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PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-006

PROJECT STATUS:

COMPLETED

FRDC Resource: Development and ongoing maintenance of Australian Fish Names Standard 2019-2020

This project focuses on the ongoing development and maintenance of the Australian Fish Names Standard. Initiated by Seafood Services Australia in 1999, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) took carriage of the development of the Fish Names Standard in 2013. Initial accreditation...

ORGANISATION:

Alan Snow Konsulting

TAGS

PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-212

PROJECT STATUS:

COMPLETED

Development and ongoing Maintenance of an Australian Standard for aquatic plant names

This project has started as a concept and has culminated in the publishing of AS 5301- the Australian Standard for Aquatic Plant Names. This is recognised as being a “world’s first” and has resulted in an industry agreed list of names at the start of this highly important...

ORGANISATION:

Alan Snow Konsulting

TAGS

FRDC resource: Australian Fish Names Standard (AS 5300)

Project number: 2015-210

Project Status:

Completed

Budget expenditure: $316,094.00

Principal Investigator: Alan J. Snow

Organisation: Alan Snow Konsulting

Project start/end date: 30 Sep 2015 - 30 Sep 2018

Contact:

FRDC

TAGS

Need

Public and consumer confidence is vital to the wellbeing of Australia’s seafood industry.

Standard fish names remove confusion, strengthen consumer confidence, create market efficiency, underpin effective fisheries monitoring and improve management of food safety.

Use of standard fish names achieves outcomes that are consistent with the aims of industry and governments:
1 Improved monitoring and stock assessment enhances the sustainability of fisheries resources.
2 Increased efficiency in seafood marketing improves consumer confidence and industry
profitability.
3 Improved accuracy in trade descriptions enables consumers to make more informed choices
when purchasing seafood and reduces the potential for misleading and deceptive conduct.
4 More efficient management of seafood related public health incidents and food safety through
improved labelling and species identification reduces public health risk.

The FNC has been set the challenge to
• Improve the marketability of a species while being consistent with the fish naming protocols
• Review the naming protocols to achieve names that increase the economic benefit of Australian seafood
• Engage more with industry top develop innovative fish names
• Improve the linkages between species sustainability and fish names
• Striving to have further uptake of fish names and to mainstream fish names
• All key documents and the AFNS must be in harmony

Within the next decade: the AFNS must
• Be all inclusive
• Meet needs of fisheries managers
• Meet the needs of retailers
• Must be world’s best practice
• A national benchmark for sustainability will be developed

Significant changes have been made to the structure and direction of the FNC to accept a more marketing based focus, and the procedures that drive the FNC to achieve greater efficiencies.

This project will continue to capitalize on this investment

Objectives

1. Ensure FRDC is re accredited by the Accreditation Board of Standards Development Organisations as a Standards Development Organisation through participation in audits and improved standards development policies and procedures.

2. Continually improve the content of the Australian Fish Names Standard AS 5300 and underlying procedures to meet market, regulator and stakeholder needs and expectations.

3. Continue to promote the usage and uptake of Australian Standard Fish Names to the broader seafood industry and government through strategic submissions and presentations to government in consultation with FRDC

4. Develop and implement an alternative funding mechanism for the administration of the Australian Fish Names Standard min consultation with FRDC

5. Provide an advisory service to all stakeholders on matters related to the content of the AFNS and its usage.

6. Provide services to the Fish Names Committee through administration of the committee and meetings of the committee.

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-9808007-7-7

Author: Alan J Snow

Final Report • 2019-06-01 • 1.48 MB

2015-210-DLD.pdf

Summary

• Standards Australia audits have all been successful and FRDC operating procedures have been incorporated into the FNC operating procedures.
• Steps have been taken by the FNC to ensure that the approved names in the Australian Fish Names Standard are in harmony with the names used in reporting on the Status of Australian Fish Stocks (SAFS).
• There have been 8 FNC meetings held during the life of this project which has resulted in 100 agreed species names being added to the AFNS.
• The membership of the FNC has been further expanded to ensure a broader representation of stakeholder interests are being met.
• Stakeholder updates are now regularly prepared for distribution to affected stakeholders.
• A Stakeholder Consultation survey was undertaken in November 2018 which had a very high response and showed a high level of confidence in the FNC and its fish names processes.
• Further discussions and strategies developed by the FNC at the Fish Names Workshop held on 26 August 2016 are being held to continually improve the operating procedures of the FNC.
• The Australian Fish Names Standard is now recognised and accepted by all sectors of the Australian seafood industry.
• FRDC as an accredited SDO now has a bigger role in assisting to disseminate information through its vast number of contacts. This further facilitates processes such as public consultation and dissemination of results of final approval of applications.

Final Report • 2019-06-01 • 1.48 MB

2015-210-DLD.pdf

Summary

Develop and promote the Australian Fish Names Standard (AS-SSA 5300) and ensure reaccreditation as a Standards Development Organisation

Project number: 2012-209.40

Project Status:

Completed

Budget expenditure: $123,936.00

Principal Investigator: Alan J. Snow

Organisation: Alan Snow Konsulting

Project start/end date: 27 Sep 2012 - 29 Jun 2014

Contact:

FRDC

TAGS

Promotion

Policy

Need

Use of standard Fish Names achieves outcomes that are consistent with the aims of industry and governments:
1. Reduced mis-reporting improves fisheries monitoring, stock assessment and sustainability.
2. Reduced confusion over fish names increases efficiency in seafood marketing, consumer confidence and industry profitability.
3. Improved accuracy in trade descriptions and labelling enables consumers to make more informed choices when purchasing seafood and reduces the potential for misleading and deceptive conduct.
4. Improved traceability results in more efficient management of seafood related public health incidents (including recalls) and food safety.

The commitment to standardizing Fish Names in Australia has been undertaken since the late 1970s. Strategic investments by the FRDC and SSA leadership on standardizing Fish Names culminated in the development of the Australian Fish Names Standard AS-SSA 5300-2007(AFNS).

Public and consumer confidence is vital to the well being of Australia’s seafood industry. Standard Fish Names remove confusion, strengthen consumer confidence, create market efficiency, underpin effective fisheries monitoring and improve management of food safety.

The AFNS contains agreed names for over 600 commercially important domestic and imported species of fish, and over 4,000 other domestic fish species. The process of assigning these agreed names involved the expertise of several of the world’s best fisheries taxonomists and other key stakeholders.

Development of the AFNS is underpinned by rigorous procedures agreed to by government, industry and other stakeholders and which are administered by SSA and its Fish Names Committee.

SSA is one of only 5 Standards Development Organizations (SDO) accredited by Standards Australia.

SSA has ongoing commitments to Standards Australia (including annual accreditation and audit costs) which must be met to maintain its accreditation as an SDO. Failure to do so will result in the Australian Fish Names Standard ceasing to exist and all files, etc passed on to Standards Australia.

Objectives

1. 1. Ensure FRDC is accredited by Standards Australia as a Standards Development Organisation.

2. Continually improve the Australian Fish Names Standard AS SSA 5300 and underlying procedures to meet market, regulator and stakeholder needs and expectations.

3. Review and update Fish Names Procedures to incorporate improvements identified in the annual Standards Australia audit and feedback from stakeholders.

4. Improve the Fish Names website including the graphic design, usability and SEO (www.fishnames.com.au)

5. Provide a Fish Names Hotline service to support the adoption of standard fish names.

6. Promote the usage of Australian Standard Fish Names to the broader seafood industry.

7. Development of an alternative funding mechanism for the Administration of the Australian Fish Names Standard.

8. Undertake activities to further promote the uptake of fish names as agreed with FRDC (additional objective).

Fisheries R & D Corporation to be accredited by the Australian Board of Standards Development Organisations as a Standards Development Organisation (SDO) to develop Australian standards in the seafood industry

Project number: 2012-209.30

Project Status:

Completed

Budget expenditure: $25,500.00

Principal Investigator: Alan J. Snow

Organisation: Alan Snow Konsulting

Project start/end date: 30 Jun 2013 - 30 Dec 2013

Contact:

FRDC

TAGS

Policy

Audit

Need

The seafood industry needs to have a Standards setting body that can develop Australian Standards specifically for the seafood industry.

SSA has successfully fulfilled this role since 2005 when it was one of the first organisations to be successfully accredited by Standards Australia as a Standards Development Organisation.

The first Australian Standard to be developed by SSA was the Australian Fish Names Standard (AS SSA 5300) which was accredited as an Australian Standard in 2007.

SSA is ceasing to operate as at the end of July or soon after.

The end result of this is that either:
a. Administration of the AFNS and all IP can be handed back to Standards Australia as per the terms of accreditation; or
b. Standards Australia can assign administration of the AFNS and all associated IP to another SDO with a similar scope.

As there are no other like organisations with a similar scope, it is important that a seafood industry organisation be accredited as soon as possible to assume control of the standard.

While the AFNS is a current and will stay in place for 5 years, it is not the type of standard that can be left static. Its strength is that it is continually being amended as species names are added and amended.

In addition to the Australian Fish Names Standard, there are some additional standards that are being proposed
• 2015 Australian Standard for Responsible Fishing on Vessels
• 2015 Australian Standard for Responsible Fisheries Management
• 2015 Australian Standard for Chain of Custody in Seafood
• 2015 Australian Standard for Common Language in Seafood

FRDC is a moist appropriate organisation to be accredited as an SDO. Initial discussions with ABSDO are very positive and the fact that FRDC is ISO accredited is a huge bonus.

Objectives

1. A submission to ABSDO addressing all criteria in the document Requirements for Accreditation of Standards Development Organisations) is developed stating the case for FRDC to be accredited as an SDO.

2. FRDC is accredited by ABSDO as a Standards Development Organisation

3. All standards development manuals are rebadged and rewritten where necessary to align with FRDC administrative processes