The objective of this project is to undertake an independent review of the IRG’s operations and impacts to date in accordance with the below-described Terms of Reference and report on that review.
Terms of Reference
The specific terms of reference for this independent review are:
1. Undertake an assessment of the impact of the IRG against its current scope, and provide recommendations on how to improve adoption and impact for Indigenous fishing and aquaculture and cultural fishing RD&E; and
2. Provide recommendations on the future governance structure, function and membership of a revised IRG body to deliver RD&E priorities to the FRDC that improve opportunities for Indigenous Australians in fishing and aquaculture and cultural fishing.
For the purposes of clarity, it is understood that the scope of the review pertains only to:
▪ The IRG’s current purpose (i.e. to provide advice to the FRDC) and is not intended to consider the question of a peak body for the Australian First Nations fishing and aquaculture industry; and
▪ First Nations commercial fishing and aquaculture and is only relevant to customary fishing where there might be a natural intersection (such as the nature of fishing rights, use of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in fishing practices and management and use of cultural branding for commercial product) and it does not include First Nations participation in recreational fishing

The fishing industry in WA and Offshore renewable sector has the opportunity to develop and set a framework for how the industries will work side-by-side to build long term collaborative relationship. Currently, the offshore renewable sector has clearly defined statutory basis, however no marine spatial planning has been provided, to date, and no statutory authority or priority policy that allows or considers the fishing industry. Exclusions zone around infrastructure ultimately claims authority over the water with fishers excluded. In Scotland, 10 years has passed since the establishment of the first offshore wind farm and the Scottish Fishermans Federation are still grappling with the impacts from this industry. In Scotland, first it was the oil and gas sector, then decommissioning and now offshore renewable, so there are real opportunities to learn from overseas and our own WA experiences to work towards developing a framework, to avoid ongoing conflict.

The fishing industry in WA is a defender of a healthy marine environment and is supportive of low carbon emissions, sustainable marine environments and aquatic resources, with the fishing industry also playing one of the most important roles for the community by providing food security. There is currently insufficient protection for the fishing industry with existing plans, legislation, tools and mechanisms bringing balance to some industries and not others. However, in Australia we have an opportunity before wind farms are placed in Australian waters to adequately understand the science of the impacts, by reviewing the literature and learning from other jurisdictions, to provide evidence-based decision-making outcomes for both sectors.

A framework is required that values and protects a legitimate, sustainable and long-established fishing industry which remains at the core of our coastal communities and contributes to our national food security. This new framework will work to provide a key role for the fishing industry in marine spatial planning, particularly in relation to offshore renewable sector and we can jointly understand the potential impacts, co-existence opportunities and avoid displacement to ensure the long-term economic viability of the fishing industry remains.

A full assessment of the spatial squeeze that restricts fishing throughout WA needs to be understood to assess cumulative impacts and avoid displacement of the fishing industry. There is a clear need to understand the potential effects associated with offshore renewable projects and assess how fishing industries can co-design or coexist. If displacement is unavoidable an established compensation process may need to be developed. This project will therefore work with State and Commonwealth Governments to establish important marine spatial planning principles for the fishing industry.

In order to support a greater degree of systems thinking in its advisory committees, it is proposed to expose all committee members to the potential approaches to priority setting through a systems lens and benefits of these approaches, and then work with a subset of Research Advisory Committees [and possibly others] to test how bringing tools such as theory of change into their deliberations could assist them to deliver better designed priorities. Working specifically towards theories of change in the committee processes, at appropriate levels of complexity, is expected to provide (i) a context to making approaches of different committee members more explicit, (ii) a basis for better design logic, and (iii) a way of more readily communicating the committee's priorities. The focus of this approach on identifying and working back from ultimate objectives helps frame what may legitimately be narrow priorities in a wider analysis of system drivers such as incoherent policy environments or climate change and thus enable larger agendas to be built around such issues across FRDC. An explicit emphasis on barriers, enablers and assumptions, as well as what is necessary and sufficient to achieve the objectives, also provides a strong basis for evaluating progress and learning. Together these attributes are anticipated to achieve the intent of supporting better FRDC priority setting and increased impact for its stakeholders.