Other projects
Product diversification
IMTA has the potential to provide economic benefits through new
aquaculture opportunities in seaweed culture (e.g. as human food, natural fibers, fertilizer, animal feed, or as novel natural products such as nutraceuticals). There are species that show significant promise in the market place in all of these areas. We will establish the culture and harvest techniques necessary to grow selected species in an IMTA context.
Catriona MacLeod
Associate Professor
IMAS/UTAS
Email:
catriona.macleod@utas.edu.au
I am the head of the Ecology and Biodiversity Centre and part of the executive management team within the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania. I have more than 20 years’ experience in science to support sustainable aquaculture development; with a particular focus on generating multidisciplinary teams and collaborations with industry and government. My research team and students have had a particular focus on improving understanding of the environmental impacts and interactions of finfish aquaculture, and in providing the system understanding and recommendations to support sustainable development and management of aquaculture operations and marine and coastal resource management. Environmental remediation and effective management of system-wide impacts has been a core application.
I have a keen interest in marine and coastal resource management; in particular understanding how issues around multiple use management can be improved or resolved, and how science and effective communication can better inform and improve decision making. Recent research projects focused on improving spatial planning processes and the relationship between environmental management and broader community values, with a view to specifically identifying ways to better connect science and environmental understanding.
Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) is an industry driven initiative which has at its heart the intent to improve environmental outcomes, and to explicitly understand the environmental, economic and societal benefits and interactions of the various partners.Originally a benthic ecologist and invertebrate taxonomist. Research outputs from my team have been used to inform regulatory policy and strategic research direction for aquaculture activities locally and internationally. My advice is frequently sought on marine environmental issues, both within Australia and overseas. She has served on several international review committees.
Catriona Hurd
Professor
IMAS/UTAS
Email:
catriona.hurd@utas.edu.au
Researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, focussing on marine macroalgae (seaweeds).
I am an eco-physiologist whose research focusses on how environmental factors – light, nutrients, CO2, pH, and water motion – affect rates of seaweed growth and production.
Since 1986, I have studied seaweeds in the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. I supervised to completion 22 PhD and 30 MSc/Honours students as a primary supervisor, mentored 12 postdoctoral fellows, published 125 peer-reviewed papers on seaweed ecophysiology, and led the 2nd edition of the textbook Seaweed Ecology and Physiology (Hurd CL, Harrrison, PJ, Bischof K and Lobban CS, 2014, Cambridge University Press).
Dr Craig Sanderson
Principal contact and Leader of WP 2
Tassal
Tassal representative driving the vision for a sustainable seaweed-based industry here in Tasmania (also chief Cat herder).
My main research interests relate to the culture of seaweed and commercial applications.
Over 40 years of involvement in seaweed related activities and research mostly in Tasmania, but includes Australia and Europe.
Dr Karen Alexander
IMAS/UTAS
Leader of WP 3
IMAS/UTAS
Email:
karen.alexander@utas.edu.au
I combine human geography and environmental sociology to investigate the interactions between society and the marine environment.
I focus on natural resource conflict and marine governance, specialising in human dimension issues relating to marine spatial planning and the transition to a blue economy.
I was Social Impacts WP leader for European FP7 IDREEM project (also focused on IMTA), and have led several projects in Tasmania relating to societal support for/acceptance of aquaculture.
Dr Alecia Bellgrove
Deakin University
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Bradley Evans
Tassal
Email:
bradley.evans@tassal.com.au
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Dr Cecilia Biancacci
Post Doc Research Fellow
Deakin University
Email:
c.biancacci@deakin.edu.au
Post Doc Research Fellow currently investigating the potential of seaweed cultivation in Tasmania, together with salmon and mussels, with a focus on cultivation and biochemical analyses of the final product.
My main interest centers around aquaculture of different organisms and species, with a focus on seaweed and the potential commercial applications of the final products.
More than 7 years of experience in the aquaculture field, including microalgae, invertebrates, and macroalgae, with the main focus being the optimization of cultivation methodologies and evaluation of the production of commercially interesting products.
Dr Wouter Visch
Research Assistant
IMAS/UTAS
Email:
wouter.visch@utas.edu.au
Research Assistant within the project, primarily involved in activities around the lab, but when needed I am a pair of extra hands in the field as well.
My primary research interest is how do we produce food for an ever-growing population in a sustainable way. My work is focussed on a more sustainable aquaculture sector in Tasmania by integrating various species.
I am specialized in the cultivation of seaweed (i.e. Kelp), in a variety of topics, from environmental interactions, site selection, and domestication.
Dr. Maree Fudge
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
IMAS/UTAS
Email:
maree.fudge@utas.edu.au
I am a social researcher and Research Fellow at the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies. Maree is researching the optimal governance and management arrangements for progressing a sustainable IMTA industry in Tasmania and Australia. My research is focused on integrated marine governance and decision-making, public policy, the political and institutional dimensions of marine social-ecological systems, and changing processes of democratic legitimacy and political participation in marine governance. Before joining the University of Tasmania, I was a consultant and director of my co-owned Tasmanian consulting company RDS Partners P/L focusing on social research and evaluation for executive teams, institutional and organisational development, community and stakeholder engagement and community development. I have undertook my doctoral studies at the University of Tasmania where she examined the civil participation and democratic process in marine governance using marine social-ecological systems in Tasmania, Australia and New Brunswick, Canada as comparative case studies..
Jakop Schwoerbel
PhD Student
IMAS/UTAS
Email:
Jakop.schwoerbel@utas.edu.au
Ph.D. student focusing on the optimization of seaweed hatchery production.
My main research interests are seaweed aquaculture, IMTA, and the influence of abiotic factors on early life history stages of kelp.
I have obtained my BSc and MSc in Marine Biology and I have experience in indoor seaweed cultivation
Allyson Eduardo Nardelli
PhD Student
IMAS/UTAS
My Ph.D. research focuses on the seaweed cultivation and optimization of at sea, using seaweed as a solution for sustainable aquaculture.
My main interest is applying aquaculture as a means to minimizes impacts on the environment and increase its efficiency in the use of resources.
I have been working with research on aquaculture of animals and algae for the past 10 years.
Lynnlee Chikudza
PhD Student
IMAS/UTAS
Email:
lynnlee.chikudza@utas.edu.au
Ph.D. student under the Seaweed Solutions for Sustainable Aquaculture CRC-P, working on the Social sustainability of Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture.
My main research interest is in aquaculture certification. My work is focused on how the community and other different stakeholders perceive IMTA production.
I have experience in all levels of Tilapia Production & Management (Administration, Biosecurity, Hatchery, Lake operations, Nutrition and Fish processing)
Tormey Reimer
PhD Student
IMAS/UTAS
Email:
PhD candidate at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania. My PhD is using ecological modelling to evaluate the environmental impacts of seaweed in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture. I will first be using a coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model to investigate the effect of drag on water movement and nutrient remediation, which will inform site selection and remediation strategies. I will then be choosing one or two other key impacts of seaweed aquaculture to investigate with appropriate modelling approaches, with the goal of producing novel results and providing realistic recommendations. The final chapter of my thesis will evaluate the effects of salmon and seaweed aquaculture on marine ecosystem function in Tasmania. I have completed my Bachelor's degree at the University of Melbourne, majoring in Ecology and Evolution. For my Master of Science in Zoology I conducted field research in Norway on otolith deformities in farmed salmon, and used a mechanistic model to show that these deformities could reduce otolith functionality and have implications for salmon welfare and conservation. My general research interests include aquaculture, environmental sustainability, and natural resource management