Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies seeking planning approval for upgrades to Taroona site

The University of Tasmania has unveiled designs for a significant new development, saying it will improve the local community’s access to bushland. SNEAK PEEK >>

View of the IMAS site towards the Derwent River. IMAS Taroona site is set for redevelopment. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Tucked away on the Taroona coastline, a crucial research facility is set to receive a massive upgrade, with the local community to benefit from greater access to the richly biodiverse site.

The Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) is seeking planning approvals from the Kingborough Council to build two new labs at its fisheries and aquaculture research centre on Nubeena Crescent, as well as a 54-space car park that will be available for public use outside of business hours.

According to the University of Tasmania (UTAS), the proposed redevelopment will underpin vital climate, marine and Antarctic science research.

New IMAS development at the Taroona site. Picture: Preston Lane

It will see IMAS’s operations fully consolidated in the south, with undergraduate fisheries and aquaculture students to shift from the Newnham campus to Taroona.

As part of the proposal, UTAS has gifted an 8592 sq/m slice of bushland to the council, which will be protected as a reserve.

Associate Professor Sean Tracey, head of IMAS’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Centre, was himself raised in Taroona and said the decision to upgrade the site was an “easy” one.

“We do research here that focuses on managing all our local species and all the management decisions that are made by the department, that research happens here in Taroona,” he said.

“And we want to be able to show our students what that takes for sustainable management and have them go out and continue those practices.”

Associate Professor Sean Tracey centre head for fisheries and aquaculture at IMAS. IMAS Taroona site is set for redevelopment. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Local conservation group, the Taroona Environment Network, has expressed concerns about a plan to rip out 25 old growth eucalypts to make way for the development but UTAS says the seeds from these trees – seven of which are stumps – will be collected and used to plant 76 new trees.

“As someone who grew up in Taroona, this is a very conservation-minded suburb,” Associate Professor Tracey said.

“And, for me, growing up here and to be able to now work in this space and make a difference both to Tassie and globally, to be able to do that in this backyard, I think, is an amazing opportunity, and also something for the community to be proud of, that the work happening here makes a difference both in Tasmania and to the world.”

New IMAS development at the Taroona site. Picture: Preston Lane

Fencing at the perimeter of the site will be removed to open it up to locals, with a former quarantine station cottage that was once used by legendary Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton also set to be restored.

Executive Dean of the College of Science and Engineering, Terry Bailey, said the upgrades would enable IMAS to build on “incredible” work supporting the conservation of threatened species like the handfish and reducing the impact of toxic algal blooms.

“To answer today’s challenging questions, we need the best possible research and teaching infrastructure,” he said.

Originally published as Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies seeking planning approval for upgrades to Taroona site