Seagrass

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:06): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Science and Information Economy a question about the health map of gulf seagrass.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA: I understand that this week SA Water has begun the testing phase of a research project to develop a more efficient and effective way of mapping seagrass in South Australia's Gulf St Vincent. Can the minister provide the chamber with more information?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:07): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. I acknowledge his ongoing interest in these important matters. The Hon. John Gazzola has a deep and abiding passion with our ocean and the condition of the seabed. He is aware that seagrass plays a vital role in the health of our seabed. He also understands that a healthy seabed contributes to a healthy ocean environment and more healthy fish available for the honourable member to fish, and he is a very proficient fisherman.

This project that the honourable member refers to is a very important one to me and also to my colleague minister Hunter. It cuts across both portfolios. The project being done is in collaboration with the Taiwan-based National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) and also the Instrument Technology Research Center (ITRC). This collaboration is supported by the Premier's Research and Industry Fund through a $300,000 international research grant received last year.

I understand that SA Water and NCKU have worked together in the past on a number of other research ventures. I am advised that last year they created the Global Water Quality Research Centre in Taiwan along with the China Steel Corporation. As members are aware, the Premier's Research and Industry Fund is managed by the Office of Science Technology and Research (OSTR), which is part of DFEEST.

The fund consists of five strategic programs. The SA Research Fellowship program is designed to attract eminent researchers to South Australia. The Collaboration Pathway program is open to all South Australia-based public or private research educational organisations to support both established and early stage collaborations undertake R&D activities aligned with our strategic state priorities, and this also includes the CRC assistance program.

The Innovation Voucher program encourages greater innovation in advanced manufacturing. Catalyst research grants are also provided through the fund to support early career researchers, and the fund also includes, as I have mentioned, the International Research Grant program. As I said, this particular project was made possible through an international research grant. The intent of the Premier's Research and Industry Fund—International Research Grants is to support and facilitate South Australian scientific and technological research being conducted with an international partner and target research activities with outputs that are of strategic benefit to South Australia.

International research grants are very important because they drive innovation through global partnerships and collaboration and also because they ensure that our researchers have access to the most relevant and up-to-date information from around the world.

The joint project will evaluate advanced technology involving an underwater sensor towed behind a boat that can generate a detailed map of the coastal seabed. This technology is seen as a significant improvement on the traditional mapping method of aerial photography, which can be obviously very costly and is unable to collect what is referred to as 'digital hyperspectral information', which provides more accurate and clearer images.

Through the collaboration, technology is being brought to South Australia to test and develop underwater, satellite and remote sensor technology to better map the seagrass and coastal reef communities in parts of the metropolitan coast of St Vincent. I understand that this optical sensing technology holds the potential to be applied in other innovative environmental and water quality monitoring uses. For example, the sensors may also ultimately be used to monitor and manage water quality in both the ocean and reservoirs.

Over the next year, I am advised that data will be also be collected from airborne sensors, such as remote-controlled drones and satellites which will help build larger scale sea-floor maps. I understand that further fieldwork on the project is scheduled to be undertaken between July and August this year.

Ultimately, it is hoped that the project will give the research team a good picture of the health of the seagrass, and as you are aware, Mr President, there are actually more than 9,500 square kilometres of seagrass along South Australia's coastline and, as we know, seagrass provides much needed habitat to a wide range of marine species. It has other environmental benefits, too, such as preventing erosion and things like sand drift in particular.

I would like to welcome the scientists from the NCKU and the ITRC who have been here in Adelaide from 5 to 9 May.