Effects of climate change and habitat degradation on Coral Trout
Climate resilient wild catch fisheries
The need for this project is to activate and engage industry in viable options towards climate resilience by 2030. This includes the need to demonstrate that immediate options exist and are viable and meaningful, while also gaining support for a clear plan to transform the industry and supply chain with support both internally and beyond the sector. The key needs are:
01 | Industry awareness of the problems and solutions around climate change and resilience is below where it needs to be to activate broad transformation. There is little action towards climate resilience (1 player) in comparison to other agricultural sectors.
02 | There will be increasing competition within the protein market to validate and promote sustainable practices and positive contributions to the environment/climate.
03 | Leaders and innovators in the industry are attempting to act in isolation with few resources to support industry and supply chain coordination and acceleration.
04 | Change around the edges that can be achieved by some stakeholders operating alone will not deliver the transformation at a scale or pace that is required to meet growing and broadly felt consumer expectations that indicate demonstrable action on climate change.
05 | There is a surplus of tools, resources and research around climate change and resilience, but to this point, little of that work has been translated into forms fishers find usable and valuable.
06 | There is a need to identify early adopters and innovators in the space to lead new ways operating into the future.
07 | There is an FRDC funded project to undertake a Lifecycle Assessment being concluded early November. This work has been preliminarily identified fuel, transport, and refrigeration as key challenges requiring new solutions/opportunities for industry.
08 | Propulsion and fuel have been identified as key challenges in wild catch fisheries achieving climate resilience and reducing carbon emissions, and will be the focus of this project.
Final report
National Fish Habitat and Climate Response Partnership
In Australia, up to 90% of critical fish habitat for coastal fisheries, including seagrass, giant kelp, saltmarsh, and shellfish reefs, has been lost or significantly degraded. Many research studies have linked habitat with fisheries productivity, with habitat loss particularly impacting juvenile nurseries. Yet despite this information fish habitat restoration is not a recognised management tool in fisheries/harvest management strategies. Given this situation there is a strong need for a cohesive partnership across all fisheries sectors to support repairing productivity through fish habitat restoration and to create a forum where key sectors concerned for or dependent on aquatic habitat condition, can discuss problems and opportunities. This project will address a number of barriers limiting the restoration of fish habitat around Australia; accessibility of data relating fisheries production to habitat condition, limited penetration of this information into management and building a forum for the key fishing sectors to consider this information and develop responses.
Investigating drivers of environmental change in Pipe Clay Lagoon
Coastal lagoon systems in Tasmania form a fundamental part of coastal ecosystems. Healthy lagoons support local biodiversity, and play a key role in nutrient cycling and flood protection. They provide opportunities for sustainable aquaculture, fishing and tourism, while also being appreciated for their recreational amenity and cultural values. Sustainable management of coastal lagoons is essential to environmental and socioeconomic development.
There is limited information about the ecosystem drivers that are influencing the changes being observed in Pipe Clay Lagoon, leading to knowledge gaps in decision making tools and monitoring strategies required to identify and mitigate these changes. The proposed application is a multifaceted approach to investigate the environmental drivers of change in Pipe Clay Lagoon. The findings can then be used to provide valuable guidance for the management and conservation of other coastal lagoons in Tasmania facing similar challenges, providing a model for proactive monitoring and ongoing sustainability.
The FRDC has a responsibility to ensure that research is undertaken to assist in the management of fisheries and aquaculture resources for ongoing sustainability. The changes being experienced in Pipe Clay Lagoon will have implications on the availability and suitability of the lagoon as a sustainable aquaculture site. The planned approach and objectives of the application align with the FRDC’s R&D Plan for 2020-2025 through:
- Building people's capacity and capability
- Ensuring that resulting knowledge and innovation is adopted for impact through awareness of the needs of the ‘adopter’, local context and effective networking
- Continual improvement and collaboration of industry and community to deliver competitive advantage, healthier ecosystems and community support
- Provision of foundational information
Equally and importantly the application aligns with the NRM Strategy for Southern Tasmania 2030 for Pipe Clay Lagoon and similar systems in that wetland health is improved for socio-economically important systems by working with key partners and encouraging investment in monitoring, land and water management practices and on-ground works.
The enthusiasm of those engaged in the stakeholder consultation process was a strong indication of the need, interest and urgency of the application.