The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) regularly call for funding opportunities that address research, development & extension (RD&E) priorities nominated by the FRDC's stakeholders.
The nominated RD&E priorities for investment are outlined below. Applications that address multiple priorities are encouraged where practical.
Applicants may also submit an application that aligns to the FRDC R&D Plan 2020-25 but does not address a nominated priority. Please note, preference may be given to applications that address nominated priorities. If you do wish to submit an application that does not address a nominated priority, it is recommended that you consult with the relevant stakeholder group(s) and expected end users to ensure that research concepts have the support of beneficiaries. Support can be demonstrated through project cash contributions, in-kind contributions, incorporation of end users into the concept and formal letters of support.
The nominated RD&E priorities for investment are outlined in the a call for funding opportunities below. and applications MUST be submitted via FishNet.
Please finalise and submit your application only on FishNet so that FRDC receives notification that the application has been submitted. Failure to do so may mean that your application is not submitted and therefore not considered for funding.
Visit the Applying for funding page for more information on FRDC's application processes.
If you have any questions or issues with FishNet, please contact the FRDC by phone on (02) 6122 2100 or email at frdc.programs@frdc.com.au.
To receive alerts about upcoming calls for funding opportunities as they are released, please subscribe to information from FRDC.
Current Calls for opportunities
FRDC's May 2022 Open Call for R&D Investment Opportunities
Closing date for applications 11.59pm (local time) 11 July 2022 (unless otherwise stipulated)
Applications must be finalised by 11 July 2022 (unless otherwise stipulated). Applications not submitted by this date may not be accepted unless prior approval for a later submission date is provided by the FRDC.
Each application must clearly outline: how it will meet the relevant identified priority or a specific opportunity if not addressing an identified priority; achievable project objectives which respond to the priority or need; proposed methods to achieve the objectives; project outputs and outcomes including adoption pathways to impact.
A realistic budget that reflects the activity to be undertaken is to be provided along with justification for the budget request. Where appropriate, applicants should demonstrate collaboration with other relevant research providers and end users. Proposed projects should consider past and current research to avoid duplication and build on previous outputs.
Once submitted, the FRDC will assess each application as well as seeking an external review by end users and/or technical experts.
Priority Title |
Nominator(s) |
Research Advisory Committee Post-graduate student funding
|
Various RACs |
Southern Bluefin Tuna Health Risk Assessment: a global review |
ASBTIA IPA |
Reviewing methodologies for valuing small scale commercial fishing licences |
Western Australian RAC |
Western Australian RAC |
|
Investigating discard mortality from the use of tumblers in a scallop dredge fishery |
Victorian & Commonwealth RACs |
Victoria RAC |
|
Tasmanian RAC |
|
Commonwealth RAC |
|
Northern Territory RAC |
|
Identifying strategies to optimising the Mud Cockle fishery through translocation |
South Australian RAC |
Various RACs |
|
Human Dimensions Research |
|
Human Dimensions Research |
|
Human Dimensions Research |
|
Aquatic Animal Health & Biosecurity |
|
Assess the future needs of Australia's aquatic animal disease diagnostic system |
Aquatic Animal Health & Biosecurity |
Southern Rock Lobster Limited IPA |
Current Investment Opportunities
Title |
|
Need |
Several State and Territory based Research Advisory Committees (RACs) are offering funding for post-graduate (Honours, Masters, and PhD) student projects. This initiative seeks to attract high performing post-graduate students to address a range of priority fisheries projects. Funding is available for the following projects:
|
Deliverables |
The funding available for each student will be $25,000 per year, for up to 3 years, comprised of an annual $10,000 top-up stipend for living expenses and $15,000 for project operating expenses. |
Timing |
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 11 JULY 2022 |
End user |
Various – dependent on project |
Jurisdictions |
Various – as named against each project title |
FRDC Outcome(s) |
Outcome 1: Growth for enduring prosperity |
Other |
The student will gain direct applied research and industry experience by being co-supervised by a scientist from a relevant State and Territory based agency, while researching an industry relevant project and be registered at a university to undertake their post-graduate research. |
Title |
Southern Bluefin Tuna health risk assessment: a global review |
Need |
|
Deliverables |
|
Timing |
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 11 JULY 2022 |
End user |
Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association IPA |
Jurisdictions |
The Port Lincoln SBT ranching sector |
FRDC Outcome(s) |
|
Other |
This will build on the work undertaken as part of FRDC project:
|
Title |
Valuing WA smaller commercial fisheries across the supply chain: Case study of quantifying value chains and estimating economic contribution of production through the value chain |
Need |
GVP poorly represents the valuation of commercial fisheries. A better economic indicator of value to the local or state economy from the contribution of small commercial fisheries is required that values contribution across the entire domestic value chain.
Finding suitable methods is therefore needed. A pilot, focusing on WA's small-scale fisheries, will consider data requirements and access, and accepted assumptions, as part of a standard methodology for estimation. It would be developed as an extension to the Australian Fisheries and Aquaculture Industry 2017/18: Economic contributions – Practitioner Guidelines (FRDC 2017-210), and take into account the FAO Fisheries Circular No. 1019 FIIU/C1019(En) Revenue Distribution Through The Seafood Value Chain. It will consider options for addressing gaps in data availability, including the use of appropriate proxy measures. |
Deliverables |
|
Timing |
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 11 JULY 2022 |
End user |
WAFIC; DPIRD WA; commercial fishing organisations |
Jurisdictions |
Western Australia |
FRDC Outcome(s) |
|
Other |
This would link to and complement previous FRDC projects – including: |
Title |
Investigating the reproductive status and connectivity of King George Whiting near Wilsons Promontory and adjacent waters |
Need |
|
Deliverables |
|
Timing |
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 11 JULY 2022 |
End user |
Victorian Fisheries Authority; AFMA; PIRSA; Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania |
Jurisdictions |
Victoria; Commonwealth; South Australia; Tasmania |
FRDC Outcome(s) |
|
Other |
This would link to and complement previous FRDC projects – including:
|
Title |
Developing spatial based assessment methodologies and tools for small scale dive fisheries: Case study of the Tasmanian Commercial Dive Fishery |
Need |
Traditional assessment methods involving time-based Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) as a proxy for stock availability can be misleading due to issues such as hyperstability, where a fishery's catch rate stays stable while the actual fish population declines substantially. This situation can be exacerbated in dive fisheries where fishers can change behaviours such as swimming speed and depth, which can cover real trends in CPUE.
Such issues are thought to be occurring in the Tasmanian Commercial Dive Fishery (TCDF), with fishers reporting catch declines but catch rates remaining stable; fishers are reportedly swimming further and heading deeper.
For the two key native species in the TCDF – Shortspined Sea Urchin and Wavy Periwinkle – there are no harvest strategies nor formal stock assessments, and both species are considered relatively data-limited. TACCs in key zones are being reached and areas of localised depletion are reported, which may suggest that the current spatial management boundaries of the fishery are not appropriate.
The project aims to draw on and extend work on data-limited fisheries stock assessments (as part of FRDC project 2017-102) and the stock assessment toolbox (http://toolbox.frdc.com.au/), integrating the sophisticated suite of tools for categorising, tracking, and assessing the spatial status of abalone divers (FRDC 2011-201, 2017-026). The adaption of these tools to the sparse data in smaller scale fisheries (in both space and time), will create challenges for standardising catch and effort data (both logbook and GPS) that need addressing. |
Deliverables |
|
Timing |
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 11 JULY 2022 |
End user |
Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania; Tasmanian Commercial Divers Association; Fisheries managers |
Jurisdictions |
Tasmanian |
FRDC Outcome(s) |
Outcome 1: Growth for enduring prosperity |
Other |
|
Title |
Biological parameters for stock assessments in South Eastern Australia – a information and capacity uplift |
Need |
The marine waters of South Eastern Australia are one of a series of global ocean hotspots, with many species responding to the changing environment by shifting their demography, distribution, and phenology. Coupled with density dependent changes in species' biology and ecology, many of the 20+ year old terms used to parameterise stock assessment models likely do not accurately represent current population parameters. Sensitivity testing shows that some of these parameters have a large influence when used in stock assessments.
The recently completed FRDC project (2019-010), revealed the need to update the biological aspects of many harvested species in South Eastern Australia to ensure that assessments are incorporating parameters that reflect the contemporary biology of those species. This will in reduce uncertainties in stock assessment and provide greater confidence in management advice.
This initiative seeks to take a coordinated approach to gathering this critical information. The project leads would coordinate support to post-graduate student projects, attracting high-quality candidates to address a range of priority fisheries species for South Eastern Australia. The program would also leverage the sampling opportunities through the upcoming RV Investigator "Southeast Australian Marine Ecosystem Survey" planned in 2023 and 2024 and expose students to the use of biological data into assessments. Australia needs a pathway for graduates into fisheries science, and this project would enhance these opportunities.
Potential priority fisheries species will be identified through consultation with relevant South Eastern Australian stakeholders based on the prioritization output from FRDC project 2019-010 "Revisiting biological parameters and information used in the assessment of Commonwealth fisheries that are used in stock assessments".
The species data would be analysed with new tools, such that post-graduate projects would develop capacity in quantitative analyses and/or novel new technologies (i.e. AI, image analysis). |
Deliverables |
|
Timing |
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 11 JULY 2022 |
End user |
Fisheries scientists, managers, and relevant assessment committees |
Jurisdictions |
Commonwealth (Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery); Victoria; Tasmania; South Australia; New South Wales |
FRDC Outcome(s) |
Outcome 2: Best practices and production systems Outcome 4: Fair and secure access to resources |
Other |
|
Title |
Develop resources to enable best practice in the humane dispatch of sharks caught by fishers in the Northern Territory |
Need |
|
Deliverables |
|
Timing |
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 11 JULY 2022 |
End user |
Shark fishers – commercial and recreational |
Jurisdictions |
Northern Territory; potential national applicability |
FRDC Outcome(s) |
|
Other |
This would link to and complement projects to develop practical and safety handling guides for sharks, rays, and sawfish to minimise post-release mortality – including:
|
Title |
Identifying strategies to optimising the Mud Cockle Fishery through translocation |
Need |
The Mud Cockle Fishery on the West Coast of South Australia is a quota fishery, averaging catches of approximately 60 tons per year. Mud Cockle populations within the bays that are fished are dominated by undersized fish. Anecdotally, variable rates of growth are seen among the different bays, such that undersized fish in one bay take a longer time to grow to a legal size than adjacent areas.
Industry is keen to understand factors influencing growth rates through a small-scale trial and explore the feasibility of translocating Mud Cockles across both depth and density gradients within bays to:
|
Deliverables |
|
Timing |
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 11 JULY 2022 |
End user |
Vongole Fishers Association of SA |
Jurisdictions |
West Coast of South Australia |
FRDC Outcome(s) |
|
Other |
This would link to and complement previous and active FRDC projects – including:
|
Title |
Building climate resilience into the seafood industry: communicating climate driven opportunities for fishing and aquaculture |
Need |
|
Deliverables |
|
Timing |
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 11 JULY 2022 |
End user |
Commercial & recreational fisheries and aquaculture sectors; fisheries managers and policy makers |
Jurisdictions |
South Australia; NSW; Victoria; Tasmania; southern Queensland |
FRDC Outcome(s) |
Outcome 1: Growth for enduring prosperity Outcome 2: Best practices and production systems Outcome 3: A culture that is forward thinking |
Other |
Applications would leverage on existing oceanographic / climatic data sets and research expertise.
This would link to and complement previous FRDC projects – including:
|
Title |
Approaches for incorporating Indigenous Rights, practices and catch into resource sharing and harvest strategy frameworks, based on international experiences |
Need |
Across the globe, First Nations and Indigenous Peoples have been and continue to negotiate recognition of their fishing rights and for their knowledge and interests to be directly accounted for in intersectoral allocation and fisheries management. Internationally, examples include recognition of the historical right to sell fish commercially and according priority of First Nations commercial fisheries over recreational and non-Indigenous commercial fishing in Canada (Ahousaht Indian Band and Nation v. Canada (2018)) and ongoing negotiations between governments and the Sami in Finland and Norway over recognition of historical fishing rights.
Recognition of Indigenous fishing rights into current fisheries management, in resource sharing policies and allocation is in various stages of development across Australia's states, territories, and the Commonwealth.
At the same time and at the more operational level, harvest strategies are being developed which include Indigenous and cultural fishing, but greater guidance is required regarding harvest strategy settings which recognise the importance and account for the cultural, social, and economic impacts on local abundance and availability of fish stocks for Traditional Owners and local Indigenous communities. However, there is a gap in knowledge of possible approaches to address this, inclusive of both co-design and in the technical elements of controlling harvest itself (see FRDC 2016-204; 2014-233).
Existing guidance on developing harvest strategy frameworks (2010-061) needs expanding to address this need. Projects are underway in specific cases to develop inclusive harvest strategies (2019-127; 2019-021), however the ability to generalise is still needed. Through a recent FRDC project 2018-016, a set of principles for data governance was developed. The residual need is therefore to understand the range of ways rights and interests can be operationalised in harvest strategy frameworks and settings.
This project will undertake a review of approaches and policies developed internationally and domestically for incorporating Indigenous Rights, knowledge, practices and catch (Cultural-Customary and Cultural-Commercial) into resource sharing and harvest strategy frameworks. It will recognise that Indigenous leaders in Australia have knowledge-sharing relationships with First Nations leaders outside of Australia about fisheries. It will identify possible approaches available for Australian fisheries management agencies, Traditional Owners, and Indigenous communities, while recognising the different historical, cultural, and legal contexts of different jurisdictions. |
Deliverables |
|
Timing |
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 11 JULY 2022 |
End user |
|
Jurisdictions |
National |
FRDC Outcome(s) |
|
Other |
This would link to and complement previous FRDC projects – including:
The project will respect and reflect the AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research (the AIATSIS Code)
Work will support the initiatives under the National Fisheries Plan: Initiative 4.3: Integrating Indigenous ecological and cultural knowledge and practices into fisheries management approaches and harvest strategies, biosecurity, and habitat restoration projects |
Title |
|
Need |
Previous FRDC research on specific issues (e.g. animal welfare best practice, safety at sea) have identified a range of factors that inhibit and/or enabling cultural and behavioural change and adoption of best practice. These include structural factors (i.e. regulation), economic factors (i.e. costs, incentives) and psychological factors (i.e. how the change is framed).
There is a need to build on this research to identify opportunities where behavioural insights – using psychological factors such as cognitive biases, social norms, and emotions – can be used to "steer" behaviour change towards preferred outcomes. |
Deliverables |
|
Timing |
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 11 JULY 2022 It is anticipated this activity is undertaken within a 6 month period |
End user |
Fisheries Managers; Industry associations; FRDC Extension Officer Network |
Jurisdictions |
National |
FRDC Outcome(s) |
Outcome 1: Growth for enduring prosperity |
Other |
Work will support the initiatives under the National Fisheries Plan:
|
Title |
Profiling and tracking change in Australia's seafood workforce: establishing a baseline workforce dataset |
Need |
Australia's seafood industry's prosperity is closely tied to its ability to attract and retain people to work in the industry with fit-for-purpose skills. And at the same time, the seafood industry's contribution to the prosperity and wellbeing of its workforce needs to be tracked and monitored to support improvement.
FRDC's Capability and Capacity Strategy 2022 proposes an initiative for future workforce planning research. The first step in this initiative is to establish a baseline workforce dataset to address the problem of the lack of accessible, accurate workforce data. The seafood workforce is defined as including production, post-harvest, allied services (e.g. management, research), retail sectors.
Currently, available data is not always classified to align with how fishing and aquaculture may operate – e.g. Aquaculture or Fisheries Scientist has only recently been added to the Australian and NZ Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) used in the collection and dissemination to categorise all occupations in both labour markets.
A data linkage project is therefore needed to identify and review all available sources of fisheries and aquaculture workforce data. These include whole-of-population statistical data collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics through surveys and the Census, and by the Australian Taxation Office through Industry-linked Pay as you go liabilities taxation statistics. These also include administrative data on fisheries and aquaculture licencing and levels of activity (production and post-harvest) held by management agencies in each jurisdiction. The purpose of the analysis would be to:
The project will actively engage with other R&D activities (e.g. Skills Impact, and activities under the National Agricultural Workforce Strategy) supporting the future workforce planning research, including estimating of future workforce needs. An initial review will consider previous and active R&D addressing workforce data, including 2018-174, 2013-210 and 2017-210. It will encompass R&D in similar sectors, including in the horticultural industry (https://www.awe.gov.au/abares/research-topics/labour) and in business data linkage (e.g. BLADE). |
Deliverables |
These outputs will inform discussion and prioritisation of future workforce needs by generating a baseline of accurate workforce data and by providing a guideline for ongoing access and provision of this data. |
Timing |
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 11 JULY 2022 |
End user |
Industry; Management agencies; Training providers; Government; FRDC's Capability & Capacity Steering Committee and Human Dimensions Research Coordination Program |
Jurisdictions |
National |
FRDC Outcome(s) |
Outcome 1: Growth for enduring prosperity Outcome 3: Culture inclusive and forward thinking Enabling strategy 1: Drive digitisation and advanced analytics |
Other |
|
Title |
Should Southern Rock Lobster management be shifted to lower cost / lower risk in response to persistent low price? |
Need |
Southern Rock Lobster management across South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania is data rich and sophisticated relative to most Australian fisheries. This situation has developed because of the high value of these fisheries and the return on investment that comes from managing these fisheries at a fine resolution. This results in high management costs relative to most fisheries in these regions (e.g. SANZ cost = $1.6 million or ~ 10% GVP; SASZ cost = $3.4 million or ~5% GVP; Tasmania $3.6 or ~8% GVP). These costs for research, management and compliance are necessary to support current sophisticated management and are mainly recovered through licence fees paid by industry. The cost for these government services is fixed, which means that they have a greater impact on the profitability of the industry when price and revenue declines, as has occurred over the last few years. Industry have questioned whether shifting to a regime of more conservative, less precise and lower cost management could be worthwhile in the current operating environment. It is assumed that lower cost management would result in less precise data and therefore management would need to respond with more conservative harvest strategies (especially lower TACs). So, for jurisdictions where costs for services provided by government are recovered with licence fees, would lower fees, less precise management, and lower TACCs result in higher profits at the margin? Each jurisdiction undertakes multiple research, management and compliance activities each year, e.g. fishery independent sampling, pre-recruit monitoring, stock assessment reporting, advisory committee meetings, log book data management, etc. Each of these has a cost and a level of impact on management of the fishery. This project would examine these activities looking for those that have higher cost with a lower ROI. If there is a negative ROI at current beach prices, should these activities be discontinued as marginal cost is greater than marginal benefit? |
Deliverable |
|
Timing |
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 11 July 2022 |
End user |
Southern Rock Lobster fishing industry; fisheries managers |
Jurisdictions |
South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania |
FRDC R&D Plan Outcome |
Outcome 1: Growth for enduring prosperity |
Other |
This would link to and complement previous FRDC projects – including: |