L-R: Multidisciplinary team Prof. Fran Cowley, Dr Leah McIntosh, Dr Sarah Mika, Dr Cameron Moore, Dr Amy Tait, Ms Erlis Nurbani and Dr Andrew Lawson.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers from UNE is helping the Australian livestock export industry understand its performance and regulatory environment in marine effluent discharge. This collaborative effort brings together experts in animal sciences, aquatic ecology and law, showcasing UNE’s commitment to cross-disciplinary teamwork.

The project, led by Dr Amy Tait, Lecturer in Animal Science, focuses on the legal and environmental aspects of effluent discharge from live export ships.

“Maintaining high standards of animal welfare and biosecurity is paramount in this industry,” said Dr Tait. “Effluent discharge management is a critical component of ensuring these standards are upheld while minimising environmental impacts.”

The livestock export industry involves transporting animals by sea to international markets, with shipowners and masters adhering to strict international maritime regulations, including the regular cleaning of manure from decks. Given the increasing focus on environmental stewardship by the public and its importance for market access and commercial relationships, this project seeks to examine the international laws and policies surrounding effluent discharge at sea.

By examining a wide range of literature, including LiveCorp and MLA final reports, industry standards, peer-reviewed research, and domestic and international legislation, the project aims to produce a clear and evidence-based report. This guidance document will outline the current legal settings, compliance challenges, hazard points, and best practices for the industry to mitigate environmental risks.

Preliminary findings suggest that the environmental impact of effluent discharge on marine water quality in the open ocean is not significant.

“The amount of effluent discharged is not significant and the mixing zone behind ships effectively dilutes effluent concentrations to levels below ANZECC water quality trigger values for offshore ecosystems,” Dr Tait said.

The project’s final report will serve as an invaluable resource, equipping industry stakeholders with up-to-date insights on legal developments and waste management practices since the last major review in 2016.

“This work positions the industry to proactively address environmental concerns and maintain its social licence to operate.”

The project is slated for completion in April 2025, with plans to share findings through presentations to industry stakeholders and community groups. Reflecting on the collaboration, Dr Tait was optimistic for future partnerships saying “this university-wide collaboration has been a great success, and we’re eager to join forces again on similar projects.”

Meet the team

Dr Amy Tait is a Lecturer in Animal Science in the School of Environmental and Rural Science. Amy has extensive experience in all facets of ruminant production systems and is an expert in ruminant physiology and welfare. She has been involved in livestock export research for nearly 2 decades and more recently as lead investigator of a four-year livestock export project “Managing stocking density, bedding and ammonia”. Amy will bring her experienced project management skills, proficiency in stakeholder engagement and ability to communicate research outcomes as Principal Investigator of this new project. Qualifications: BAnSc(Hons), PhD (UQ).

Associate Professor Fran Cowley is the lead of the Ruminant Research Group at UNE which includes academic staff, early career researchers and HDR students researching innovative solutions to problems in cattle and sheep production systems as diverse as nutrition, welfare, transportation, management and environmental sustainability. She specialises in ruminant nutrition and an expert greenhouse gas emissions. Over the last 20 years she has lead research in all facets of ruminant production systems including recently as co-lead of the four-year livestock export project. Qualifications: BAgSc(Hons), PhD (UQ).

Dr Cameron Moore is a Professor in the School of Law at the University of New England in Armidale, NSW. He also has adjunct appointments with the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) at the University of Wollongong, and the Adelaide Law School, University of Adelaide. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 2015. Between 1996 and 2003, Cameron was a Royal Australian Navy Legal Officer. Cameron is still an active Navy reservist, with the rank of Captain. He served as the Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion Law in the Australian Submarine Agency during 2023. His publications include the books Freedom of Navigation and the Law of the Sea: Warships, States and the Use of Force (2021), Crown and Sword: Executive Power and the Use of Force by the Australian Defence Force (2017) and ADF on the Beat: A Legal Analysis of Offshore Enforcement by the ADF (2004), and other articles and chapters on the Australian Defence Force, maritime security and military law. In his youth, he worked on a livestock export vessel. Qualifications: BA(Hons) (UWA), LLB (UNSW), LLM (JCU) PhD (ANU), Legal Practitioner (ACT, and admitted in WA, NSW and High Court)

Dr Andrew Lawson is Director of the Agriculture & Law Research Hub (AgLaw) at the University of New England in Armidale, NSW. He also teaches at in Environmental Law and Natural Resources Law, which have topics on animal welfare and marine environmental law. He is also an active higher degree research (HDR) supervisor of Masters and PhD candidates. His research focuses on the combination of public regulation and private codes and standards in agri-environmental governance systems. Qualifications: PhD (UNE), LLB (UQ), BRurSc (Hons) (UNE).

Ms Erlis Nurbani is a PhD candidate at UNE’s Law School. Erlis is an international student from Indonesia and her Principal Supervisor is Prof. Cameron Moore. Erlis retains her Indonesian role as permanent lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University of Mataram, Indonesia. University of Mataram is a public university in Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara. Qualifications: Sarjana Hukum (LL.B), Faculty of Law, University of Mataram (Indonesia). Master of Laws (LL.M), Faculty of Law, Gadjah Mada University Yogyakarta (Indonesia).

Dr Sarah Mika leads the Aquatic Ecology and Restoration Laboratory at the University of New England, Armidale NSW, Australia. Sarah has 10 years’ research experience in river and wetland ecosystems ranging from semi-arid to coastal systems including estuaries. The research focuses on biogeochemistry and ecosystem ecology, with an emphasis on catchment-scale water quality and basal resources for aquatic foodwebs, and their use in landscape restoration. Sarah has concentrated on developing leadership in collaborative interdisciplinary research, and research engagement with government and community stakeholders. Qualifications: BNatRes(Hons) (UNE), PhD (UNE).

Dr Leah McIntosh has more than eight years’ professional experience in aquatic ecology and water quality monitoring. She completed both a Masters and PhD that explored how altering the natural hydrology of aquatic systems affects ecosystem function and the ecological community. Leah is currently a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of New England working on the Gwydir and Warrego-Darling Rivers Commonwealth Environmental Water Office MER Selected Areas projects. Her primary work has focused on studying food webs in these two rivers, specifically working to better understand functional processes in these rivers. Qualifications: BSc (Winona State University), MSc (U of Texas RGV), PhD (UNE).