawns year round for domestic and export markets. Ultimately, PSD has the potential to be expanded to approximately 10,000 ha of grow out ponds generating 130,000 to 180,000 tonnes per annum of Black Tiger Prawns (BTP).
The project is shovel ready after eight years of research, planning, development and more than $120 million of investment. With government support, Seafarms commenced the early development of new and expanded facilities for the staged US $1.5 billion project at three of its five locations – Exmouth in Western Australia and Legune Station and Bynoe Harbour in the Northern Territory.
The full project will be a staged development incorporating a series of facilities across northern Australia including:
- Founder Stock Centre (FSC) and Quarantine Centre at Exmouth, WA;
- Bynoe Breeding Facility (BBF), that includes a Core Breeding Centre (CBC) and a Broodstock Maturation Centre (BMC), at Bynoe Harbour, near Darwin, NT;
- Hatchery to be built at Gunn Point, near Darwin, NT;
- Grow-out Facility (GOF) to be built at Legune Station, NT, approximately 120 km from the town of Kununurra, WA; and
- Processing facility to be built approximately 15 km north of Kununurra, WA.
Seafarms has achieved all material regulatory approvals, project and Indigenous Land Use Agreements required to build Stage 1 of Project Sea Dragon.
Stage 1 will see approximately 1120 hectares of land based production ponds at Legune Station in the Northern Territory, 120 kilometres from the Western Australian community of Kununurra as well as the development of the necessary facilities at the other sites.
Stage 1a
Seafarms proposes to develop Stage 1 of Project Sea Dragon in several steps. The first step, Stage 1a includes the development of approximately 400 hectares of production and nursery ponds at Legune Station plus the upstream and downstream facilities at Legune and other sites. Stage 1a will have the capacity to produce approximately 6000 tonnes of Black Tiger Prawns each year.
Stage 1a components are:
Exmouth Founder Stock Centre
Construction of the first step of the expansion of the Exmouth Founder Stock Centre has been completed. The remaining work includes:
- Upgrades to the Raw Sea Water (RSW) Intake system
- New Treated Water storage tanks
- New Carbon Filtration equipment
- Upgrades to Water Temperature controls systems
- FSC 2/3 Shed
- FSC Shed 4
- FSC Shed 5/6
- Algae Shed
- Tanks, pumps and pipework within each shed
- Recirculation water treatment systems
- Discharge ponds upgrade
- Chlorine dosing system upgrades
- Office facilities
- Power by generators with later connection to the grid
- Electrical distribution and control systems
Most of the work is tanks, small bore pipe, small pump systems and the like. The site will be developed in a sequence to minimise disruption to existing operations.
Pt Ceylon, Bynoe Breeding Facility
The Bynoe Breeding Facility (BBF) is located at Point Ceylon in Bynoe Harbour, near Darwin. It will accommodate the Breeding Facilities for Stage 1a. It is a greenfield development that after construction will have adjacent but biologically separated Core Breeding Centre/Hatchery and Broodstock Maturation Centre developments. Planned early works have been completed.
The facilities to be built include:
- Raw Sea Water (RSW) Intake inlet structure & pipe
- RSW Intake pumps and filters
- RSW Settling Ponds
- RSW Transfer pumps & pipework
- Ozonation System and buffer tank
- Treated Water storage tanks
- Carbon Filtration and cartridge filtration equipment
- Water Temperature controls systems
- BMC Sheds
- CBC/Hatchery Sheds
- Algae Sheds
- Tanks, pumps and pipework within each shed
- Recirculation water treatment systems
- Discharge ponds
- Discharge control structure and discharge pipework
- Laboratories
- Office, workshop, warehouse and ablution facilities
- Two houses for on site management
- Power by generators
- Electrical distribution and control systems
- Biosecurity fencing and washdown
Gunn Point Hatchery
The Gunn Point Hatchery facility will not be developed as part of Stage 1a with the hatchery function being located within the Breeding Facility at Pt Ceylon.
Legune Grow Out Facility
Legune Station entry is approximately 70 kilometres by road from Kununurra and the Stage 1a facilities are a further 50 kilometres by road inside Legune Station. The Western Australian Government has committed to upgrading and sealing the remainder of Moonamang Road to the Northern Territory border, in addition to the recently completed upgrade of Keep River Road.
It is a greenfield development and the facilities to be built include:
One farm consisting of:
- 36 off 10 ha ponds
- 36 off 1 ha Nursery ponds
- 2 off Treatment Ponds
- Water distribution channels and roadways
- Water discharge channels and roadways
- Inlet and outlet control structures for each pond
- Aeration system distributed across 72 ponds
- Farm pumping system
Seawater Intake (SWI) system consisting of:
- A jetty approximately 200 m long from a shore based hardstand to Forsyth Ck
- N+1 pumping system with capability to provide 900 ML in 12 hours
- Valves, flowmeters and control systems
- MCC’s and power distribution
- SWI channel and settlement ponds
- Roadways
- Lift pumps to the farm
Discharge Water System consisting of:
- Discharge channels
- Environment Protection Zones
- Water discharge control structures
- Water discharge control valves
- Measuring and monitoring systems
Farm Services Area consisting of:
- Hardstand elevated to 1m above natural ground level
- Feed Store conditioned to 23 deg C
- Molasses Storage
- Chemical Store
- Vehicle and aerator maintenance facilities
- Waste facilities
- Slurry Ice facilities
- Laboratory
- Administration and ablution facilities
- Biosecurity facilities including crab and crocodile proof fencing
A Power Station nominally of 10MW capacity to be provided under a BOOT arrangement including:
- HV distribution system to the point of use
- Fuel storage capable of managing a 2 week interruption to fuel supply
- N+2 capability
- Including some solar capability
A temporary accommodation facility
Instrumentation and control systems for the site
Microwave links from the Legune Site to Kununurra
New road alignments and upgrades to existing roads to ensure year-round all-weather access to the operating facilities
Kununurra Processing Plant
The site for the Processing Plant is approximately 15 kilometres by road to the north of Kununurra. It is a cleared greenfield site and the facilities to be built include:
- The main processing plant building consisting of receivals area, and various rooms for different processing requirements
- Prawn processing equipment capable of cooked and raw frozen product
- A Cold Store and dispatch area
- Packaging Store
- A Plant Services room for refrigeration compressors and like equipment
- Water treatment system to convert bore water to potable water
- Evaporation ponds and waste water treatment system
- Offices, staff amenities and ablution facilities
- Workshop and maintenance facilities
- Electrical infrastructure to connect into the existing and adjacent power line
- Roadworks (both public and private) and car parking as required by council
For more information, visit ICN Gateway.
