Investigation into processing and development of a tuna kebab
Extending the high quality shelf life of scallop products - modified atmosphere packaging trials
Value adding silver warehou - basic handling and sensory analyses studies
An investigation into the feasibility of producing a commercially acceptable prawn stock from the discarded heads of commercially processed prawns.
'99 Innovations for seafood - an international conference
Final report
Innovation is a key topic in the competitive economic environment. Innovative actions need to be recognised and encouraged. A dedicated seafood post harvest conference was the ideal opportunity to present innovative ideas and processes from the Australian industry and gain benefit from hearing the latest advances in technology from overseas.
The '99 Innovations for Seafood Conference, Trade show and Innovative product competition was held at the Gold Coast International Hotel, Surfers Paradise, Queensland over two and a half days in April 1999.
The conference was well attended, attracting 160 delegates and 23 trade exhibitors. An innovative product competition was organised and occurred on the first ½ day of the conference. The competition included 37 innovative products from 14 Australian and international companies. Austrolex Black Forest was awarded Grand Champion for its innovative Carp Bacon product and Maggie Beer Products Pty. Ltd. took the Blue Ribbon for their Smoked Salmon Creme.
Thirty-six well known international and domestic speakers presented topics on innovations in harvesting, processing, packaging, marketing and safety of seafood. General feedback from delegates indicated that the conference was informative and enjoyable. Displaying companies have indicated that numerous contacts were collected through the conference.
The conference successfully provided a platform for the Australian seafood industry to build and maintain strategic links that ensure competitiveness in the future. An opportunity for industry participants to provide input and guidance to researchers was initiated through this conference.
Creating a shelf stable marinated jelly fish product from the underutilised species (Catostylus mosaicus)
Final report
A survey of jellyfish products in both the domestic and Japanese markets showed that dried whole and low value semi-prepared jellyfish was available, but there was a clearly demonstrated demand for a convenience food product. In Japan, reports indicated that demand for high quality jellyfish has always exceeded supply to date and retail prices range from AUD 8/kg to AUD 85/kg depending on the product form and quality.
The world market demand for dried jellyfish is around 25,000 tonnes per year, with the main producers being China, Indonesia and Malaysia. In recent years, Asian countries have found that their local wild jellyfish stocks have declined and have approached Australia for access to our unutilised resource. The jellyfish species, Catostylus mosaicus, is identifed as one of ten species that are traditionally used as a food product and is seemingly abundant in Australian waters. Preliminary feed back from buyers of dried processed jellyfish indicate that Australian product would be comparable to that considered as high quality in their markets.
One of the major impediments to establishing a viable commercial fishery for jellyfish in Australia is the lack of value-adding options for the industry. Seafood processors have high-lighted this issue and emphasized the lack of available knowledge of jellyfish processing techniques.
The focus of this project was to develop a high value ready-to-eat jellyfish product for the Japanese and other Asian markets. To achieve this outcome, all the aspects of producing dried jellyfish were investigated including harvesting, transport, the drying process, stabilisation of the dried-product and storage. Then the product development was considered including factors of: most appropriate rehydration process; cooking and cooling process; desired product texture and appearance; marinade formulation; jellyfish to marinade ratio; consumer preference for product quantity and product packaging.
We therefore measured the physical, microbial and sensory attributes of the product. The product and the package design was assessed by consumers who were familiar with, and commonly ate, jellyfish.
Results showed that the Australian jellyfish species Catostylus mosaicus is ideally suited for processing for the Asian market. The finished product appears to be more opaque and yellow-coloured than imported salted products, although this did not affect the acceptability of the jellyfish end-product produced. The appearance of the salted jellyfish was perceived as ‘expensive looking’ by the two Japanese consumers recruited to assist in establishing cooking and preparation parameters. Difficulty was experienced in defining cooking and marinating regimes as little documented information is available. This difficulty was compounded by advice from several consumer sources conflicting with results from sensory trials.
Keywords: jellyfish, dried, processing, sensory evaluation, Asian market
Workshop on post settlement processes affecting the southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) in southern Australia
Final report
Research into the southern rock lobster in Australia has concentrated on the catching sector (primarily commercial) with limited research being undertaken on the post-settlement and juvenile stages. To maximise the outputs of investigating these stages, while at the same time minimising costs, a comprehensive understanding of the latest developments in the field is necessary. It was considered that this was best served by holding a workshop to review existing research, facilitate discussion amongst those involved in the area of research, and plan future research in relation to southern rock lobster.
Key issues for the workshop were considered to be: (1) the relevance of juvenile research to catch prediction; (2) growth information for stock assessment modelling; (3) impact and management of puerulus extraction for aquaculture; and (4) contribution to broader management in relation to conservation of egg production vs perceptions of stability of recruitment due to density dependent mortality.
Participants at the workshop reviewed the current status of knowledge in post-settlement rock lobster research, including methods used to research these cryptic stages. Participants included key industry, government and research partners and their discussions resulted in a collaborative research plan aimed at investigating post-settlement processes. Key areas were documenting macro-habitat requirements, growth rates, mortality estimates of juveniles and puerulus, identifying predators and competitors. The over-riding goal was considered to be the identification of
“bottlenecks”.
"Bottlenecks" are phases during development where a factor affecting abundance decouples the link between the abundance of a size class for that proceeding it. For instance, shelter limitation for a particular size class is a bottleneck as this would result in reduced inter-annual variation in the abundance of larger animals. The research proposed from this workshop would evaluate bottlenecks by identifying the stages and factors during juvenile development where density dependent mortality influences abundance. These factors reduce the signal between puerulus abundance indices to fishery recruitment and are important in understanding the effect of puerulus removal or habitat changes.
International participation at the workshop (from NZ, Japan & USA) was helpful in fostering links in this field of research.
Keywords: Southern rock lobster, resource sustainability, recruitment, aquaculture, mortality, density dependence.
Development of severe weather and tropical cyclone education video
WAFIC had identified the need for the development of a series of packages for its members including guidelines on a cyclone contingency plan and liaison with DOT in the development of the short course on Severe Weather and Tropical Cyclone Education. While the Master Class 5 syllabus now contains the short couse module and the short couse module is offered as a stand alone course, a number of fishing vessel operators may not be able to take up the opition of attending the short course.
The area of making informed decisions regarding action when a cyclone is approaching is now only being given the attention it deserves and therefore, there has been some confusion over a number of areas concerning actions in the case of a cyclone. This video provides the latest information and can be beneficial both the new skippers and crew as well as long serving members of industry.
The production of the video to provide an outline of the short course will provide training resources that are currently not available in this format and therefore allows operators to use the video at times convenient to them. The video may also prompt operators to attend the short couses in the future.
Final report
Given the tragic history of the results of cyclones off the WA coast with specific regard to the commercial fishing industry, there is now as part of the Master Class 5 syllabus, a tropical cyclone short course for Uniform Shipping Laws Certificates of Competency and a stand alone optional pre-cyclone refresher for vessels operating north of Geraldton.
In addition to this, all commercial vessel operators north of Geraldton are required to have a cyclone contingency plan for every vessel.
The course also addresses severe weather which applies along the WA coastline and has application further than just in cyclone areas.
It is also recognised that the commercial fishing industry does not always have access to shore based training services due to long periods at sea and therefore on board training resources were required. This enables vessel owners and operators to meet their duty of care requirements under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.
This training video not only services the commercial fishing industry but also the other major areas of commercial vessel operation such as charter vessels and trading.