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R&D NewsVolume 14, Edition 3Chefs had burger of a daySPECIAL, special. Australia’s best burgers, made by Australia’s best young chefs. And where would you find these fabled burgers? At the Craypot, in the little fishing port of Stanley in the far northwest of Tasmania. The Craypot, owned by Stuart Smith, regularly serves great burgers, but on the first Saturday of June last they were exceptional, cooked by the seven finalists from the Lexus Young Australian Chef of the Year and celebrity chef Luke Mangan. After spending the morning out on the water at Bolduan’s Bay Oysters and then at Ian Heathorn’s Redrock Lobster facility at Smithton the young chefs were ready for lunch. With little open in Smithton on a Saturday afternoon the seven finalists and entourage, including Tasmanian food and wine writer Graeme Philips, FRDC Deputy Chair Stuart Richey and Seafood Experience Australia Director Bob Cox, backtracked to Stanley and walked into the Craypot. Spare a thought for Leslie who was working solo at the Craypot when the finalists arrived and ordered. Very politely, she explained “it may take a while…” Which led to some negotiating, a telephone call to owner Stuart - and seven hungry finalists were happily cooking lunch. Thirty minutes later and there they were: Australia’s best burgers, made by Australia’s best young chefs. Mind you, one of the reasons the burgers were so good was the quality of the major ingredient - premium Tasmanian rump mince, hormone-free, sweet and very tasty. Stuart explained later: He selects grass-fed steers with a carcass weight of ‘well over’ 400kg from the family’s three farms and value-adds them in five burger categories - eye fillet, rump, porterhouse, scotch and regular. Testament to their quality, Craypot customers have munched through 10 tonnes of them in 24 months. So if you find yourself peckish in the vicinity of Stanley, I recommend the Craypot. The burgers are pretty good. Energy use R&D is underwayFRDC is investing in two projects to improve energy efficiency at sea. The first will review currently-available technologies and identify R&D likely to lead to longer-term efficiencies on a larger scale. Its objectives are to:
The reviewer is Dave Sterling of DJ Sterling Trawl Gear Services, who formerly taught gear technology at the Australian Maritime College and is now running two prawn trawlers out of Tin Can Bay in Queensland. The review is to be completed next month with a summary booklet to be published soon after, followed by port visits to discuss the results with fishers. FRDC commissioned it following an energy review workshop in Melbourne that also called for an audit process to determine current energy use, identify inefficiencies and suggest mechanisms for increasing efficiency. Land-based industries use audits to optimise efficiencies and reduce inefficiencies by determining a baseline of usage in a single business that can be compared with similar operations across the industry concerned and monitored for future efficiencies. Consequently, in FRDC’s second project John Wakeford of the Australian Maritime College will:
As outlined in Peter Horvat’s article elsewhere in this edition, energy efficiency is now a global issue. As a result, collaborative networks are extending across the Tasman and the Indian and Pacific Oceans with exchanges of information and ideas becoming more commonplace. This pooling of resources and knowledge will assist in finding a global solution to a global problem. Crispian Ashby FRDC Programs Manager phone 02 6285 0425 Seafood sniffs NRM offerSHOULD the seafood industry become a partner in the Australian Government’s largely land-based, regionally-organised Natural Resource Management (NRM) process - and benefit from its funding? Participants in a national seafood industry workshop to consider these questions have asked industry’s wild harvest and aquaculture peak bodies to consider the workshop’s draft report at their next board meetings with a view to nominating a group to initiate seafood industry involvement in NRM and to prepare an application for funding from the Australian Government’s Sustainable Industries Initiative. FRDC has offered to manage the process. Seafood Services Australia Ltd (SSA), which organised the workshop, says if it goes ahead:
Both workshop participants and consultant Hassall and Associates identified the differences in fishery and NRM regional boundaries as adding an element of complexity and pointed out that, unlike NRM, fishery management is based on sustainability. Regional natural resource managers, they said, would need to improve their understanding of fisheries’ management and regulatory processes. But, overall, participants saw NRM as an opportunity for the seafood industry to work with land-based producers to ease pressures on natural resources that directly affect seafood’s work environment. MORE: Adam Knapp, Seafood Services Australia, phone 1300 130 321. Hawkesbury phoenix risesA 21st CENTURY oyster industry is emerging on the Hawkesbury River, north of Sydney, to replace a 19th century one devastated two years ago by QX disease. “Our first crop’s delivered a great product. We’ve been selling about 500 dozen a week for the past three months and the market response has been terrific,” said Rob Moxham, Director and Secretary of the Hawkesbury River - Patonga Creek Oyster Industry Restructure Association. But these oysters aren’t the QX-susceptible Sydney rock species that has been farmed continuously in New South Wales since the 1870s. They are triploid Pacifics, sourced from Tasmania through a $3m-plus effort funded by the NSW Government to put the state’s third-biggest growing area back into business. “Before QX hit, the Hawkesbury supported 23 permit holders and 50 jobs. Immediately after, there was just one. Me,” Rob Moxham said. “I’d had 12 employees. But with no cashflow I had to pay out their long service and so on and let them go,” the fourth generation grower said. There was a glimmer of light when the NSW Government offered a $150 a tonne subsidy to remove dead stock as part of a $2.7m, three year package. A new permit holder has invested in the Hawkesbury and now there are 15 workers back on the river, six of them with Rob Moxham. 3000t removed “My blokes spend two days a week on the new oysters and three days cleaning up,” Rob Moxham said. So far the clean-up has seen more than 3000t of dead oysters removed by hand, when tide and weather allowed. “We’ve cleaned up about 80 per cent of the dead cultivation from the 400 hectares of oyster leases in the Hawkesbury. But about one third of the leases will be surrendered to the DPI. They won’t be needed with our new growing methods. “We would like to continue using the funds the government has allocated this year to extend the clean-up and further reduce the impact of QX on the estuary,” he said. On the reactivated leases the tarred sticks and wooden racks are being replaced with recycled plastic by growers who took a close look at what worked for their Tasmanian and South Australian counterparts before deciding on what they believe will be best for the Hawkesbury. “The triploid Pacifics grow faster than Sydney rock and because we’re growing them upriver in less saline water than the SA and Tasmanian ones they have a milder flavour and our market likes that,” Rob Moxham said. SRO trials Ultimately, the Hawkesbury growers want to produce both species. With FRDC funding, QX-resistant Sydney rock are being trialled under commercial conditions. “They’ve had their first hit of QX. It wiped out all the control oysters, but mortality in the resistant ones was only 18 per cent, which is very encouraging. “Now we’re watching for a second hit, to see whether the first one strengthened or weakened the survivors’ immune systems,” Rob Moxham said. Support continues, to ensure the resurgence is long-term. A Landcare project in the upper catchment is expected to protect and improve water quality for oyster farming and training sessions have been organised to help growers improve breeding lines and production techniques. With the encouragement of the new grower, Steven Jones, permit holders are forming the Broken Bay Oyster Association, which is writing the key tenets of NSW’s sustainable aquaculture policy into its code of practice. As a result, there are now agreed strategies for: The association intends to register Broken Bay Oysters as a brand and aim for the top end of the market. “The opportunity to become a model estuary is too good to miss. Rarely in business do you get the chance to start with a clean slate,” Steven Jones said. “Even so, we’ve only just survived. On my operation we’re still two years away from profitability and for new investors it will be four years,” said Rob Moxham. “But the industry will be cleaner, more mechanised and better managed. More secure too. The Sydney market’s at our doorstep and there’s a growing community realisation that oysters are not just the environmental canaries of the river - they’re the filters as well. “I can definitely see a future here now. We were 100 per cent wiped out. But - the phoenix rises from the ashes.” MORE: Rob Moxham, email rmoxham@bigpond.net.au; Steven Jones, email smjones@aglign.com.au Oyster factsQX disease - Q for Queensland, X for unknown - was identified in Moreton Bay, Queensland in 1968, reached northern NSW estuaries in the 1980s and was confirmed in the Hawkesbury in June 2004. It infects the Sydney rock only, lodging in the lining of the gut from where it multiplies and attacks the digestive gland, starving the oyster to death. Humans are not affected. In FRDC project 2006/062 Robert Adlard of the Queensland Museum is attempting to identify the intermediate host that allows QX to cycle repeatedly through an estuary. Triploid Pacific oysters cannot breed and thus will not establish feral populations, unlike diploids more commonly farmed elsewhere. Technology to produce triploid Pacific and Sydney rock oysters was developed with FRDC support. Sea snails a new resource?PREDATORY sea snails known collectively as whelks (Muricidae) could become the basis of a new Australian fishery if local specimens currently being studied by an Adelaide marine scientist display the same health properties as their overseas cousins. Kirsten Benkendorff, senior lecturer in marine biology at Flinders University, said the unfished whelks and many other Australian molluscs showed potential for development as healthy food, novel nutriceuticals and potent pharmaceuticals, as long as prior research identified the steps necessary to prevent over-exploitation. She said whelks were a good source of protein and could have high omega-3 concentrations. They are regarded as a delicacy in countries such as Chile, where commercial fishing has seriously depleted stocks and are also harvested overseas as the source of a natural purple dye and a homeopathic remedy - Murex. During her PhD research Kirsten Benkendorff identified a powerful antibiotic in the eggs of the local whelk Dicathais orbita, work that led to her being named Young Australian of the Year for Science and Technology in 2000. Her more recent research has also identified anti-cancer properties in this whelk. Kirsten Benkendorff said this provided a good basis to further test the clinical applications of the whelk homeopathic remedy and develop a similar natural remedy from the Australian species. With the help of students she has screened extracts from many other Australian molluscs for anti-bacterial activity against human pathogenic bacteria and for anti-cancer activity against transformed lymphoma cell lines – discovering that abalone blood and lipid extracts from turban snails both have ‘interesting’ antibacterial properties. In addition to more bio-prospecting for antibacterial and anti-cancer agents, she has been investigating the potential conservation benefits and environmental impacts involved in the search for pharmaceuticals from natural organisms. This work, she said, highlighted a need to understand the ecology and life history of marine organisms before exploiting them, with sustainable production of new marine resources typically requiring an investigation of their aquaculture potential. In line with this belief, she is attempting to culture whelks in the laboratory - an objective she said was proving a challenge. Meanwhile, a painkiller described as the synthetic equivalent of a peptide from the marine snail Conus magus is being marketed in the United States and Britain to ease severe chronic pain in people intolerant to morphine. Marketer Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc says the ziconotide is the first intrathecal analgesic approved in the United States in more than two decades. MORE: Kirsten Benkendorff, phone 08 8201 3959; email Kirsten.Benkendorff@flinders.edu.au Schooling krill a real thrillANTARCTIC krill are schooling in purpose-built, zero-degree tanks at the Australian Antarctic Division’s headquarters outside Hobart. “After 30 years we’ve finally got them schooling instantaneously - behaving like real krill in the field - which is opening a new field of research,” said the AAD’s krill biologist Rob King. “Until it happens in the lab, you never really know if any of your measurements are worthwhile,” he told Robin Williams on ABC Radio National’s Science Show. Whether they know it or not, many Australians are now eating krill as a component of what Rob King describes as ‘fish-fingery’ seafood. Not surprising perhaps, as 100,000t of the little crustaceans are harvested annually in what now is the biggest Antarctic fishery, although this catch represents a mere fraction of one per cent of a krill biomass estimated at 160 million tonnes.
Rob King’s research is asking some fundamental questions about this little-studied resource. What is the importance of their big eyes? Do they school at night? How do they coordinate to school? Why do they school at all? For the baleen whales, their schooling is essential. It allows the blue whale, biggest of them all, to swallow a tonne of krill in a single mouthful. It’s not so simple for the commercial harvesters. “There are all sorts of problems handling krill for human consumption,” Rob King said. “They have very high fluoride levels in their exo-skeletons and have to be peeled quickly once they’re aboard. Then processed quickly too, before their very active proteolytic enzymes start breaking down the catch - and, remember, once you find them they’re easy to catch, so there’s going to be many tonnes brought aboard in every shot.” Adult krill are 5cm to 6cm long and the AAD, currently developing an aging technique, estimates longevity in the wild to be about five years, although it kept one alive in a lab jar for 10 years. Then there’s the question of that abundance. They are believed to survive the six month Antarctic winter without food by shrinking, reducing their cellular volume and metabolising the contents, although nobody knows what really goes on under that winter ice sheet. Winter aside, Rob King believes krill occupy the perfect feeding niche at the ice edge when the first spring bloom of phytoplankton occurs. “As the phytoplankton are released from the melting ice into the nutrient-rich waters, the sun’s burning down with light for photosynthesis and the krill become the combine harvesters of the Southern Ocean. “Not just phytoplankton. They’re omnivores and they just rip through anything they can get – copepods, other zooplankton, aggregates of bacteria and other protists – cashing in on the Antarctic’s boom and bust food economy,” he said. To study them in Tasmania the AAD researchers have a big new aquarium, comprising four separate systems each with about six tonnes of seawater, that keeps the krill at about 0.5°C. From the tanks the water passes through heat exchangers to reach about 20°C for biological filtration, then is recirculated. For the researchers the aquarium is a shirtsleeves environment with an ambient temperature between 15°C and 18°C. Nevertheless Rob King is planning to exchange it for something a bit nippier. He hopes to head south to study krill in their Antarctic environment next year. MORE: Rob King, phone 03 6232 3209; email rob.king@aad.gov.au Aboriginal lead on crabTWO Aboriginal communities are leading the development of mud crab farming in Australia, using hatchery-produced seed stock developed in FRDC project 2000/210. One pilot-scale operation is near Darwin; the other is 350 km east at the coastal settlement of Maningrida. The mud crab Scylla serrata ranges across the Indo-West Pacific region. It is widely farmed in Asia and is the target of wild fisheries in the Northern Territory and Queensland. But unlike Asia, where wild-harvest juveniles are used as seed stock, the development of farming in Australia requires juveniles from hatcheries because their removal from the wild is illegal. To provide the necessary breakthrough, FRDC funded the Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines (DPIFM) and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries to collaboratively develop larviculture and nursery technology capable of providing a reliable supply of seed stock, building on basic culture technology that had already been developed in a collaborative project between Australia and the Philippines. As a result, Gwalwa Daraniki Enterprises is growing crabs in earthen ponds on Aboriginal land alongside Darwin harbour, in partnership with DPIFM. At Maningrida, the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation is stocking a netted mangrove creek.
The Darwin operation, Mudla Farm, is using about 2.5ha of rehabilitated ponds from what previously was a prawn farm that had not been used for years. They were stocked with more than 50,000 hatchery-produced crablets and harvesting has begun. Mudla operates under one of the NT’s first Shared Responsibility Agreements and has eight Aboriginal employees training in aquaculture and business management. The venture is also being used as a demonstration farm for other communities and companies interested in mud crab aquaculture. At Maningrida, remoteness and a lack of infrastructure has seen the Bawinanga corporation, in consultation with DPIFM, opt for a low-tech approach, enclosing about 1500 square metres of the appropriately-named Crab Creek with a netting fence. The enclosure is to be stocked this month, following delays caused by Cyclone Monica. Stocking densities will be low and the crabs will get limited supplementary feeding. DPIFM aquaculture scientist Graham Williams says the netting has negligible impact on water flow and there has been no scouring around posts or any other erosion, even though the category five cyclone crossed the coast close by. He said the two community-initiated projects were also serving as guides for similar developments in other regional and remote indigenous communities: In addition to these two ventures, ponds on an existing North Queensland farm have been stocked with hatchery-produced crablets and a Darwin business is planning a commercial operation near the city. MORE: Graham Williams, phone 08 8924 4261; email Graham.Williams@nt.gov.au Abalone disease responseFRDC says an outbreak of the viral disease ganglioneuritis in four Victorian abalone farms underlines a national need for aquatic animal health capacity-building. “Our objective is aquatic animal health research that creates a capacity to respond to such events. We don’t want a reactive R&D strategy,” Executive Director Patrick Hone said. The disease was identified on two land-based farms near Portland and Port Fairy in south-western Victoria and on two offshore research farms near the mouth of Western Port Bay. All have de-stocked and disinfected, under the supervision of the Victorian Department of Primary Industries. For the land-based farms this has resulted in a loss of about 2.4m abalone each - and a halt to cashflow. The disease, which appears to be spread through seawater as well as by direct contact, has also been reported in wild stocks on reefs near Port Fairy. In response, the Victorian Government has set up a control zone extending between 200m and 700m offshore along 10km of coast. The zone runs from the Moyne River mouth at Port Fairy west to Boulder Point and excludes:
However the virus has now spread beyond the control zone. Meeting with representatives of the abalone industry on July 27, Victorian Agriculture Minister Bob Cameron said ganglioneuritis had been found one kilometre outside the closed fishing zone in the previous couple of days. Immediate action Victoria has set up a reference group of animal bio-security and fishery managers, farmers, wild-harvest licence-holders and operators, processors and scientists. Priorities have been established for immediate research and bio-security measures. Tasmania and other states also are examining their bio-security in recognition of the interstate exchange of abalone. The Victorian DPI is using a dive contractor to monitor wild abalone at sites in and adjacent to the control area and at Port Fairy and Western Port Bay. The Victorian Abalone Divers Association has given some of its members disposable underwater cameras and laminated bio-security procedure sheets. As this edition of R&D News went to press, no signs of disease had been found in wild stocks at Portland or Western Port Bay. Peter Appleford, Victoria’s Executive Director, Fisheries, said the outbreak did not create any food safety concerns. He said in the wild it had first been reported on a series of reefs west of Port Fairy, immediately adjacent to one of the farms. Peter Appleford said a sensitive pre-clinical test was an R&D priority, to allow stock to be certified as disease-free and to determine any latent prevalence in farmed and wild stocks. His department has called for community support to assist in containment. December deaths The ganglioneuritis outbreak is the first reported in Australia. The Victorian DPI believes the first deaths at the Portland farm occurred early in December 2005, with high mortalities evident there by December 19. Shortly afterwards, abalone showing similar clinical signs were reported on the Port Fairy farm in a few tanks that were immediately destocked and disinfected. Positive links were identified between these two farms and one at Western Port Bay, with significant numbers of live abalone exchanges between their sites in the preceding weeks. The disease reappeared on the Port Fairy farm in April this year, causing high mortality throughout. Forward and backward traces between farms were again investigated, but no other infected abalone were found. An epidemiology report from the Victorian DPI said it was likely an endemic agent in wild abalone had become pathogenic in farmed stocks, killing blacklips, greenlips and hybrids. Land-based farms grow abalone in seawater pumped from the ocean into land-based tanks, then discharge it into the ocean through settling ponds. The disease:
Peter Appleford said for the longer term, R&D was needed to establish national bio-security protocols for abalone aquaculture and wild fisheries. “Current methods of moving stock and equipment from reef to reef and farm to farm do not meet international best practice, resulting in an increased contamination risk. “The abalone sectors nationally should take note of the types of controls that exist in chicken farming and comparable industries with viral disease concerns and adopt a bio-security plan that gives them adequate protection. “Most controls are commonsense, easy and relatively inexpensive,” he said. MORE: Peter Appleford, email Peter.Appleford@dpi.vic.gov.au; Patrick Hone, email patrick.hone@frdc.com.au MPAs - what happens nextTHE Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH) says it will begin work on a management plan for the south-east MPAs after they are declared Commonwealth reserves later this year. It says its director of national parks will work with stakeholders on operational details of the activities that will be allowed in each MPA and how they must be carried out. The management plan, with a life of up to seven years, will address four major issues:
The department says there will be many opportunities for stakeholders to be involved in the planning process, including the opportunity to comment in detail on a draft management plan that will be publicly available. With some existing Commonwealth MPAs being managed by state government agencies under business agreements and others by Australian government agencies such as Customs, DEH says arrangements for the south-east reserves will be developed in consultation with stakeholders and potential service providers. Stakeholders will also be able to comment on the proposed plan when a draft is completed. MORE: www.deh.gov.au DEH- impact DEH says the annual value of catches foregone under the revised MPAs is well under $1m - a fraction of the $11m impact it attributed to its initial MPA proposal. As a result, it says, catch reductions will not be required in any fishery and the Australian Government will soon announce how it intends to address compensation claims. It’s a win-win, says AbetzAUSTRALIAN Government Fisheries Minister Eric Abetz says the amended south-east MPA network is a win-win for fishers and for conservation. “This final proposed network reduces the impact on the fishing industry by more than 90 per cent from the original proposal, while increasing the protected areas by 24 per cent to about 226,000 square kilometres. “Significantly, the impact on the scallop fishery has been entirely removed.” Eric Abetz said any fair and objective observer would agree that a sensible, balanced outcome between jobs and conservation had achieved. THE south-east MPAs will “pave the way for the creation of a national network of MPAs throughout Australia’s vast ocean territory,” says Australian Government Environment Minister Ian Campbell. He said Australia already had about one-third of the world’s MPAs. Confirming that the south-east MPA network was designed to permit maximum oil and gas exploration and extraction, he said geological storage of carbon dioxide also would be permitted in multiple use zones. This would involve capturing emissions of carbon dioxide gas, compressing them into liquid, then injecting the liquid under pressure into deep geological formations as part of Australia’s climate change strategy. On fisheries, the Environment Minister said that in addition to the MPA network, extensive Commonwealth fisheries closures being implemented by AFMA, such as the proposed closure of Bass Strait to bottom trawling, would also benefit the marine environment.
MORE: Department of Environment and Heritage, phone 02 6274 1111; www.deh.gov.au Korea, Aust R&D partnersSOUTH KOREA and Australia are to collaborate on fisheries research. Under a three-year memorandum of understanding signed in Hobart the Korean National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) and CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (CMAR) will hold joint meetings and workshops to discuss mutual interests, including fisheries management, aquaculture and marine bio-technology. The agreement provides for exchanges of staff and information. “Formalising the relationship will bring great benefits for CSIRO as Korea has large tuna fisheries in the Pacific and participates in the same regional fisheries management forums as Australia,” said CMAR Chief Greg Ayers. He predicted immediate synergies in aquaculture, fisheries and oceanographic observation technologies, marine conservation, and the development of new products from aquatic organisms. NFRDI’s expertise in integrated data management - through projects such as a national network for ocean environment observation and the development of an early warning system for harmful algal blooms - should also prove invaluable, he said. NFRDI also has a research fleet, a maritime and fisheries school, a fisheries science museum, a remote sensing laboratory, a bioscience information centre and a gene bank of aquatic organisms. The Korean delegation expressed strong interest in Australia’s success in caging and value-adding southern bluefin tuna. CSIRO already has a similar cooperative arrangement with the Korean Ocean Research Development Institute - the oceanographic equivalent of NFRDI. MORE: Greg Ayers, phone 03 6232 5222 Formal standard for namesAN Australian Standard for marketing names used for fish nationwide is to be developed by Seafood Services Australia (SSA), bringing to fruition a lengthy process re-invigorated by FRDC more than a decade ago. SSA’s accreditation to do so comes from Standards Australia. Its CEO John Tucker said that although Standards Australia had traditionally managed the development of all Australian Standards, it was a natural fit for Seafood Services Australia to continue leading the development of a fish names standard for the seafood industry. He said SSA’s procedures would be audited to ensure they delivered the high level of stakeholder involvement and national consensus that underpinned all Australian Standards. “Development of the standard is underway and we will work with SSA throughout the public comment phase and completion,” John Tucker said. SSA Managing Director Ted Loveday said the standard would be an important step in strengthening consumer confidence in seafood. “Confusion over fish names has undermined consumer confidence for some time,” he said. Australia has more than 4500 native species of finfish and many more crustaceans and molluscs. After taking over the task on standardising the names of the commercially significant ones five years ago, SSA now looked forward to delivering a formal Australian Standard within months, Ted Loveday said. MORE: Ted Loveday, email tedloveday@seafoodservices.com.au, Standards Australia, www.standards.org.au False names may hurt youGONE are the days when ignorance was bliss. In today’s world if you are doing the wrong thing, whether by design or simply a lack of understanding, the court you face could easily be a current affairs crew thrusting a camera and microphone in your face to feed your embarrassment directly into millions of homes. When these issues relate to seafood retailing it is not just your shop that will take the brunt of any consumer backlash, but the whole industry. What a great shame this is when it is not difficult to do the right thing. For example, there is a simple way to help yourself and your industry on two current hot issues: Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) and the Australian Fish Names Standard (AFNS). Rule 1: Do not make up names. Don’t guess what the product is or where it has come from either.
The onus is on your supplier to give you correct product information on your invoice. It is essential that you follow this lead and sell the product you buy under the name and country of origin your supplier has advised. If you think suppliers’ information may be incorrect, raise your concern with them. Don’t put yourself at risk of prosecution by not following this simple rule. Roy Palmer - Deputy Chair, Seafood Services Australia, email palmerroy@hotmail.com Look for a label, MabelALL unpackaged seafood displayed for retail sale must now carry a country of origin label – even when that country is Australia. “Seafood lovers can now tell at a glance where the seafood on display has originated, whether it’s Australia, New Zealand, Thailand or Iceland,” said Seafood Services Australia (SSA) Managing Director Ted Loveday. The new rules have been developed by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), approved by all Australian health ministers and will be policed by state and territory health departments. They also require distinct statement of origin information to be printed on packaged seafood.A guide to help retailers understand and comply, Country of Origin Labelling of Food, is at www.foodstandards.gov.au/_srcfiles/CoOL_brochure_2006.pdf. To further improve consumer confidence, Ted Loveday has asked all seafood businesses, including restaurants, to use the species names prescribed in the Australian Standard Fish Names List, available at www.seafoodservices.com.au. He said SSA was developing an online tool that would make it easier for seafood operators to understand and comply with fish names requirements, labelling and the Primary Production and Processing Standard for Seafood. MORE: Ted Loveday, SSA Ltd, phone 1300 130 321 Aims are steady 10yrs onQUESTION: Generally speaking, has there been much change?
Let’s look at your four 1996 criteria for making the most of the catch. First, selective aquaculture. What gains has industry made? PDS: Ten years ago governments and to a lesser extent industry were experimenting with farming many species largely in the absence of any commercialisation strategy. At one point governments were trying to develop more than 50 species. These days, there is wide appreciation that the top eight species account for more than 95 per cent of the value of production and that future growth depends on bigger investments in fewer species. Second: Targeted, well-funded promotion and marketing? PDS: The need has been understood by industry for years. How to make it happen has been the challenge. Political intervention, fuelled by industry disunity, saw the demise of the Australian Prawn Promotion Association, at the time the industry’s only promotion entity. More recent attempts to establish a promotion entity seem to be well-supported, but effort needs to centre on those few sectors that can afford to pay and are likely to gain most benefit. Third: Value-adding through product development? PDS: There have been a number of national and state government initiatives, but none appears to have been very successful. There are three main reasons for this. First, with perhaps Atlantic salmon as the only exception, Australia doesn’t produce large quantities of any species that would result in increased profitability were it to be transformed on a large scale. Second, as a consequence, product development is best left to companies seeking competitive advantage by targeting niche markets. And third, an increased understanding of the health benefits of seafood implies a need to eat it in as close to its natural state as possible and, therefore, future value-adding may require as little as adding convenience by boning, skinning, portioning and packaging. Granted, in response to consumer demand for ready-to-eat meals, value-added products are increasingly available. But most are imported or developed from imported fish, or are transformed at the point of sale. Fourth: Value-adding through quality assurance? PDS: This is the area where industry has made most progress. Ten years ago QA was largely about product handling - looking after the quality of the fish from harvest to consumer. Now, added to that, is a greater appreciation of the logistic management processes involved, such as seafood safety, risk management, cool chain management, traceability, shelf-life stability, spoilage, packaging and third party certification. Changes have been driven by government legislation and the establishment of Seafood Services Australia in 2001 provided the industry with a single, national entity to address the complexity of Commonwealth and state requirements. You began your 1996 address by describing industry as being preoccupied with property rights. Is this still so? PDS: By and large industry has grown to accept that, because of community concerns over marine ecosystems sustainability, existing forms of property rights are as good as they are going to get. Consequently, the ‘preoccupation’ has moved from property rights to resource access. And this includes access to water for aquaculture. So how does industry achieve secure resource access without a property right? PDS: First, industry has to prove it is a responsible resource manager by developing and using such things as environmental management systems. Often this is not enough, particularly when access may be determined by political priorities. So, industry also needs to secure the support of its stakeholders - governments, community and consumers - by promoting its sectors and its products, its ability to provide safe, quality seafood that meets consumer expectations and by lobbying. Unfortunately, some sectors of industry view these activities as a cost rather than an essential investment. What about MPAs? It doesn’t seem that stakeholder support for industry is going to stop the expansion of MPAs. PDS: Probably not and maybe it shouldn’t. By fighting the establishment of MPAs, industry puts itself immediately and publicly in conflict with the non-fishing community and environmentalists. Better to concentrate on negotiating the location of MPAs and access within them - as industry has done with significant success in the south-east bioregion. In your 1996 address you called for more emphasis on reducing costs. Should rising fuel costs be an R&D priority? PDS: Yes. Along with other R&D aimed at reducing costs throughout the supply chain. How do export fisheries insulate themselves from the unforeseen impacts of SARS, international terrorism, bird flu…? PDS: This is difficult, but the most obvious answer is through market diversification. Some of our most important export sectors heightened their vulnerability to these and other impacts by selling into single markets. This is changing. What do you think were the highlights of the past decade? PDS: There are probably hundreds, but the ones that spring to mind are: a ] The way industry has dealt with the increasing environmental pressures and obligations being placed on it, in many cases taking the lead by developing environmental management systems. b] The way industry has dealt with new seafood safety obligations, including development of the Australian Seafood Standard to ensure the delivery of quality, safe seafood. c] The establishment of Seafood Services Australia as an industry-owned company to drive progress in areas such as the development of standards and promotion of the health benefits of eating seafood. d] The establishment of industry-owned companies to overcome challenges though commercialisation, such as by breeding genetically-selected oysters and utilising processing waste. e] The development of aquaculture and governments’ realisation that the future lies in bigger investments in fewer species and that they need to provide consistent and responsive approval processes. f] The move from state-based industry associations to national species-based ones, such as those for southern rocklobster, abalone and prawns. g] The adoption of whole-of-chain approaches by industry sectors, eg, southern rocklobster. h] Better communication and knowledge transfer within industry and the emergence of young leaders who can see beyond the status quo. In 1996 you listed four criteria for making the most of the catch. What are your criteria for the next decade? PDS: The same four, with the different emphases we’ve discussed. So my 2006 list is: a] commercially-driven aquaculture b] innovative seafood products, processes and technology c] value chain efficiency, including QA and all aspects of logistic management d] targeted promotion Success in each of these fields will depend on creating the right business environment, through strong leadership and effective industry advocacy. The criteria stem from the decision chart I prepared in 1996 and reproduce here, because I believe its logic remains valid. It represents the thinking behind the challenges described in FRDC’s R&D Plan and should be used by everyone planning R&D to benefit industry - to make the most of the catch. IN July 1996 FRDC participated in an international post-harvest seafood symposium Making the Most of the Catch, hosted by the Queensland Department of Primary industries. The keynote speaker was PETER DUNDAS-SMITH, then FRDC Executive Director. He called his address Investing for Tomorrow’s Catch, which also was the title of the five year strategic R&D plan FRDC launched that year. Ten years on Peter Dundas-Smith says industry has taken big strides to improve its environmental and food quality credentials. But it still lacks a strong public voice, communicates poorly with the public, pressure groups and with government and, in marketing and promotion, has only begun to take its first infant steps. MORE: Peter Dundas-Smith, email pds@dundas-smith.net Fishway to remake the Ord?A PROPOSAL for a multi-million dollar fishway that would allow barramundi and up to 20 other native fish species enter Lake Kununurra in the Ord River scheme is being prepared for the Western Australian Government. The Australian Government has provided a recreational fishing grant of $97,000 to fund the design of what Scott Goodson of the Department of Water WA says will probably be a mechanism working on a canal lock principle to give fish access at one of 20 radial gates across the dam on the Ord that has created 40km-long Lake Kununurra.
Lake Kununurra acts as a diversion irrigation storage from the bigger Lake Argyle, which together form Australia’s biggest freshwater impoundment. “There’s a 10m height difference between river and lake and we envisage a concrete lock with a rising floor automatically filling with water, then emptying again to allow both upstream and downstream migration,” Scott Goodson said. “This would re-establish the migratory pathways of many of the species that still aggregate below the dam, from sooty grunters and tarpon to cherubin, the freshwater prawn; redclaw crayfish, gudgeons and sleepy cod,” he said. “The designers would make sure saltwater crocodiles and bull sharks are barred. Both could survive in the lake and would compromise some of the recreational values we currently enjoy.” Rather than crocodiles, proponents look forward to a big economic boost, based largely on the belief that the exceptional growth rates reported elsewhere for barramundi introduced to impoundments would create a world-class fishery and a consequent influx of recreational fishers. An economic benefit study predicts:
The initiative, expected to cost upwards of $3m, was backed by delegates to Australia’s Fourth Technical Workshop on Fishways, who said that restoring fish passage along the length of the Ord River would also provide greater biosecurity for threatened species such as the freshwater sawfish and freshwater whipray, particularly in view of the proposed development of Ord Stage II irrigation, which would make further claims on the river. Boyd Kynard, a world expert on fishways, said: “Nowhere else in the world has there been a community-driven fishway project of its kind. “I have participated in similar projects in China, Brazil, and in the USA and have never seen a fish passage project that had such high marks for improving fisheries resources - barra fisheries, protected species, and riverine native species - and that would also contribute greatly to the indigenous people’s culture”. The proposed fishway has strong indigenous support. Part of the federal grant is being spent to document the impact the creation of the two lakes has had on aboriginal fishing. But indigenous and non-indigenous proponents are already looking beyond Lake Kununurra to Lake Argyle. “Stage two we hope will extend the migratory path into Lake Argyle,” said Scott Goodson. “The Argyle spillway would have to be modified. But that would be relatively simple if the money and the will are there.” MORE: Scott Goodson, phone Aquaculture in passing lane
Dietmar Flock of Germany underlined aquaculture’s ability to make rapid breeding and genetic advancements by utilising knowledge from other livestock industries that had been working in this field for much longer. Yngvar Olsen of Norway emphasised the importance of environmental sustainability and described how modelling nutrient loading could be used to demonstrate the environmental credentials of aquaculture. From the European Seafood Expo in Brussels I had flown to Florence for Aqua 06 with Seafood Services Australia’s Roy Palmer and Jayne Gallagher. The conference theme Linking tradition and technology - highest quality for the consumer emphasised the traditional importance of aquaculture in Europe while recognising that technical innovation has helped make it the dynamic, economic industry it is today. This conference was less than one tenth the size of ESE, more focussed on R&D and relatively low key. Its trade show had about 200 exhibitors. But what it lacked in size it made up for in content: 1200 abstracts, 750 oral and 450 poster presentations, delivered in nine concurrent sessions over each of the five days. About 3000 delegates from more than 50 countries were there to look, listen and learn, including an Australian contingent of about 30 from all states, with CSIRO well-represented. A number of sessions were either chaired or presented by Australians - NSW Fisheries’ Geoff Allan was co-chair of the program committee - and their contributions were well received, with Australia seen as doing some leading edge work. MORE: www.was.org/ Peter Horvat, FRDC Communications Manager, email peter.horvat@frdc.com.au, phone 02 6285 0414 Aquafin’s 5 productive yearsAFTER five years’ operations, Australia’s Aquafin CRC and its partners have invested nearly $33m in research, education, training and technology transfer, mostly through projects managed by FRDC’s southern bluefin tuna and Atlantic salmon aquaculture subprograms. Highlights: Probing for sustainability A system using DNA probes for benthic infauna will increase the speed and scope of monitoring of the local environment, reduce costs and provide information that can be used to avert undesirable environmental impacts of cage farming. Hydro-dynamic and bio-geochemical models of the ecosystem of Tasmania’s south east salmon aquaculture zone have been used to run feeding and environmental scenarios for industry planning. Similar models are being established for tuna farming in South Australia. Growing the markets Tuna product quality research has established a system for sensory assessment of tuna flesh, objective parameters of flesh quality, tracing and temperature recording through the supply chain to Japanese markets and data supporting the use of vitamin supplementation to achieve extended shelf-life. These advances give industry greater capacity to manage product quality and enhance market value. Lighting regimes have been designed to help companies control salmon maturation, achieve faster growth and re-conditioning and prevent a gap in market supply. New species Better hatchery feeds and methods for rearing snapper have substantially reduced hatchery costs. Painstaking work on the rearing of striped trumpeter larvae has achieved substantial gains in survival and reduced larval deformities. Commercial development is now a real prospect. Fighting back A major campaign to cost-effectively control amoebic gill disease in salmon has greatly increased understanding of the pathogen and the disease process, yielded important information about its epidemiology and the husbandry factors that affect its incidence and intensity and is working towards vaccines and selective breeding. SBT innovation Innovative approaches are allowing researchers to measure stress in SBT throughout the farming cycle and to assess the influence of husbandry practices on stress, fish health, mortality, growth and condition. The results should have major implications for industry profitability. The first detailed, multi-disciplinary examination of longer-term - 18 month -SBT farming is close to completion. It will show risks and benefits of such a change in farming practice in terms of growth, condition, residues, product quality, environmental impact and economic return. Aquafin head Peter Montague says the CRC’s strategy is to respond to industry’s changing circumstances, balancing incremental improvements in technology with high-risk innovation that probably could not be undertaken without the organisation’s long-term collaborative arrangements. The CRC will complete its seven-year term in June 2008. MORE: www.aquafincrc.com.au Brussels, why not you?IF you work in the Australian fishing industry and have not been to the European Seafood Expo (ESE) in Brussels because you don’t export or don’t think it offers anything to you, think again! ESE is the single biggest seafood event in the world. Its scale is hard to comprehend. This year, spread across seven pavilions, there were more than 1600 exhibitors from 76 countries. That’s almost all the seafood producing nations of the world. Brussels brings everyone together - from the small single-stand companies (three sq/m) to the power players of the world market such as Spain, France, America and China, who have entire buildings constructed within the expo halls for individual displays covering 1,000 sq/m-3,000 sq/m. The Australian stand’s 160 sq/m puts us firmly at the lower end. But do not let our size fool you…The Australian stand, while small, is one of the most popular in the exposition and punches well above its weight. This year the Australian contingent numbered more than 65 people from 23 companies and organisations.
And everyone loved us and our products. We have a strong reputation for producing high quality, clean and green seafood. During the three days thousands of people passed the stand, many stopping to do deals, enquire about our products, what we might import, or just to have a chat. Although people come to ESE for different reasons, the most important is to trade. This entails endless meetings between buyers and sellers, negotiating on product, volume and price, through to the fielding of inquiries for follow-up after the event. More than 190 serious enquiries were registered at Australia’s information desk. This worked out at one serious enquiry every 15 minutes and does not take into account direct client contact by exhibitors. Initial feedback from Australian participants at the end of the event was very positive. Based on the exit poll and anecdotal comments, it appears they negotiated about $15m of business. Key areas of interest were mackerel icefish, rocklobster, prawns, tropical finfish and crabs, while individual companies noted good interest in other seafood products. It’s reassuring to see that ESE is not just for the big guys. Sure there were reps there from some of the world’s most influential seafood buyers - Sainsbury, Tesco, Young’s Bluecrest and Walmart. Even guys from Coles’ seafood team were there. But there were also small companies seeking premium products for niche markets. The European Seafood Expo was an eye-opening experience for me for a number of reasons. What did I get out of attending? Well, it showed that Australia is:
If you still don’t think ESE is for you, read on. You may change your mind. Peter Horvat, FRDC Communications Manager, email peter.horvat@frdc.com.au, phone 02 6285 0414 People who make it happenMANY of the industry reps on the stand may not even notice them. They’re the people who work constantly doing the jobs no one else wants to do setting up the venue, moving boxes, clearing rubbish, pushing the trolley for the 1.5km round trip to get ice. But they are the people who ensure everything happens when it counts. First and foremost was Richard Stevens - WAFIC R&D Manager and ESE guru. Without doubt, the heart and soul of the Australian effort and I do not believe our stand at ESE would run as smoothly, or command the respect it does without the work he puts in. This year the Seafood Industry Development Fund offered a bursary for an industry person to attend ESE. However instead of one recipient two were chosen - Neil Dorrington, a lobster fisherman from Western Australia and Alice Hurlbatt, a researcher and Western Rock Lobster Council member. Two very different people but both wonderfully willing to assist in the often mundane duties of running a successful stand. A number of others tirelessly assisted on the information desk, helping out the industry people with seafood to sell. They included Seafood Services Australia’s Roy Palmer and Jayne Gallagher, volunteer exhibitor Catherine Swainston and Sarah Gazia from the WA Agent-General’s office. Peter Horvat, FRDC Communications Manager Oz where it’s atINTERNATIONAL power brokers from both the environmental and retail sectors made a bee-line for the Australian stand in Brussels for the expo’s annual cocktail reception hosted by the Seafood Choices Alliance. It was the second year the Alliance has worked in partnership with the Western Australian Fishing Industry Council to host the reception - and with 76 exhibiting countries to choose from, this is solid recognition of Australia’s appeal.
The Seafood Choices Alliance is a global trade association for ocean-friendly seafood. It brings together major conservation groups such as the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Marine Stewardship Council and Greenpeace, as well as leaders from the seafood and restaurant industries and educational institutions. Alliance Director Mike Boots used the event to outline to 160 guests the alliance’s plan for expansion in Europe and its key directions for the future. The function was also addressed by WAFIC Vice-chairman, Peter Fraser. Guests expressed their admiration for Australia’s work in making its fisheries sustainable, many asking for more information they could use as examples in their countries. Peter Horvat, FRDC Communications Manager UK: pain now, profit laterINDIVIDUAL transferable quotas and further effort reductions are part of a British Government plan to restore the UK fishing industry to profitability. This follows an inquiry by the UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit that said the industry could be profitable in the long term, provided it modernised to meet global competition. Key recommendations include:
The report says stock sustainability is possible only if the vast majority of the industry supports and obeys the rules. The strategy unit proposes:
The report proposes giving fishery managers tighter control of capital investment in boats to prevent boom and bust cycles, special protection for dependent fishing communities and the development of experimental marine protected areas that provide benefits to multiple users, such as commercial and recreational fishers and tourism operators. MORE: www.strategy.gov.uk/work_areas/fisheries/index.asp WA lobster fishers clean upIN Western Australia, a clean-up of rubbish from a beach on Dirk Hartog Island has won a community service award for rocklobster fishers Terry Ash, Colin Suckling and the Kalbarri Professional Fishermen’s’ Association. Although the island lies north of the rocklobster fishery the volunteers spent several days there collecting rubbish on foot and by motorbike and jet ski, then took it south for disposal aboard a 20m fishing boat. “Very little of it was fisheries-related. Most seemed to have come from cargo ships,” said Western Rock Lobster Council Executive Director Steven Gill. Nominated by the council, the clean-up saw the volunteers win the Community Service Award and $3000 at Fisheries Minister Jon Ford’s Rewards and Recognition night. They will use the money for an environmental project of their choice. Western Australian rocklobster fishermen and their families and staff also pitched in for a week-long clean-up of decades of debris at the remote Houtman chain in the Abrolhos Islands, coordinated “This was a major exercise that used the combined knowledge, skill and expertise of everyone in the group,” said SeaNet’s Carl Bevilacqua. “The islands and islets belonging to the Easter Group of the Houtman Abrolhos are rugged, inhospitable and isolated and it was a trial to see how we would overcome the logistical challenges. “We learnt a lot and hope to continue to make regular removals from isolated locations,” he said. MORE: Steven Gill, phone 08 9244 2933; Carl Bevilacqua, phone 08 9492 8811 Codex is law for exportsTHE growing importance of the international food code Codex Alimentarius to Australia’s seafood exporters was brought home at a forum in Brisbane earlier this month. Organised by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, which manages the code’s Australian arm, the forum was designed to raise awareness of the work of Codex, outline what the government sees as priority issues for the next year and to advise local producers how to take part in the consultation process. Codex, headquartered in Rome, was set up by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization in 1963 to protect consumer health and work for fair practice in food trading. It now coordinates input from more than 160 countries to develop and endorse the standards that comprise the international food code. More than 200 standards have been endorsed by Australia and other member countries, with new ones debated and endorsed each year. “These standards are now a global reference point and compliance with them is increasingly a condition of entry for Australian exports,” said Ted Loveday, Managing Director of Seafood Services Australia (SSA). “Many developing countries rely on Codex because they don’t have risk-based food safety systems of their own. So if you plan to export to developing countries, Codex compliance is advisable. “Codex is now recognised under the World Trade Agreement and therefore consistency with Codex standards is essential, or exporters run the risk of being involved in a World Trade Organisation dispute process.” Codex standards cover issues ranging from food hygiene, residue levels, certification systems and fishery products. Ted Loveday said Australia’s input into the Codex standard-setting process was “For example, Australia’s delegation to the Codex committee on food additives and contaminants - which included representation from Food Standards Australia and New Zealand and SSA - successfully argued that residue limits Codex was considering for cadmium in crustaceans were inappropriate based on the fact that exposure and consumption rates of crustaceans did not create a risk. “This led to Codex agreeing that it was not appropriate for further work investigating cadmium levels in crustaceans, thereby avoiding limits which would have severely impacted on the Australian prawn and lobster fisheries, potentially causing trade losses in the hundreds of millions.” He said with FRDC support SSA undertook an important role for industry by monitoring and, where necessary, advising on Codex issues involving seafood. MORE: Codex Australia, email codex.contact@daff.gov.au; http://www.seafood.net.au/quality/ Prawn council progressALL it took was a lightbulb moment for a few fishermen across the country to consider that the prawn industry could have a prosperous future, if only we could engage all prawn fisheries across the country. This was the start of the formation of the new national prawn body, Australian Council of Prawn Fisheries, which is already making waves. In March this year I took over from Martin Smallridge as Executive Chair of the Council. My six fellow-directors and I have developed a clear mandate for the organisation - the council vision is for the wild-catch prawn industry in Australia to be highly profitable, secure and respected. We have developed and documented a plan of action to guide us over the next 10 years and it’s all about how the industry can increase its profitability. In a nutshell, for the industry to be profitable, there needs to be a high price paid for product, a secure volume of product and low business costs for industry. To assist with the strategic plan, an analysis of the Australian wild-catch prawn industry was completed in April to determine the current situation and performance. Workshops held in Brisbane, Cairns, Sydney, Coffs Harbour, Adelaide and Fremantle were an important part of ground-truthing information to feed into this analysis. The analysis has been completed and a summary of the report is available to anyone who wants a copy. I think that the strategic directions for the council are sound and well-reasoned. Contemporary references on what makes a successful primary industry peak body - and why some bodies work and others do not - were consulted when we began drafting the plan. If we are to succeed we also need to deliver on adequate funding, effective communication and sound administration to get the job done. The council will provide copies of the draft strategic plan to as many people in the industry as possible for feedback well ahead of the Second Prawn Fisheries Conference, to be held on February 2 and 3 in Adelaide. This conference will be critical in that it will give an opportunity for industry around the country to seriously consider what needs to be achieved in coming years. We need as many people from industry as possible to attend so that a clear direction is given to the council. A database has been compiled of people who attended the workshops around the country and others who were consulted as part of the industry analysis. It and our website www.prawnassociation.com.au will assist the council in communicating as widely as possible regarding the conference and its strategic plan. I’m confident that our industry can be highly profitable now that we are working better together. Samara Miller, Executive Chair, Australian Council of Prawn Fisheries, email: samara@prawnassociation.com.au
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Last Updated: March 28 2007 13:43:41
“The new MPA network cannot be viewed in isolation from the significant steps this government is taking to get our fisheries on to a truly sustainable basis and to inject a strong environmental protection ethos into fisheries management,” he said.
PDS: Yes, but mostly in the way fisheries are managed and, consequently, in how industry has responded. In making the most of the catch, there has been less. There is some value-adding, certainly; and sectors that have reached sustainable harvest levels are turning to product development, market diversification and promotion. The biggest change, however, has been aquaculture growing its share of the total value of production from 20 per cent to 33 per cent in a decade. 
GLOBAL aquaculture production has reached 59.4 million tonnes a year, worth US$70.3 billion, Rohana Subasinghe from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization told the World Aquaculture conference in Florence. This, he said, made it the world’s fastest-growing food sector and accounted for almost 50 per cent of world seafood production.
