70 results
Communities
PROJECT NUMBER • 2022-038
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Valuing WA smaller commercial fisheries across the supply chain

This study aimed to produce information about the economic contribution of the supply chain of selected small-scale fisheries in Western Australia (WA), as well as a method that can be applied to making these estimates for other fisheries. Substantial research has been completed to estimate the...
ORGANISATION:
BDO EconSearch
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-176
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Refine the Southern Rock Lobster Cold Chain

What the report is about? The report aims to assist the Southern Rock Lobster (SRL) industry with refining the live export supply chain to China. Research has identified issues relating to the cold chain, particularly at the domestic air freight stage, and practical solutions have then been...
ORGANISATION:
KPMG Australia Melbourne
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-087
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Maximising the value of the NSW Longfin Eel catch through a whole of supply chain approach - Stage 1

Following a dramatic drop in demand for live wild-caught eels (Longfin Eel, Anguilla Reinhardtii) to be exported from NSW to China, fishing efforts have significantly reduced, and the fishery is now classed as underutilised. At the same time, there is a global shortage of eels, with demand...
ORGANISATION:
Honey and Fox Pty Ltd
Industry

Overcoming propagule supply bottlenecks for seaweed production

Project number: 2020-070
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $267,706.00
Principal Investigator: Manoj Kumar
Organisation: University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
Project start/end date: 14 Oct 2021 - 30 Oct 2022
Contact:
FRDC

Need

If the Australian livestock sector is to reduce its emissions footprint, and achieve its promised carbon neutrality by 2030, handpicked seaweed will not be enough to create a commercial seaweed industry for cattle feed. Achieving a 1% DW supplement of Asparagopsis to reduce the methane output for the NSW dairy herd alone (approximately 15% of Australia's dairy herd and 1% of Australia’s total cattle herd) would require annual production of approximately 8,000 tonnes (dry weight) of Asparagopsis. This would necessitate over 400 hectares of seaweed farms alone. Therefore, there is an urgent need, and significant commercial incentive, to rapidly develop next-generation ways to propagate, farm and process Asparagopsis at scale.

The existing seaweed farming techniques (vegetative fragments and spore/gametes based) create several major bottlenecks to large-scale seaweed farming including: the requirement for large amounts of biomass and fertile sporophyte plants, dependencies on complex life cycles, loss of vigour, and high susceptibility to variety of pest and diseases. Addressing these bottlenecks immediately is a top priority to capitalise upon the significant current commercial interest in seaweed production and the projected demand for this innovative animal feed additive.

We propose that protoplasts-based seedstock generation for seaweed farming to provide a sustainable and scalable solution, resulting in higher yields of quality plantlets production independent of spores and vegetative fragments. Further, developing seaweed protoplasts isolation tools will also aid in vitro genetic manipulation techniques for developing genetically improved strains of seaweed crops.

Developing micropropagation tools for seaweed aquaculture industry will:
1. Make a sizeable contribution to achieving the National Aquaculture Strategy and can support Australia’s economic recovery post-COVID 19.
2. Increase the red meat industry's capability to achieve MLA's commitment to carbon neutrality by 2030.
3. Promote finfish aquaculture by growing seaweeds in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture systems by removing and utilizing excess nutrients.

Objectives

1. Establish micropropagation techniques for year-round seedstock supply of seaweeds.
2. Demonstrate the commercial practicality of workflow for micropropagation – using seedstock seedlings on ropes followed by grow-out in tanks or ponds.

Final report

Authors: Manoj Kumar Peter Ralph Wayne O’Connor and Michael Dove
Final Report • 2023-08-31 • 2.42 MB
2020-070-DLD.pdf

Summary

Protoplast technology has the potential to revolutionize the seaweed aquaculture industry. The protoplast is a living plant cell without a cell wall, protoplasts offer opportunities for mass propagation and plant regeneration. The remarkable potential of protoplast technology in the seaweed aquaculture industry lies in its ability to generate an astounding number of protoplasts and develop countless plants from mere milligrams of tissue. This project explored ways to isolate protoplast less laboriously and cost-effectively with high seeding efficiency on twine suitable for land-based or open-sea seaweed farming practices. The objectives of this project were:
1.Establish micropropagation tools for year-round seedstock supply of seaweeds.
2.Demonstrate the commercial practicality of workflow for micropropagation.
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2016-261
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Investigating the use of trace element profiles to substantiate provenance for the Australian prawn industry

In 2015 industry stakeholders from the Australian Council of Prawn Fishers (ACPF) and the Australian Prawn Farmers Association (APFA) identified the potential for the "Love Australian Prawns" (LAP) campaign to be undermined by the practice of unscrupulous operators substituting Australian prawns...
ORGANISATION:
Curtin University
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2020-126
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Australian Agrifood Data Exchange (OzAg Data Exchange): Deliver an interconnected data highway for Australia's AgriFood value chain - Proof of concept

Pain point: The delay in exchange and reconciliation of catch data by fishers and processors means that there is a delay in quota accounting which impacts planning due to lack of timely information. Furthermore, with no access to pre-fishing information data to the processors means they are unable...
ORGANISATION:
Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA)
Communities
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2022-132
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Asparagopsis R&D review and implementation plan for a national seaweed hatchery network

The Federal Government has committed to an $8 million Seaweed Industry Development grant that will support ASSA to establish a National Hatchery Network (NHN) for Asparagopsis and deliver other supporting projects to grow the industry and achieve significant livestock emissions...
ORGANISATION:
Australian Sustainable Seaweed Alliance
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