New technology to understand biodiversity

ELANORA Offshore is applying innovative environmental DNA technology to paint a detailed picture of the marine environment and biodiversity at its proposed offshore wind farm area.

Together with traditional environmental monitoring methods, the project is working with nature technology company NatureMetrics to analyse environmental DNA (eDNA) contained in water samples to understand the diversity of species living and passing through the wind farm area.

Local fishermen have been engaged to collect the water samples from Elanora Offshore’s proposed site – located far off the coast of Gippsland – which are then sent to laboratories for analysis.

Elanora Offshore CEO Maya Malik said the project see opportunities to employ new technologies to gain more accurate data that can be collected more efficiently, and in ways that are not intrusive.

“eDNA monitoring provides an opportunity to get a better picture of biodiversity at offshore wind sites faster and with minimal disturbance to the environment. Minimising our impact is a priority. We are excited to be supporting the application of cutting-edge nature technologies on our project,” she said.

Most fish and marine mammals leave tiny traces of DNA in the waters they travel through, called eDNA.

NatureMetrics has developed a way to capture this DNA from seawater samples.

A single water sample of around five litres contains enough DNA to provide a snapshot of the living species that have passed through that area from around two days before the sample was collected.

Multiple samples can be compared to profile the state of an ecosystem over time.

An advantage of eDNA monitoring is it is non-intrusive and enhances traditional monitoring methods such as visual surveys.

“We are thrilled to be working with the Elanora Offshore team and Gippsland fishermen on this implementation of our eDNA technology,” Dr Joe Huddart of NatureMetrics said.

“To our knowledge, this is the first application of eDNA monitoring for offshore wind in Australia.”

In offshore wind, eDNA monitoring is currently being implemented alongside traditional environmental monitoring methods.

Upon maturity, it is expected that eDNA methods could:

• Expand the scope of what can be monitored in oceanic ecosystems.

• Allow comprehensive baseline mapping of species in the area.

• Facilitate the modelling of ecosystem composition.

• Be able to track changes in ecosystems through time.

• Be more time and cost efficient while increasing the scope and resolution compared to conventional sampling and monitoring.

As industry in Australia seeks to improve knowledge of the marine environment, this approach may provide opportunities for both fast paced learning and resolving data gaps.

The ability to gather prompt and accurate data will be highly beneficial to Elanora Offshore, as well as regulators and the industry generally.

It could be used to inform early regulatory discussions for meaningful engagement and planning.