Report- Aquaculture Planning Guidelines

In some cases, community perceptions of aquaculture are drawn from overseas experiences and popular press that tend to characterise the industry in one basket. In reality, aquaculture features a wide range of farming activities that requires specialist knowledge and systems tailored to meet each species requirements. In Victoria alone, land-based aquaculture involves at least four different production systems and more than ten species spread across all regions. These guidelines were therefore developed to assist community stakeholders to better understand the nature of key aquaculture farming systems. In doing so, they include a balanced assessment of the likely amenity impacts for key land-based farming systems. It is hoped the guidelines will directly assist local government planners and other agencies in assessing aquaculture applications and more broadly contribute to the communities' knowledge of this emerging industry. In doing so, it is hoped that community understanding of aquaculture will develop with the industry.