R&D News

  Volume 13, Edition 4

Final reports

FINAL reports on these recently-completed R&D projects are available from FRDC, or the other source named.

Seafood for better life

Overweight people taking medicine for high blood pressure can improve their lives and lower cardiovascular risk by eating more seafood within a ‘lifestyle’ program. The program, developed by the University of Western Australia School of Medicine and Pharmacology, brackets seafood with physical activity and weight loss. Principal Investigator Lawrence Beilin said there was no extra cost in replacing meat with seafood and projected an eight per cent reduction in the risk of heart disease and stroke from the program during the next 10 years, with potential benefits also for other at-risk groups. 2002/242

Commercial-recreational model

A dynamic fisheries model is available to allow managers to assess stocks targeted by both commercial and recreational fishers and weigh the results of transferring access from the former to the latter. Principal Investigator Norm Hall of Murdoch University says the model requires a time series of commercial catch and effort data, several years’ stock age composition data and at least two years of recreational catch estimates. He suggests it will be invaluable for stock assessment and proposed integrated management of Western Australia’s finfish fisheries. 2002/075

Bay EMS a winner

The Victorian Bay and Inlet Fisheries Association has won a high commendation in the state’s coastal awards for excellence for its environmental management system. With opponents of the 170 year old fishery pushing for further closures, the EMS was developed to counter community concern. Principal Investigator Ross McGowan of Seafood Industry Victoria says that after a risk analysis that showed fishing practices generally had little environmental impact, members incorporated their best practices in the EMS and reaffirmed their commitment to them and to working cooperatively to maintain standards. 2002/090

From Seafood industry Victoria, www.siv.com.au

GAB’s sardine power

Preliminary modelling of the highly-productive eastern Great Australian Bight ecosystem has provided a framework for conceptualising the nutritional interactions of marine species from tuna to fur seals and penguins – and the importance of sardines in all of them. Principal Investigator Tim Ward of the South Australian Research and Development Institute says the project has also developed a blueprint for a comprehensive study of the role of sardines in the ecosystem that would determine if ecological and spatial allocations should be made when setting a total allowable catch for SA’s big commercial sardine fishery. 2003/072

NT demersal dilemma

The Northern Territory is developing an R&D plan to better exploit its under-utilised demersal finfish. Principal Investigator Ray Clarke, previously of the Department of Business Industry and Resource Development, says despite a predicted sustainable annual yield of thousands of tonnes of crimson seaperch from the Arafura Sea, offshore line and trap landings of tropical snappers (Lutjanus) remain low. The reason: remote operators must freeze their catch at sea and thus miss the premium prices paid for the same species landed fresh. 1999/371

GBR’s regional rules

The Great Barrier Reef’s redthroat emperor appears to be a single stock but, as for other key reef speciesthat change sex from female to male, regional differences in population structure should be incorporated infishery management plans. This recommendation comes from a study by the CRC Reef Research Centreof regional variation in redthroat and four other protogynous hermaphrodites targeted by commercial and recreational line fishers – Maori wrasse, barramundi cod, coral trout and blue-spot coral trout. Principal Investigator Campbell Davies says understanding their reproductive methods and responses to fishing should be a high priority too. 1998/131

Rocklobster plan

Australia’s southern rocklobster fisheries now have an R&D plan aimed at increasing profitability and a tri-state entity to manage the necessary investment – Southern Rocklobster Ltd (SRL). Principal Investigator Roger Edwards of SRL says the fisheries of South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria have decided to increase profitability by developing new products and markets, rather than becoming disorganised, price-taking victims of a globalised food industry. 2002/313

Legless lobster solution

To prevent western rocklobsters shedding legs after contacting a film of extra salty seawater, wash contact surfaces with fresh water or normal seawater, advises Principal Investigator Glen Davidson of the Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-op. He said leg shedding was triggered when the salinity concentration on equipment – even gloves – reached double that of seawater; and the numbers of legs shed rose in line with salinity thereafter. Leg shedding happens at sea, but is worse in shore plants, particularly on hot, windy days. A warning: fresh water should be sprayed on contact surfaces, not on lobsters, because it too can induce leg loss. 2001/255

Battling lobster blackening

Commercial cooking temperatures of western rocklobsters can stimulate an enzyme that causes flesh blackening because they are not hot enough long enough. This study by the Curtin University of Technology showed cooking lobsters at 90°C for more than 36 minutes stopped blackening, but the extended cooking increased weight loss. Three effective anti-browning agents applied before cooking reduced but did not prevent blackening, 4-hexylresorcinol performing best. Principal Investigator Hannah Williams suggests a further study of hotter, faster cooking. 2001/235

Sawsharks, elephant fish

The rate of decline in sawshark and elephant fish stocks in the southern shark fishery has slowed considerably since the mid-1980s, this study suggests. Measured against 1950 levels, Principal Investigator Terence Walker of Primary Industries Research Victoria estimates pup production to be 32 per cent for common sawshark, 26 per cent for southern sawshark and 20 per cent for elephant fish. The asessments have been used in setting total allowable catches in the Commonwealth southern and eastern scalefish and shark fishery. 1999/103

Tail fan treatment

Tail fan damage in southern rocklobsters held through the moult in sea cages or raceways is caused by Vibrio bacteria infecting damaged tissue, a study by the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Research and Development Institute has found. Principal Investigator Michael Geddes says it can be minimised by placing the lobsters in individual mesh bags at capture and keeping them bagged throughout the holding period. 2001/211

EMS in NSW

In association with Ocean Watch, four core groups of commercial estuary fishers and oyster farmers are leading a push for demonstrable best practice in New South Wales by developing and using environmental management systems based on ISO14001. Principal Investigators Anissa Lawrence and Christine Soul said all four believed they were operating efficiently and sustainably at the beginning of the project, but saw value in using EMS as a public communication tool. Their systems are available as templates to guide other commercial operators. 2003/063

Prawn R&D delivers

Harvest strategies that require a deep understanding of spatial processes such as distribution andabundance are tipping millions of dollars into the pockets of South Australia’s Spencer Gulf and West Coast prawn fisheries. A decision to delay fishing the Wallaroo ground for a month in 1998 increased harvest valueby about $3.5m, said Principal Investigator Betram Ostendorf of the University of Adelaide. Strategic delaysin harvesting prawns in specific locations had significantly increased egg production as well, he said. This project has refined decision-making by developing a database that allows prawn movement and spatial dynamics to be modelled by combining an instantaneous assessment of real-time survey results with a statistical comparison of historical data. 1999/142

NPF assessment

For the Northern Prawn Fishery the CSIRO has developed a framework to model and assess potential harvest strategies in a context of stock variability and uncertainty. Principal Investigator Catherine Dichmont endorses the fishery’s move towards spatially-structured assessment and management, but says clear, written decision rules for determining effort levels and season length must replace current ad hoc management methods. 2001/002

Abalone parasite profiled

The parasite Perkinsus olseni that causes nodules and pustules in wild blacklip and greenlip abalone may best be countered by removing infected specimens, this University of Queensland study suggests. Principal Investigators Robert Lester and Craig Hayward say the parasite does not appear to kill abalone and probably is spread when rupturing abscesses on adult abalone release zoospores that infect others. They suggest infection hotspots are the result of abalone stress caused by temperature change or temporary food shortage that apparently allows the parasite to replicate before being contained by the abalone’s immune response. They say the parasite is widely distributed globally and removing it from the list of notifiable diseases would also remove an export barrier. 2000/151

Bigeye not big movers

Bigeye tuna stick to a home range, a CSIRO tagging study suggests. Data from fourteen archival tags (and 66 conventional tags) recovered from bigeye in the Coral Sea indicate that most remained in their release area until recapture. Time at liberty ranged from 16 days to almost four years and there were exceptions – one tuna had travelled almost 8,000 nautical miles. The archival tags revealed tuna mostly spent their days at depths of 250m to 500m and nights at less than 200m, where temperatures exceeded 22°C; but made irregular descents to more than 985m and water temperatures of 2.5°C. Principal Investigator John Gunn said their apparently-limited movement across or beyond the Coral Sea was an important consideration for sustainable management. 1999/109

Eel strategies

In Queensland, male longfin eels mature between four and 17 years and females between five and 39, according to that state’s Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries. Such longevity in a species that spawns only once makes this biggest of the freshwater eels particularly vulnerable to over-fishing, says Principal Investigator Simon Hoyle. Project modelling suggests Australian fisheries managers should close, or continue to close, substantial areas to fishing to ensure that sufficient eels mature and escape to spawn; and improve fishery productivity by building passes that allow elvers moving upstream to negotiate barriers such as weirs and dams. 1998/128

Hybrid yabby advantages

Crossing female Cherax rotundas yabbies with C albidus males produces all-male offspring that grow almostfive times faster than their fathers in model ponds. Consequently a small farm currently producing $5000 worthof C. albidus a year could expect to gross up to $23,000 from the hybrid, says Principal Investigator CraigLawrence of the Department of Fisheries Western Australia. He says commercial trials should begin in New South Wales, where both parents are natives; and South Australia and Victoria should allow their farmers to import C. rotundas. 1997/319.02

Mud crabs mapped

The complete mud crab habitat of the Northern Territory and Queensland has been mapped by remote sensing and estimates of total crab numbers have been extrapolated from studies at two sites in each jurisdiction. That the estimates seem unrealistically high is not surprising, says Principal Investigator Tracy Hay of the NT Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines, because the carrying capacity of habitat is unlikely to be uniform. Assessment techniques from the study sites are being used in a benchmarking process to increase the value of commercial catch data. 2000/142

Social assessment handbook

Recommended ways to assess the social sustainability of individual fisheries are outlined in a guidebook produced by the Bureau of Rural Sciences. The Social Assessment Handbook may be downloaded free from www.brs.gov.au/socialsciences or bought in hard copy from BRS, phone 02 6272 3933, for $39.60. 2003/056

WA recruitment indices

Recruitment indices have been developed for five of south-west Western Australia’s inshore finfish species. The indices for Australian herring, Australian salmon, tailor, King George whiting and mullet (Aldrichetta forsteri) are based on beach seine and commercial catch samples. Principal Investigator Suzanne Ayvazian of the state’s Department of Fisheries says the recruit sampling doubles as a monitoring program and catch predictor for the commercial and recreational fisheries that target these minor WA species. 1999/153

Scallop workshop

About 100 people from 15 countries attended the 15th International Pectinid Workshop, held with FRDC financial support at Moolooloba last April. The focus, says Principal Investigator Mike Dredge of Narangba, Queensland, was decidedly commercial – the development of fisheries administered by private enterprise, the social and economic consequences of toxic dinoflagellates and other shellfish biohazards, wild fishery management and bycatch issues, economics and a full day devoted to aquaculture. 2004/305

FRDC subprogram leaders report

Abalone aquaculture

AUSTRALIAN abalone aquaculture can now be regarded as an emerging sector with a total commercial production of about 300t in 2004/05, worth about $12.2m. This significant leap from previous years marks the beginning of full production capacity for some farms.

Production is expected to grow at 20 per cent per year as more farms reach commercial levels and others increase production targets. At the same time, the Australian Abalone Growers Association (AAGA) is developing a business model that seeks to take advantage of government opportunities for investment.

A recent memorandum of understanding to deliver voluntary R&D funds to FRDC shows the sector is keen to form long-term partnerships that offer business opportunities.

AAGA seeks a working partnership with FRDC and the National Aquaculture Council and leverage with other R&D agencies, to develop a business opportunity that maximises value for money. As the Abalone Aquaculture Subprogram will not be funded in its current capacity next year, AAGA will also work with FRDC to develop an alternative model, such as an R&D subcommittee under AAGA, that may be co-funded by FRDC and the association.

AusAb, the marketing company set up by five industry members in 2004, continues to attract new members. AusAb aims to operate from a single, national perspective to ensure both volume and a consistent supply of quality product.

Project highlights

Our selective breeding program remains a high priority for growers as it offers a huge opportunity to push down costs. As Australia competes on the world market against countries such as Chile and South Africa that have low labour costs, lowering our costs is necessary to remain competitive.

Five years of breeding have seen the first stage of family establishment completed with 136 families on farms across Australia, but primarily in Victoria. The program is at a turning point now, with the Victorians working to increase their investment towards full commitment. Currently they are putting in place a strategic plan to ensure a high number of families is established each year to meet the scientific requirements of a good breeding program.

The Victorian participants have agreed on a methodology for the group production of family lines that provides security of broodstock, allows equal ownership and collaborative R&D and provides a commercially-robust structure that encourages investment by both industry and government.

Distributing shares equally and allowing cooperative R&D are major breakthroughs in determining ownership of intellectual property.

Lastly and importantly, the structure allows entry and exit of groups nationally so that new participants can decide to participate even if they previously had elected not to.

The Victorian participants are soon to meet with a legal adviser to overlay a business structure on this group production model. They expect to broaden their activities nationally as more farms in other states develop the capability to fully commit to the program.

Brian Jones of the Western Australian Department of Fisheries has almost finished developing a disease protection protocol for the translocation of abalone. This project is critical to the success of the selective breeding program, as current state translocation policies do not allow passage of pedigree stocks for cross-breeding.

Brian Jones held a workshop with disease experts and industry members where all known disease issues were raised. This was followed by a formal risk assessment analysis and, in some cases, risk management strategies were proposed.

Australia has signed a number of international accords and agreements that govern movement of stock and product between jurisdictions. These agreements require that any decision to stop the movement of stock be based on risk assessment. So Brian Jones’ work is already proving of great value as states move towards the formal risk assessment approach in developing their translocation policies. WA, SA and Victoria are currently reviewing their policies and will draw heavily on his recommendations.

With state agencies expressing concern over genetic issues in relation to translocation, the Subprogram and Fisheries Victoria recently met with other states’ policymakers seeking progress. WA, SA and Victoria reported that, based on current literature, their departments considered genetic risk to be minimal when moving animals between land-based facilities and it is now likely that the new policies on abalone translocation will allow such movement between these states.

A survey of abalone disease by Judith Handlinger of the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute is finished, with some 1850 wild and 1330 farm abalone sampled, representing six wild sites from NSW to WA and five farms.

The aim was to define disease agents present, particularly the economically significant ones. A prevalence of a disease agent with clinical significance in more than10 per cent of sampled animals was regarded as economically significant.

Few of the agents detected in the study reached this level of infection or were demonstrated to have a significant adverse effect, other than pathogens previously identified, such as the known bacterial diseases of farmed stock, Perkinsus infection in NSW (also recognised in SA) and shell diseases.

The exception is a haemocyte parasite from Bass Strait, which was shown to be capable of infecting at least 50 per cent of populations with an apparently-persistent condition. Historical and clinical evidence suggests this is associated with poor growth, poor quality and poor survival following movement stress, but causes only low mortality in unstressed stock.

The life cycle of this parasite is unknown. Given its prevalence in infected areas, Judith Handlinger advised it should be considered as a translocation risk from these areas, because of its likely effect on productivity in both wild and farmed stocks.

The genetic marker project based at the Victorian Institute of Animal Sciences and headed by Mike Goddard is in its final year. It aims to improve identification of selectively-bred stock that have genes for fast growth. Some changes to the original objectives have recently been approved by the Subprogram steering committee.

These seek to further ratify the earlier results obtained for growth rates in three single-cross F0 families, and to sample additional families to see if marker segregation between their low and high performing individuals can be detected.

In addition, a microsatellite marker linkage map is being drawn to better identify the marker distribution, genome size and QTL location; critical information for the downstream applicability of markers in selection. This is a key resource for the study and analysis of QTL beyond this project.

Annual workshop

The 12th annual workshop held in McLaren Vale, South Australia, in August was attended by 70 delegates. It began with a trip to Kangaroo Island to inspect its two abalone farms. KI Abalone, managed by John Hall, is in the final stages of an expansion program that will see production increase to 200t in the next three years.

Compared to KI’s slab tanks, Island Ocean Seafoods managed by Paul Soldo has taken a different approach, using big circular tanks with hides at the bottom and high water volumes.

The next two days were packed with presentations from researcher and industry members. Highlights were our invited speaker, Vute Sirivivatnanon of CSIRO’s Manufacturing & Infrastructure Technology, who advised on the use of concrete in the marine environment.

The Australian Abalone Growers Association held its first AGM and elected a formal committee. AusAb reported on its activities and a workshop on the selective breeding project provided an overview of its achievements and future direction.

Ann Fleming

Subprogram Leader

phone 08 8952 1970

fax 08 8953 3758

email: annflem@bigpond.net.au

http://www.frdc.com.au/research/programs/aas/

Aquaculture nutrition

THE objectives of the Aquaculture Nutrition Subprogram (ANS) are to:

1. Provide expert guidance and direction for aquaculture nutrition research in Australia by maintaining a strategic plan, providing technical reviews and contributing to project development
2. Identify nutrition R&D priorities that are not being addressed and initiate appropriate projects
3. Promote capacity-building and human capital development through the provision of training and resources in aquaculture nutrition and aquafeed manufacturing
4. Develop nutrition risk management strategies as required for aquaculture sectors to help define R&D priorities
5. Be a contact point for Australia’s aquaculture nutrition research and improve the aquaculture nutrition skills base
6. Improve communication of nutrition research outcomes and current nutrition research progress between scientists, aquaculturalists, ingredient suppliers and feed manufacturers through annual workshops, facilitated planning meetings and conferences

In 2005-06, the ANS plans to reinvigorate activities by:

• Contributing to the delivery of a nutrition master class being organised by ACIAR in Thailand next year
• Convening an aquaculture nutrition workshop to redefine nutrition R&D priorities and identify future R&D opportunities
• Publishing the long-awaited nutrition research methodology manual as a follow-up to the Australasian Livestock Feed Ingredient (ALFI) Database now on sale from the Grains Research and Development Corporation
• Publishing the Nutrition Optimisation Software for Manufactured Abalone Diets (NOMAD) in conjunction with the Abalone Aquaculture Subprogram
• Coordinating relevant sessions at next year’s World Aquaculture Society conference in Florence and the Australasian Aquaculture Conference
• Examining opportunities for a second aquafeed extrusion course in association with the Australasian Experimental Stockfeed Extrusion Centre in South Australia

Robert van Barneveld

Subprogram Leader

phone 07 3290 6600, 0418 802 462

email rob@barneveld.com.au

Aquatic animal health

THE recent highlight for the Aquatic Animal Health Subprogram (AAHS) was its second scientific conference in Cairns in July. The first, held in Geelong in 2003, was attended by 40 delegates and featured presentations on subprogram projects and keynote presentations on infectious salmon anaemia by Ron Stagg from the FRS Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen, Scotland – a big act to follow.

In Cairns, the conference was open to the whole Australian aquatic animal health community. Fifty-five delegates heard about 40 presentations on all aspects of aquatic animal health, including research conducted within the Aquafin CRC.

In addition, we were fortunate to persuade Chris Secombes, an expert on fish immunology who heads the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Aberdeen, to present three keynote addresses on antibacterial defences in fish, the complexity of the cytokine network in fish and functional genomic approaches to study host-pathogen interactions in fish.

Chris Secombes also has led the Scottish Fish Immunology Centre since 2003. His research interests include fish cytokines and fish immuno-stimulants. He is President of the International Society of Developmental and Comparative Immunology, an editor of Fish and Shellfish Immunology and on the editorial boards for developmental and comparative immunology and veterinary immunology and immunopathology.

His visit to Australia was coordinated by Barbara Nowak of the University of Tasmania and he also lectured at the UTas School of Aquaculture in Launceston. His trip was sponsored by the International Science Linkages program established under the Australian Government’s innovation statement Backing Australia’s Ability.

The Cairns conference was a great opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues and to learn the latest on aquatic animal health in Australia. Feedback has been very positive and can be summarised by this email:

“thanks again for organising the conference in Cairns, I could not fault the venue/content/food/drinks/company - can’t say that about too many conferences”.

The third AAHS scientific conference will be in 2007. Date and venue to be decided – look for announcements in Health Highlights.

Mark Crane

Phone 03 5227 5555

Email mark.crane@csiro.au

www.frdc.com.au/research/programs/aah/index.htm

Effects of trawling

FOUR new projects were approved in FRDC’s latest funding round:

2005/050 Effects of trawling on the benthos and biodiversity: development and delivery of a spatially-explicit management framework for the Northern Prawn Fishery will:

• Investigate the accumulated effects of trawling on benthic communities
• Quantify benthic ecosystem processes important for prawn production
• Develop tools to evaluate management strategies
• Develop a spatially-explicit management framework for the NPF

Cruise reports associated with this project are at http://www.marine.csiro.au/research/voyages/0305/index.html.

2005/051 Risk assessment and mitigation for sea snakes caught in the Northern Prawn Fishery and 2005/053 Reducing the impact of Queensland’s trawl fisheries on protected sea snakes will assess the risk posed to sea snakes by the NPF and the Queensland East Coast Trawl Fishery and explore mitigation measures.

These projects will work together to determine distribution and abundance of sea snake interactions in both fisheries and explore the effectiveness of existing mitigation and the potential for better methods.

2005/054 Collaborative extension program by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Seanet and Ecofish for the development and adoption of square mesh codends in select prawn and scallop trawl fisheries in Queensland will deliver outputs to industry from project 2000/170 Bycatch weight, composition and preliminary estimates of the impact of bycatch reduction devices in Queensland’s trawl fishery that found bycatch could be reduced by 78 per cent in the scallop fishery and 28 per cent in the deepwater eastern king prawn fishery without significant reductions in the catch of the target species.

Codends are already being trialled on commercial vessels with the view of fine-tuning where required and increasing their adoption by industry.

WA, NPF success

Projects 2000/189 and 2000/173 that developed turtle exclusion devices (TEDs) and bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) in Shark Bay-Exmouth Gulf and the NPF respectively have been completed.

The Western Australian project modified devices used in other Australian fisheries to suit WA circumstances. The modified grids reduce the capture of turtles, big sharks and rays by 95 per cent to 100 per cent with a minimal loss of prawns.

Bycatch reduction devices were trialled voluntarily from 2000 until suitable ones were made mandatory earlier this year.

The NPF project helped fishers develop and fine-tune new TEDs and BRDs. This has reduced bycatch by ensuring that the devices are incorporated into the gear correctly and has also enabled industry to further develop devices that will best suit their fishing practices.

New devices are independently tested and approved before being adopted by industry. The cost benefits of using TEDs and BRDs have also been determined and passed on to industry.

Through onboard assistance, workshops and written material, the level of dissatisfaction regarding the implementation of the devices has been reduced.

SET bycatch moves

The adoption of gear modifications continues in the South East Trawl fishery through FRDC project 2001/060, with industry trialling T90 codends with the help of Jim Newman from Seanet.

The T90 is effectively 90mm mesh turned 90 degrees that assists in keeping the meshes open and may also improve water flow. The T90 codend can be seen at http://www.sintef.dk/ under the projects link.

There is increasing fishery interest in developing innovative trawl gear that may reduce discards and minimise benthic interactions.

This promises to help advance from the incremental improvement of existing bycatch-reducing gear to the development of more novel methods – something the Subprogram will tackle in future.

Crispian Ashby

Subprogram Leader

phone 02 6285 0425

email crispian.ashby@frdc.com.au

ESD reporting andassessment

THE Social Assessment Handbook (FRDC 2003/056) was released in June, which means that all the tools needed to measure performance against the elements of ESD are now available.

As part of this, two case studies were completed and these will also be published.

To complement these new socio-economic tools we are trialling an objective methodology to see if it would help determine what level of socio-economic information should be collected for any one fishery.

The extension of the ESD framework to higher levels of assessment such as those associated with marine planning are still in the negotiation phase with agencies and groups such as the National Oceans Office and the Australian Fisheries Management Forum.

An outline of how this approach could work was presented at forums in the US (Mote Symposium), Rome (FAO) and England (English Nature). A paper describing the various levels of ESD assessment from EMS to EBFM to IOM will be published in the proceedings of the Mote symposium (Bulletin of Marine Science) early next year.

After some delay, project 2004/101 Research review of the scope, assessment methods and management responses for fisheries ESD and EBFM in Australia began in August.

EMS continues its success and expansion, with multiple environmental management systems being generated in all states, some with government involvement, others developed independently.

Following the success of Southern Rocklobster’s Clean and Green Program, FRDC has agreed to invest in 2005/044 Development of the scientific requirements of an Environmental Management System (EMS) for the pearling industry.

In addition, FRDC and RecFish Australia have discussed the development of an EMS process for fishing tournaments that would set environmental standards for certification. Full details are at www.frdc.com.au and www.seafoodservices.com.au.

Other news

The ESD website www.fisheries-esd.com has been improved, with both structure and content upgraded to make it easier to find up-to-date information and publications.

The initial ESD framework for wild capture fisheries has been published in Fisheries Research. The Risk Assessment methodology has been published in ICES Journal of Marine Science.

Future work

The Subprogram work includes input to a proposed workshop on the next round of assessments under the Australian Government’s EPBC Act.

We are also holding discussions with the National Oceans Office to determine what involvement the Subprogram may have in the development of its marine planning processes.

It is expected that the outcomes of the review being completed as part of FRDC 2004/101 will provide the main guidance for the future direction of the Subprogram.

Rick Fletcher

Subprogram Leader

phone 08 9482 7333

email rfletcher@fish.wa.gov.au

Atlantic salmon aquaculture

ONLY one project was proposed and funded in the 2005/06 round. FRDC 2005/201 Environmental control of growth and early maturation in salmonids sees Principal Investigator Mark Porter continue the work undertaken in project 2001/246. The Subprogram has eight other active projects – four on health, three on environment and one on production:

PI Project FRDC No.

M. Porter Control of precocious sexual maturation in Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar. 2001/246

J. Volkman System-wide environmental issues for sustainable salmonid aquaculture. 2000/097

C. Crawford Development of broad scale environmental monitoring and baseline surveys in relation to sustainable salmon aquaculture in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel region. CG2002 ME03

J. Volkman A whole-of-ecosystem assessment of issues for salmonid aquaculture. 2004/074

M. Powell Commercial amoebic gill disease (AGD) and salmon health. 2004/213

B. Nowak Use of immuno-modulation to improve fish performance in Australian temperate water finfish aquaculture. 2004/210

B. Nowak Effects of husbandry on amoebic gill disease. 2004/214

B. Nowak Establishment of challenge for amoebic gill disease. 2004/215

Our health program concentrates on amoebic gill disease (AGD) because it remains the most costly health issue facing producers. Project 2004/215 aims to develop a reproducible challenge model to perform challenge tests and to supply the organism tested to collaborators when required.

Project 2004/214 evaluates husbandry practices as a complementary strategy to reduce the incidence of AGD. Projects 2004/210 and 2004/213 look at the use of immuno-modulation to ameliorate AGD and investigate the development and commercialisation of treatments previously identified in FRDC projects 2000/266 and 2001/205.

Production project 2001/246 addresses several major industry questions on control of maturation and the new project 2005/201 aims to increase understanding of the mechanisms behind maturation to provide industry with a tool that can predict production output under varying environmental and biological conditions.

This includes identifying the physiological and environmental mechanisms controlling maturation, determining the intensity and duration of light required to effect growth and maturation and, lastly, assessing the effects of seasonal variation on growth and maturation. We expect information gained to also benefit growers of other finfish in South Australia.

The three environment projects aim to improve sustainability. Previous research has provided considerable knowledge about the effects of stocking and fallowing on sediments. The more recent emphasis is on environmental issues system-wide, particularly those associated with possible eutrophication – the oxygen depletion resulting from high nutrient loads. Our aim is to discover how individual regions will respond to the release of nutrients and gauge any associated ecosystem changes.

Role of the SAIC

The Subprogram is managed with recommendations and advice from the Salmon Aquaculture Implementation Committee (SAIC), whose primary tasks are to:

• Establish an annual operating plan
• Prioritise R&D pre-proposals, identify and select new projects
• Recommend budget allocations for selected projects
• Recommend and manage changes to projects and, if necessary, recommendation termination
• Organise industry liaison and technology transfer workshops
• Coordinate media and promotional activities under Subprogram and Aquafin CRC guidelines, including recommendations on publication

These tasks are consistent with those set out in the Aquafin CRC agreement.

In addition the SAIC contributes to strategic planning and currently is helping update the Tasmanian 5-year strategic plan.

Pheroze Jungalwalla

Subprogram Leader

phone 03 6227 7268

email jungalwalla@tsga.com.au

Rocklobster enhancement & aquaculture

THERE have been significant outcomes from the $17.1m invested in rock lobster enhancement and aquaculture since 1998 by FRDC, research providers and industry stakeholders. Research initially was broad, but since has become increasingly focussed. Outcomes to date include:

1. Evidence that natural mortalities in the wild are so high that, in a carefully managed fishery, collection of reasonable quantities of puerulus from the wild is unlikely to effect wild stocks
2. Technical and practical capacity to collect rocklobster puerulus from the wild for farm growout
3. Basic manufactured diets for rocklobster aquaculture and evidence that manufactured diets will deliver acceptable growth rates and product quality
4. Basic assessments of the health of aquaculture-reared rocklobsters
5. Assessment of rocklobster grow-out capacity in sea cages and land-based systems, plus technical advances in systems design and management
6. A clear demonstration that juveniles reared from wild-harvest puerlus can be successfully returned to the wild with a net benefit for rocklobster stocks
7. Demonstration that the hormones triggering moults in the tropical rocklobster P.ornatus are similar to those involved in the moult cycles of insects
8. Investigations into the capacity to enhance natural settlement of western rocklobsters using artificial substrates

In short, the R&D to date has demonstrated that as an aquaculture species spiny lobsters are robust. The technical information derived from Subprogram research so far could be successfully applied in commercial rocklobster aquaculture systems.

Puerulus supply the key

Despite these advances, it is clear that the future of rocklobster aquaculture in Australia on a large scale depends on the supply of puerulus. With the exception of high settlement years in Western Australia and collection of juveniles in the Torres Strait, collection of puerulus or juveniles from the wild is highly unlikely to form the basis of a rocklobster aquaculture industry in Australia.

In terms of international competition however, Australia needs to be aware that countries such as Vietnam have well-established industries based on collection of juveniles from the wild.

With these realities in mind, the Subprogram’s primary aim is to close the lifecycle of spiny lobsters by producing hatchery puerulus.

TAFI achievements

Research by the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute (TAFI) and New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research has made significant progress, particularly in the maintenance of puerulus health. Well ahead of schedule, TAFI has progressed a stage two phyllosoma through metamorphosis to a puerulus that is about to moult to become a juvenile. TAFI also has more than 50 Stage nine phyllosoma ready to settle as puerulus, a remarkable achievement given that current focus of the research is to produce large quantities of phyllosoma as required to stage five.

Most importantly, these physical developments have taken less than 300 days, compared with an estimated 450 days for the larval phases in the wild. The outcomes to date provide strong evidence that culture of southern rocklobsters may be a commercial possibility in the not too distant future.

Similar progress is being made by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries, MG Kailis and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, which are working together to culture P.ornatus. Research in Townsville, Cairns and Broome has fine-tuned broodstock conditioning and significant numbers of stage five phyllosoma can be cultured as required.

While commercial investment exists within the Subprogram, a substantial, dedicated commercial rocklobster aquaculture enterprise is yet to be established.

Current priorities

Based on the above, a core Subprogram priority is to further develop technologies that will permit commercial culture. Several research models are being considered with the intention to adopt a more commercial approach.

In addition to rocklobster propagation, the Subprogram regards research into the sea-cage culture of tropical lobsters in the Torres Strait in association with indigenous communities as a priority. Focusing on enhancement, we are also keen to progress research into overcoming spatial differences in the biology of rocklobsters to expand the Tasmanian wild fishery and others.

Subprogram workshops

A workshop was held in Hobart this month in conjunction with the National Rocklobster Congress. Proceedings of all workshops held annually since 1998 are at http://www.frdc.com.au/research/programs/rleas, along with other Subprogram information.

Robert van Barneveld

Subprogram Leader

phone 07 3290 6600, 0418 802 462

email rob@barneveld.com.au

Rocklobster post-harvest

THE mission of the Rocklobster Post-harvest Subprogram is to ensure that Australia obtains the maximum value for its rocklobster catch and continues to increase its profitability.

New strategic plan

The Subprogram has a new strategic plan that will use a supply-chain approach to detecting, analysing, and identifying R&D projects to capture opportunities for expansion of markets and Australian products in the global market. The plan and additional details are on our website, www.frdc.com.au/research/programs/rlph/index.htm.

Annual workshop

The annual workshop, organised jointly with that of the Rocklobster Enhancement and Aquaculture Subprogram, will be held in Hobart this month as part of the industry-organised National Rocklobster Congress. Proceedings of the workshop held in Port Lincoln in 2004 are available from the Subprogram secretary.

Codes of practice

During 2003 the Subprogram released a code of practice for the western rocklobster fishery called Best Practice in the Western Australian Lobster Industry and at the workshop in Port Lincoln in 2004 we released its southern equivalent, Best Practice in the Southern Rocklobster Industry. Both are available on video, DVD and as a hard copy folder that includes addition material. The folder is loose-leaved so new information can be added.

Subprogram publications

Optimising Water Quality Bradley Crear and Grant Allen

Recirculating Systems NH3, Bradley Crear, Jennifer Cobcroft and Stephen Battaglene

Rocklobster Health and Diseases: A Guide for the lobster industry Frances Stephens, Seema Fotedar and Louis Evans

Best Practice in the Western Australian Lobster Industry WAFIC, Richard Stevens

Best Practice in the Southern Rocklobster Industry WAFIC, Richard Stevens

Subprogram Newsletter Number 8, which is free, was issued in August. It contains details of all recent Subprogram studies, including non-technical summaries of each completed project. More information on the Subprogram, including all newsletters, can be accessed at www.frdc.com.au/research/programs/rlph/index.htm or by contacting me or Subprogram secretary Emma Phillips, email emmaphil@ozemail.com.au.

Bruce Phillips

Subprogram Leader

phone 0417189956

email: b.phillips@curtin.edu.au

SESSF industry development

THIS Subprogram uses a whole of supply chain approach to industry development in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery.

Our projects are based on and benefit from strong links and support within the chain. 2005 has seen many projects that have been initiated by the Subprogram during the past few years really bring value back to the seafood industry.

The major highlight was Australian Seafood Co-products (ASCo) winning the R&D award at the Seafood Directions conference in Sydney for its success in converting processing waste into a useful, valuable product – see story elsewhere in this issue. Sponsored by FRDC, the award encourages R&D outcomes that improve industry sustainability or profitability.

A Subprogram aspect that is reflected well in the ASCo suite of projects is our commitment to leverage FRDC support by attracting additional funding sources that, during the past few years, have included:

• Seafood Services Australia’s Seafood Industry Development Fund
• The Victorian Department of Primary Industry’s Ecologically Sustainable Agricultural Initiative
• Victoria’s Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development
• NSW EPA’s Profiting from Cleaner Production Industry Partnership Program
• The National Food Industry Strategy

The Subprogram continues to concentrate on increasing seafood industry profitability by improving catch utilisation, value-adding fish products and adopting new technologies.

We are working with the National Food Industry Strategy (NFIS) on the design and implementation of a commercial slurry ice plant on SEF trawl vessels to demonstrate the increased prices quality trawl-caught fish can attract in alternative markets.

This method of rapidly cooling bulk catches opens down-stream market opportunities not previously available to Australian fish trawlers by providing quality fish suitable for modified atmosphere packaging and other value-adding techniques.

The NFIS and Subprogram industry partner in this project – Presmint Pty Ltd – was also a winner at Seafood Directions, getting the Seafood Industry Producers’ award for excellence in the production of quality seafood, improved fishing practices, innovation, promotion of a positive industry image and overall contribution to the industry.

Presmint is currently installing a slurry ice plant on one of its vessels that will be operational near the end of the year. There is a lot of industry interest in the results of this project.

Electronic logbooks

Developments continue from our E-boat project. More fisheries are interested in electronic logbooks and the long-term value they can provide in cost-effective reporting, stock assessment, real-time management and product traceability.

AFMA is upgrading its IT systems to accept encrypted and password-protected electronic logbook data, then automatically check and validate the information and respond.

State fisheries agencies are also interested in the potential of electronic logbooks to improve management.

In the near future, entire fisheries and observer programs are likely to move across to electronic logbooks for the capture, storage and transmission of all fishing-related data.

Fuel alternatives

The Subprogram is turning its attention to one of the most critical aspects affecting profits – the fuel that accounts for up to 30 per cent of operating costs of Australian fishing vessels.

An estimated 270 million litres of diesel is used in Australian fisheries each year, as well as a substantial amount of petrol.

A Subprogram workshop next month will explore opportunities for improved energy use in commercial fishing operations through the use of alternative energy technologies, alternative fuels and energy-efficient design and practices.

This workshop will highlight potential R&D projects on retro-fitting or replacing existing power plants to use alternative fuels such as biodiesel, natural gas, LPG, hydrogen and fuel cells. Options such as solar and sail will also be discussed.

The workshop will explore the potential for improving energy efficiency through innovation in propulsion, hull design and fishing gear design.

Identification of energy use on fishing vessels and how changed practices can help conserve fuel will also be an important topic.

Through these discussions, the workshop will highlight key R&D projects on fuel efficiency and identify potential partners and funding opportunities to get these projects underway.

If you are interested in this, or any of the other Subprogram projects mentioned, please get in touch.

Ian Knuckey

Subprogram Leader

phone 03 5258 4399, 0408 581 599

email fishwell@datafast.net.au

SBT aquaculture

IT’S been a busy year with 20 active projects, three new projects, plus four projects and project variations currently under development.

The Subprogram has also developed links to two new projects and two project proposals that may indirectly affect the SBT sector. During the past year we have:

• Improved technology transfer by upgrading our website, www.sardi.gov.au/pages/sbt/public/welcome_sbt.htm
• Reviewed, published and distributed four final reports on completed R&D projects
• Produced several Tuna-briefs
• Reviewed media releases and scientific publications
• Organised industry workshops and regular industry, Scientific Group and Steering Committee meetings, plus an Aquafin CRC-SBT technology transfer workshop and a Subprogram strategic R&D planning meeting

The website upgrade improved security for our two password-protected areas, added a Residue menu item in the Tuna Industry and Public areas and developed the SBT telemetry-based Environmental Monitoring System on an external server that is linked through the Tuna Industry area of the site.

The amount and variety of information was increased by including electronic copies of publications, funding proposals, briefing papers, meeting agendas and minutes, the Subprogram communications strategy, draft milestone reports, Tuna-briefs and more.

We further improved the Subprogram’s annual industry workshop by moving it to the Boston Bay Winery near Port Lincoln to provide a more relaxed and spacious atmosphere that encouraged interaction between researchers and industry, inviting a guest speaker and collating written articles from all presenters into a quality, edited handbook that was distributed to all Subprogram members.

Research farm

SBT research was again industry-based this year, hosted by DI Fishing Co Pty Ltd due to last year’s successes, including low mortalities and good growth and conditioning.

This year, meeting the needs of researchers and industry was greatly improved with David Ellis of Aquaculture Management Consultants facilitating coordination between researchers and DI Fishing through regular meetings and weekly database updates.

Challenges still exist to meet all the needs of research and industry in such a dynamic environment and to ensure that research results are directly transferable to industry. A formal review of this year’s performance will be made in the next few months.

New projects

Following a review by the Aquafin CRC and FRDC boards we started this year project 2004/211 Aquafin CRC-FRDC SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: nutritional profiles of baitfish 3: effects of harvest and post-harvest processes on quality of local pilchards for feeding SBT. Principal Investigator: John Carragher, SARDI.

Two Aquafin CRC research projects were developed, submitted and approved for funding:

• 2005/059 Aquafin CRC-SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: risk and response – understanding the tuna farming environment. Principal Investigator: Jason Tanner, SARDI.
• 2005/200 Aquafin CRC-SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: activity metabolism in live-held southern bluefin tuna Thunnus maccoyii, Phase 2. Principal Investigator: Roger Seymour, Adelaide University.

The Subprogram is helping develop several other projects and project variations to extend the research scope in the Aquafin CRC health, value-adding and production programs.

It has also developed links with two FRDC projectsthat may indirectly impact the SBT Aquaculture Industry:

• 2004/201 PIRSA Aquaculture/FRDC – Innovative solutions for Aquaculture: addressing seal interactions in the finfish aquaculture industry. Principal Investigator: Simon Goldsworthy, SARDI.
• 2004/067 Review of the fishery status of whaler sharks in South Australian and adjacent waters. Principal Investigator: Keith Jones, SARDI.

New 5-year plan

A workshop held earlier this year discussed the future direction of R&D and key factors that need to be considered in developing a strategic plan for the next five years.

The workshop identified a model to base the strategic R&D plan on, highlighted industry drivers to be considered and established focus areas to be covered by the plan. A draft of the plan will be developed by the Steering Committee at its meeting next month, with a final version to be delivered early next year.

Production program

The real R&D innovation in this area has come through the work of Adelaide University’s Quinn Fitzgibbon on the metabolism of tuna. In a world first he has measured the metabolism of commercial-size tuna in a free-swimming environment before and while feeding; before and during active swimming; and at various oxygen levels.

Our feed development project is coming to an end and will deliver a baitfish composition handbook, a Formu-bait software package and an industry nutrition manual soon.

It has been boosted by David Ellis becoming a postgraduate student with UTas to develop a better understanding of the relationship between feed types and thermodynamics.

Other programs

The SBT product quality group within the value-adding program is actively involved in writing up earlier work, including an R&D project final report and a number of PhD theses.

The health program is developing a new project variation and project proposals to extended and broaden its scope.

The environment program is finishing three projects. Final reports are underway and will deliver a number of innovative outcomes, including a more timely method to undertake environmental monitoring.

Steven Clarke

Subprogram Leader

email clarke.steven@saugov.sa.gov.au

Family focus for PDS prize

THE winner of the inaugural Peter Dundas-Smith Scholarship to develop leadership in the fishing industry intends to put her $10,000 prize to work to empower fishing families in New South Wales and beyond.

Cathy Keppie, fisherman’s wife and schoolteacher of Crowdy Head, NSW, said families needed the security that came from knowing they had the power to help set workable parameters within the formula of reasonable resource allocation, sensible governance and wild harvest skills.

She sparked a nationwide response last year when she organised psychological group counselling for stressed Crowdy Head fishing families and followed it with a report to the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, prepared as a basis for a departmental study of the impact of political and bureaucratic decisions on their lives.

Accepting the scholarship, she said she would use it initially to seek out existing:

• FarmBiz and similar funding to improve numeracy and literacy in fishing families
• Suicide prevention strategies
• Development of mediation and dispute resolution processes tailored to the fishing industry
• Support for domestic violence victims, similar to that provided by the NSW Domestic Violence Court Support Scheme
• Development of wild harvest networks using initiatves such as those available through the NSW department and the Women’s Industry Network Seafood Community

She said she was also considering the developmentof new marketing ideas in conjunction with the Sydney Fish Market and fishermen’s co-operatives and the creation of organised tools, such as a website, that would help fishing families improve their ability to set priorities.

MORE: Cathy Keppie, email ckeppie@tsn.cc

SBT bird savers

LONGLINERS fishing for southern bluefin tuna in the Australian fishery are now required to use weighted gear for daylight sets to ensure their baited hooks sink quickly, reducing the chance of seabirds being hooked.

Tori lines to discourage birds from diving on sinking baits are also mandatory. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority says unweighted gear may only be used at night.

It has also banned the use of wire traces by SBT longliners to reduce shark bycatch.

Meanwhile, the draft of a new plan aimed at coordinating efforts to reduce the catch of seabirds on longlines in Australian waters has been released for comment by the Department of Environment and Heritage.

The comment period closes on December 9.

MORE: SBT- Clare Hogan, AFMA, phone 02 6272 4511; DEH plan- Barry Baker, email barry.baker@aad.gov.au; www.aad.gov.au.

Looking for leaders

CONVENTIONAL thinking was that leaders could be made of people who had the innate qualities of honesty, integrity, courage, vision and compassion, said former FRDC Executive Director Peter Dundas-Smith, presenting the Corporation scholarship that carries his name.

So the challenge for FRDC in helping to develop fishing industry leaders was to identify those who had the right stuff to begin with, he said.

Necessary government and corporate obsession with policy, procedures and governance often led to the false assumption that good management of these things showed good leadership.

“Management is about doing things right. Leadership is about doing the right things.”

“We also need to understand that leadership is not about self. It’s about empowering human forces to achieve a common aim,” he said.

“It’s important that we know what we expect those we choose to become.”

Next year’s Peter Dundas-Smith Leadership Scholarship is open to applicants from recreational and indigenous sectors. Applications close 1 December 2005. For more details go to www.frdc.com.au

Lure cast to catch consumer

NEXT time you nip into your local seafood retailer, look for the new, colourful brochures outlining the health, nutrition and convenience of Australian seafood.

The four-fold brochures have been produced and distributed by FRDC and the Australian Seafood Industry Council (ASIC) as a first step to reversing a national trend to eat less seafood at home.

“In the most recent national nutrition survey only one in four Australians reported eating fish at least once a week,” said Mark Wahlqvist, Professor of Medicine at Monash University, Melbourne.

“The more recent Melbourne seafood consumption survey, to be released later this year, shows consumption in the home is on the decline.”

He said there were a number of possible reasons for this that the new brochures were tackling head-on, including lack of awareness of seafood’s benefits and its ease of preparation. This could be why the home consumption stars continue to be canned tuna and fresh Atlantic salmon – both quick, easy, convenient and with consistent quality and value.

“Consumer education is vital. Seafood is an important part of a healthy diet and can play a significant role in maintaining a healthy heart and reducing the risk of major health problems, including diabetes,” Mark Wahlqvist said.

“Gram for gram, seafood is one of the lowest-fat, highest-protein foods and one of the best sources of omega-3 fats, which are vital for health and long life.”

Besides health benefits, the FRDC-ASIC brochures provide concise, practical advice on assessing, buying, preparing and enjoying seafood.

They are supported by a new, interactive website, www.fish.gov.au, that offers more detailed nutritional information and cooking tips.

MORE: Peter Horvat, FRDC Communications Manager, phone 02 6285 0414;email peter.horvat@frdc.com.au

Marketing is farmers’ priority

MARKETING was the hot topic at the aquaculture sector’s Australian Prawn and Barramundi conference on the Gold Coast last month, attended by 220 delegates and 20 trade exhibitors.

Australian Prawn Farmers’ Association (APFA) Executive Officer Scott Walter said barramundi growers were starting to see benefits from the marketing initiatives they began in 2003, but the prawn industry needed to do more.

In response, APFA at its general meeting agreed to form a committee to develop a marketing strategy.

The association says prawn growers remain strongly committed to their long-term FRDC-funded breeding and domestication program, which is beginning to deliver positive outcomes.

In the year ahead the APFA R&D Committee, chaired by Martin Breen, will complete its commercialisation process for FRDC project 2002/209, review outcomes and oversee development of a third breeding and genetics funding application.

MORE: Scott Walter, phone 07 3837 4777; email info@apfa.com.au; www.apfa.com.au.

In the know

• The National’s Peter McGauran is Australia’s new Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and deputy leader of the House of Representatives. He was previously Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. Peter McGauran represents the Victorian rural electorate of Gippsland.
• ASIC CEO Russ Neal has switched horses, joining Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister Peter McGauran as an adviser.
• Much-travelled NSW Fisheries Executive Director of Aquaculture and Sustainable Fisheries Nick Rayns has rejoined AFMA as General Manager, Fisheries. He’s a former South East Trawl fisheries manager.
• AFMA’s Senior Manager Environment Policy Katrina Maguire has resigned to join the Murray-Darling Commission, after helping establish the importance of environmental issues in Commonwealth fisheries management.
• Ed Smith has joined the Tasmanian Fishing Industry Council as Project Officer. He was formerly a technical officer with TAFI, looking after crustaceans raised in FRDC’s Rocklobster Enhancement and Aquaculture Subprogram and, before that, worked on rice field fish culture in Cambodia. Another new face at TFIC, Admin Officer Helen Ayers, is also working towards a masters degree in environmental planning.
• Daryl Quinliven has been appointed Deputy Secretary at DAFF, where he was previously Executive Manager Fisheries and Forestry.

MOVERS we’ve missed? Up-to-date info please to Tara Ryan at comms@frdc.com.au, telephone 02 6285 0415.