Sensors assist with management decisions for oyster producers

Mounted on buoys bobbing away on the Clyde River are a series of marine-proof sensors with an important role. By measuring and reporting on water salinity and temperature, the sensors are helping to deliver valuable information on the environment to the estuary’s oyster farmers.

As filter feeders in estuarine environments, oysters are particularly susceptible to extreme climatic events such as flooding and heatwaves.  These events affect production through:

Pests and disease impact oyster health causing reduced growth and increase mortality due to air heatwaves and decreased salinity.

Possible closures of the fishery due to increased freshwater in the estuary system following extreme rainfall events, impacting operational efficiency and employee uncertainty.

Potential health impact on consumers if appropriate management actions are not undertaken.

In 2019, utilising wide area sensor networking infrastructure (LoRaWAN) managed by Eurobodalla Shire Council, the DPI Digital Agriculture team built a public sensor network across the Clyde River and has been working extensively with the data to develop new tools to assist the oyster industry. 

Farmers now have access to real-time data, including weather, water temperature and salinity, to help them make management decisions. Case Studies, Use and maintain, Dashboards.

Data from the pilot is publicly available and has been shared with organisations such as Food Authority and UTS, allowing them to develop sensors for their own research projects to assist researchers and producers.

Estuary reports can be seen here: https://dpiclimate.github.io/estuary-reports/

Watch this video to learn more about the Fisheries pilot and oyster farmers, Kevin and Ewan McAsh, who participated in the trial.