Every time you fly, you listen to the flight attendant state, “In the unlikely event of an emergency, it is important that etc”. The message is continually reinforced so that, in the event of an incident, you will know exactly how to adopt the brace position and put on a life jacket.

Similarly, regular trials of the Seafood Incident Response Plan (SIRP) need to be held to reinforce industry awareness of its existence and ensure that the SIRP is responsive and relevant.

Australian seafood has an excellent reputation when it comes to food safety but we are potentially only one step from a disaster.

E.g. 22 December 2011 headlines “WA grown oysters off the Christmas Menu”. A headline such as this can have a highly detrimental effect on the Australian seafood industry if not properly managed. In this case, the SIRP was implemented as a level 1 emergency (Watching brief).

This does, however, highlight why it is important that the seafood industry is regularly reminded of the existence of the SIRP

SSA on behalf of the Australian seafood industry has been responsible for the development and ongoing maintenance of the SIRP.

The SIRP co-exists with other existing incident response protocols and provide guidance to the seafood industry as to how to respond and thus minimize damage to the industry resulting from an adverse incident.

This SIRP trial workshop is planned as a prelude to the Australasian Aquaculture Conference & Trade Show (1-4 May 2012, at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre)

A unique opportunity exists for key stakeholders to participate in the SIRP trial and attend the Conference.

The key outcomes from the workshop will be presented to conference delegates at Australasian Aquaculture.

The Australian aquaculture industry and associated supply chains will be the major focus of this particular trial.

There is a pressing national need to provide industry with services that complement and enhance those provided by peak sectoral bodies. The number and complexity of issues affecting global seafood trade will continue to increase along with the need for more rapid responses. Individual businesses and peak bodies cannot follow development in all of these areas: SSA can.

By focusing on industry development priorities and the adoption of R&D results, SSA can assist the FRDC to meet its 5 year targets and help to meet the expectations of the Australian government (see the National and Rural Research and Development Priorities and the response to the Corish Report).

FRDC investment is required to capitalize and build on SSA’s achievements and to continue to assist industry meet the challenges of sustaining seafood business profitability.

1. The need for stable supply of seafood – Australian seafood producers meet about 40 per cent of domestic demand at present, but if the status quo continues they are predicted to supply less than 25 per cent by 2020. Reducing business costs and increasing production efficiency will help close the supply/demand gap.

2. The need to sustain profitable markets – having the capacity to quickly respond to market signals and expand customer base by increasing demand for product in a broader range of markets.

3. The need to cost effectively deliver quality products to markets – collective approaches to product quality will underpin investment in branding and promotion and improve the capacity of the industry to consistently meet the expectations of premium price markets.

4. The need for access to timely and relevant expertise and knowledge – to be globally competitive Australia’s seafood businesses need access to and the capacity to use the best up to date knowledge and technology to achieve their business objectives.