NCCP: Review of Carp control via commercial exploitation
Identifying electronic platforms to increase safety at sea in the Australian commercial fishing fleet
Common approach to Greenhouse Gas Accounting; Platform – Build 1 (AIA Environmental Accounting Platform)
AIA is in active conversations with a private sector consortium. These discussions continue to validate AIA’s approach and solution design. They see clear efficiencies in bringing the RDCs’
commodity-specific carbon research and knowledge together and want to be able to include this type of carbon footprint solution in their own client service offerings.
They are concerned about growers’ lack of preparedness to respond to increasing pressures around demonstrating their carbon footprint and have confidence in a not-for-profit company
like AIA housing the solution and being trusted by growers.
There is acknowledgement that Australia is in a prime position to get this right from the start and avoid the duplication and fragmentation that other countries are now facing.
There were 13 RDCs participating in this phase, involving over 120 interviews across multiple commodities/sectors.
Insights gathered include:
• Many growers are operating mixed enterprises or are keeping that option open to manage risk into the future.
• Concerns include market access, social license, environmental impact.
• Most see a level of reporting required in the near-to-medium future, related to pressure from supply chains, finance or insurance sectors.
• They want the ability to understand and make decisions for their enterprises before regulatory or supply chain pressures intensify.
• Recognition of the need to bring all commodity calculators into one, consistent platform.
These insights speak to the growing importance of and need for the solution approach that AIA is taking.
A Discovery Insights Report, including a specific fishing and aquaculture report, was provide to FRDC in May 2023.
Reducing the Number of Undefined Species in Future Status of Australian Fish Stocks Reports: Phase Two - training in the assessment of data-poor stocks
Capability and Capacity: Nuffield Australia Scholarships
The Nuffield Scholarship program relates to the 'People' section of FRDC's RD&E program, needed to attract and advance people who will lead fishing and aquaculture towards a sustainable and profitable future. The FRDC has taken a strong role in this area, facilitating access to leadership development for all sectors of fishing and aquaculture.
Unlike many capacity building programs that place focus on working within communities in their own environments, Nuffield Australia seeks to break the cycle of everyday life in primary production. The approach is to organise and facilitate international study tours that allow participants to break away from their normal routine and gain a global perspective on how other producers around the world operate their businesses and apply leadership in their industry.
A Nuffield Scholarship targets young primary producers who are already on the leading edge of production practices and technology uptake in their respective communities in Australia. The program is necessary to further enhance those individuals’ skills, elevate their status as role models and innovative leaders amongst their own broader community, thus having a ripple effect that goes far beyond their immediate participation.
Report
The Australian seafood industry has a long and proud history of employment of very sound environmental and economic management principles which have made it the envy of much of the world.
An altogether robust Australian seafood industry is hyper critical to the social and economic fabric of the coastal communities it supports, and it is vital this industry is maintained and – wherever possible – continually developed in a way which brings the best possible outcomes for all vested parties.
In an age of social media and 24-hour news cycles, it may be argued the Australian seafood industry and its general social licence to operate finds itself under increasing levels of attack. It is at times easy to consider there is more fearmongering than fishmongering occurring in this new age, and it is vital that the industry takes effective and collaborative steps to ensure that public perceptions pertaining to the industry are in line with the reality of the generally responsible way in which it operates.
The author visited nine countries as part of this research, including commercial fishing operations, aquaculture ventures, general agribusinesses, peak representative bodies, wholesalers, retailers, third-party certifiers and financial institutions in both developing and developed nations. The aim of the study was to understand the importance of maintenance of an industry’s social licence to operate, whilst considering consumer confidence, modern markets, investor confidence, key motivators, brand development, politically motivated policy settings and general public perception.
It is very clear that maintenance of an intangible, but critical, social licence to operate must be a key and ongoing consideration for any business, industry peak body, regulatory body, or other organisation. For an industry such as the Australian seafood industry - which relies absolutely on its right to access public resources - maintenance and development of public perceptions around the socially responsible nature of its operations is fundamental.
This report is in part an anthropological study generated from countless meetings, interviews, observations and individual and collective viewpoints. It aims to explore the concept of the social licence to operate (SLO), why it is important, how it can impact on a business or brand and steps which can be taken to ensure a business maintains it.
Project products
SIA early mover micro project - integrated wave energy microgrid design
Our project is an “early mover micro project” within SIA’s overarching industry decarbonisation program, where the deliverable is the needs analysis and design for a wave energy microgrid system for Southern Ocean Mariculture, an abalone aquaculture company located in Port Fairy, Victoria.
Throughout this past year, Southern Ocean Mariculture (SOM), AZURA Ocean Technologies (AZURA) and Deloitte Emissions Solutions (DES) have been in early discussion about development of an ocean energy solution to help SOM achieve their decarbonisation goals, reduce their cost of energy and reduce dependency on grid-supplied electricity. These parties have identified the need to analyse SOM’s future energy requirements and develop a novel approach to help them decarbonise through a multi-modal renewable ocean energy microgrid.
Upon learning about AOEG’s proposal to develop an ocean energy/aquaculture program, the leaders of SOM, AZURA and DES enthusiastically offered their participation to co-design a suitable ocean energy microgrid system to meet their needs, under an FRDC funded project. This group of visionary leaders is excited to join the AOEG team in showcasing the work of this proof-of-concept project within the context of the larger SIA Decarbonisation Program, with learnings and application to the broader aquaculture sector.
This project will result in the design for an ocean energy microgrid system that will produce electricity to supplement SOM’s existing grid and/or fossil fuel based energy supply. SOM will help to assess which element of their operation will be used as the basis for initial microgrid design. As a pilot project, this approach enables SOM to evaluate a wide range of issues without high risks and will be considered an incremental step toward building a full-scale off-grid clean energy system for the future.
As an early-mover project within SIA’s decarbonisation program, the following knowledge will be generated for learning and dissemination to the industry.
- Showcase what an ocean energy microgrid system is and its required elements.
- Document the items and factors required to design a suitable microgrid energy system.
- Document the process by which the design is developed.
- Showcase how other offshore or near shore industries could leverage ocean energy microgrids to provide clean electricity for their operations and to help meet decarbonisation targets
- Demonstrate the potential for ocean energy playing a significant role in Australia’s future renewable energy mix
AOEG will collaborate with SIA and the Blue Economy CRC to co-implement industry outreach, communications and other complementary activities within the limits of this first mover energy transition ‘micro-project’.
Final report
The Project tested the hypothesis that integrating wave energy with other renewables and storage can yield a more reliable, cost-effective and sustainable energy solution than a traditional solar-battery setup.