Woodside’s approach to biodiversity focuses on establishing high quality baseline studies. These studies support environmental impact assessments as part of approvals processes and ongoing monitoring of our operational footprint.
In recent years, much of our focus has been on baseline research to support our Browse LNG Development. These studies included continuation of extensive annual survey programs for humpback whale and turtle monitoring, a baseline fish monitoring survey (including sail fish tagging) and various dredging studies. Further details including a whale research factsheet, an environment factsheet, reports on Scott Reef and 4 factsheets on the impacts of seismic airgun noise on fish behaviour, pathology, diversity and abundance and benthic communities can be found on the Browse pages of our website.
Woodside has issued its Browse Draft Upstream Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for public review. The publication of the Draft Upstream EIS features 17 years of research that has shed new light on WA’s northern offshore ecosystems, including Scott Reef. The EIS is open for public review and comment from 14 November 2011 until 25 January 2012. Copies of the EIS including the Browse Upstream EIS Stakeholder Handbook can be found on the Browse pages of the website.
We continued marine monitoring programs for Pluto, including monitoring the impacts associated with dredging undertaken from 2008 to 2010 to establish shipping facilities and a trunkline route. Water quality and coral health monitoring carried out throughout the dredging program has shown that impacts were significantly less than predicted during the impact assessment and environmental approvals process. These findings are to be included with a range of other research conducted by Woodside in a dredge impact research project coordinated by the Western Australian Marine Science Institute. Further information on marine monitoring and a link to the Pluto Annual Environmental Compliance Report 2010 can be found on the Pluto pages of our website.
Western Australian Museum Alliance
Woodside’s alliance with the Western Australian (WA) Museum was formed in 1998. It typifies our approach to understanding the broader context of the environments in which we operate. It also illustrates our collaborative approach to working with leading researchers and ensuring that research commissioned by Woodside is made available to the community.
Woodside and the WA Museum undertook the first detailed survey of the marine biodiversity of the Dampier Archipelago, home to our North West Shelf and Pluto LNG Projects, in 1998.
The focus of expeditions, by staff from the WA Museum and other institutions in Australia and overseas, has been to collect data and specimens across a range of habitat types. These records are known as the Woodside Collection and are on display at the WA Museum.
In 2009 our relationship with the WA Museum was expanded to include the Kimberley through the three year Marine Life of The Kimberley Project, in recognition of our Browse LNG Development.
The project has involved collecting data on worms, molluscs, crustaceans, fish, corals, soft corals, echinoderms, marine algae and seagrasses from the inshore region and the continental shelf coral atolls.
For further information, please visit
www.museum.wa.gov.au/kimberleyAs a result of both regional research programs, the WA Museum has documented more than 10,700 marine species and described more than 495 species new to science.
The research has direct relevance to Western Australian Government agencies, local communities and other industries, enabling them to undertake business planning and decision making in an informed manner.
2011 Premier’s Award for Excellence in Public Sector Management
In recognition of its success, the Western Australian Museum’s Exploring the Marine Biodiversity of Northern WA project was announced as the winner of the 2011 Premier’s Award for Excellence in Public Sector Management. In addition to winning the overall Premier’s award, the project was also the winner in the Managing the Environment category which recognises projects that seek to preserve Western Australia’s natural assets and the environment for future generations, whilst balancing the need for development with the responsible and efficient use of resources.
Western Australian Humpback Whale Studies 2010
Following on from our previous studies, our 2010 whale survey further improved our understanding of the distribution and abundance of humpback whales off the west coast of the Kimberley region. The extensive study included aerial surveys over 20 days from June to October 2010 flying over 17,000 km of transect.
Analysis of results showed that 95% of the humpback whales and calves recorded in the James Price Point Migration Corridor Survey area were more than 6 km from the coast. The peak abundance occurs from mid-July to early September. The average distance from shore that adult humpback whales were recorded was 24.1 km.
The vast majority of humpback whales migrating through the area are therefore outside the immediate construction footprint of the proposed Western Australian Government’s Browse LNG Precinct. Broader regional surveys illustrated that the offshore platforms proposed in connection with the Browse LNG Development are well outside the migratory path. Findings such as these have been included in the Strategic Assessment for the Browse LNG Precinct.