FRDC will analyse fishing and aquaculture emissions reduction and carbon sequestration information to support development of the Carbon Farming Outreach Program's knowledge bank. FRDC will identify gaps in publicly available information on emissions reduction, emissions intensity, and carbon sequestration, and provide actionable insights/recommendations to avoid duplication and ensure cross-commodity consistency. The project will collaborate across stakeholders, RDCs, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and the broader supply chain. The project will engage a consultant with extensive knowledge of fishing and aquaculture and other commodities to conduct the analysis, ensuring it is informed by industry-specific expertise and includes collaborative opportunities with other RDCs. The project will involve systematic stakeholder consultations to identify and prioritise gaps and develop actionable recommendations for producers to lower emissions and sequester carbon.

This conference is organised by the Southern eDNA Society (SeDNAs - sednasociety.com), Australia and New Zealand's scientific society for the environmental DNA discipline. SeDNAS aims to promote best practices and help the adoption of methods across sectors, by closely working together with researchers, industry, and government. Conferences are organised biannually, alternating between Australia and New Zealand. The first conference (Hobart 2023) was uniformly well received by the attendees, particularly the focus on end-user applications and collaboration. Unlike many other scientific conferences, SeDNAs makes a point of inviting key stakeholders from industry and government to both attend the conference and present their own work or research needs. We found this stimulated discussions to be more likely to develop real-world research collaborations of higher relevance to end-users.

Including and supporting ECRs is an integral part of the mission of SeDNAs. We offer a range of sponsorship opportunities, but as part of our drive to ensure eDNA research benefits industry stakeholders, we are reaching out to key organisations interested in supporting ECRs to travel to the conference. FRDC bursaries would showcase the relevance of FRDC to upcoming molecular fisheries researchers and the broader eDNA community, while also offering FRDC a cost-efficient opportunity to remain abreast of the most cutting edge developments in the field.