9 results
Industry
Industry
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-125
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

FishPath: Tailoring Management to Context in Data-Limited Fisheries

Fisheries are increasingly managed with involvement of fishers and other stakeholders. Stakeholders are especially critical where managers lack full knowledge of the system to be managed, resources to gather additional information, and/or resources to monitor and enforce compliance. Such...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (NT)
TAGS
Stakeholder
Software
Profitability
Fisheries Management
Data
Industry
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-241
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Understanding blood flukes infecting Southern Bluefin Tuna

Cardicola forsteri is the dominant blood fluke species detected in farmed Southern Bluefin Tuna in 2018. Our results have shown that traditional methods (heart flush and gill microscopy) were limited to detecting adults or eggs. Comparisons of currently used diagnostic methods showed that...
ORGANISATION:
RMIT University Melbourne City Campus
TAGS
Disease
Biofouling
Aquaculture
Animal Welfare
Animal Health
SPECIES
Bigeye Tuna
Southern Bluefin Tuna
Adoption

Energy use and carbon emissions assessments in the Australian fishing and aquaculture sectors: Audit, self-assessment and guidance tools for footprint reduction

Project number: 2020-089
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $98,500.00
Principal Investigator: Robert A. Bell
Organisation: Blueshift Consulting
Project start/end date: 21 Feb 2021 - 23 Jul 2021
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Efficiency
Climate Change

Need

As identified in the EOI scope and from previous FRDC and other research, there are multiple needs for further information on energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Australian fisheries and aquaculture sectors (F&A).
Firstly, at the top-level, a national account of these sector’s performance is necessary to provide a clear determination of the overall F&A contribution within the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing Industry classification (AFF Industry) classification within National Inventory Data. The AFF Industry is second largest emissions sector and there is a need to disaggregate the F&A sector from the broader agricultural data, and to also develop industry baselines against which further performance can be measured (and potentially benchmarked against other sectors).
Second, there is a need for sub-sectors (specific managed fisheries or industry groups) as well as individual companies to be able measure, assess and then potentially manage their own energy use and emissions.
Finally, once companies, subsectors and the F&A sectors have data, there is a need for education and tools to assist them to improve energy efficiency and profitability, lower emissions and related risks but also importantly how to create positive engagement with stakeholders, particularly customers becoming more discerning in product selection based on carbon footprint, to maintain competitiveness in consumer protein selection decision-making.

Objectives

1. Program 1: Establish energy use and GHG profile of Australian F&A sectors
2. Program 2: Develop and self-assessment tool for Australian F&A sectors energy efficiency and GHG
3. Program 3: Develop a toolbox and examples for emissions reduction opportunities in the fisheries & aquaculture sectors

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-646-86114-2
Author: Robert A. Bell
Final Report • 2022-05-31 • 2.58 MB
2020-089_DLD.pdf

Summary

This project is the first examination of the total carbon emissions of the Australian fishing and aquaculture (F&A) sectors and component seafood production industries. To date, some work had been done on energy consumption and efficiency improvements, but the carbon emissions of the Australian F&A sectors had never been calculated.
 
In Australia’s National Greenhouse Accounts, emissions from the F&A sectors are currently included within the aggregated ‘agriculture, forestry and fishing’ segment. This segment is the third largest in Australia’s inventory, and the ‘fishing industry’ data is overwhelmed within the large, aggregated datasets of these combined sectors and therefore often unintentionally overlooked.
 
However, measuring the carbon footprint of the F&A sectors was a complicated task that required an account of all the emissions generated directly and indirectly by the sectors. This included fuel burnt directly to power fishing vessels, to purchased electricity, refrigeration emissions and the emissions from services and products bought from external suppliers such as bait and aquaculture feed. The study measured the carbon emissions and energy use of Australia’s largest F&A producer industries, which together constitute about 82% of Australia’s domestic seafood production by gross value of production (GVP). While some of the other industries that make supply chain inputs to the F&A sectors are discussed (such as aquaculture feeds and fishing bait), the project focus is on the Australian seafood primary producers.
 
The information is a vital step in providing a competitive advantage for seafood as a low- emissions protein. Seafood consumers are increasingly wanting to know the stories behind the products they’re buying, including efforts by fishers and farmers to reduce their carbon footprint. It also highlights how seafood production may need to adapt in the future. 
 
As part of the project work, three GHG emissions calculator tools were developed to help fishers and farmers better understand what drives their GHG emissions and how to measure them. And once they have been measured, what can be done to better manage emissions, and utilise the information in their operations and customer discussions.
 
The project has identified five recommendations and opportunities for government departments and agencies to update and improve their GHG emissions reporting methodologies for the fishing and aquaculture sectors.

Project products

Technology • 2022-05-31 • 1.81 MB
2020-089_Greenhouse Gases Emissions Calculator Tool_Aquaculture_Offshore_Tool_v1.0.xlsx
Technology • 2022-05-31 • 1.80 MB
2020-089_Greenhouse Gases Emissions Calculator Tool_Aquaculture_Onshore_Tool_v1.0.xlsx
Technology • 2022-05-31 • 1.88 MB
2020-089_Greenhouse Gases Emissions Calculator Tool_Fisheries_Tool_v1.0.xlsx
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-059
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

World Fisheries Congress 2020 - Sharing our Oceans and Rivers: a 2020 vision for the world’s fisheries

The World Fisheries Congress is the premier international fisheries congress, bringing together research, industry and management to discuss the latest advances in fisheries world-wide. The 8th World Fisheries Congress, hosted from Adelaide, Australia from 20 to 24 September 2021, was...
ORGANISATION:
University of Adelaide
TAGS
Wild Catch
Sustainability
Stakeholder
Responsible Fishing
Marketing

Quantifying inter-sectoral values within and among the Indigenous, commercial and recreational sectors

Project number: 2020-088
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $92,972.00
Principal Investigator: Buyani Thomy
Organisation: Natural Capital Economics
Project start/end date: 10 Jan 2021 - 29 Jun 2021
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Values &Amp; Ethics
Social Science
Social Science
Resource Access And Allocation
Recreational Fishing

Need

In developing the 2020-25 Strategic Plan, FRDC identified five outcomes and associated enabling strategies, including Outcome 4: Fair and secure access to aquatic resources. In developing Outcome 4, FRDC realized that it did not have a shared appreciation of the different beliefs and values that underpin perceptions of fairness and security. Furthermore, it was acknowledged that such values differ within and between different sectors of the fishing and aquaculture sector and can be the source of tension and conflict.

The FRDC is therefore seeking to understand contrasting and complementary values among Indigenous, commercial, and recreational fishing sectors. The proposed project will provide valuable information towards building trust across the industry through an improved understanding of the social, economic and ecological values within and among the three sectors. It will also provide FRDC with the basis for monitoring progress towards the achievement of Outcome 4.

The primary objective of the project is to collect, analyse and report on the values held by the Indigenous, commercial and recreational sectors. Findings from the project will be used to inform resource management and support for fair and secure access to aquatic resources. The findings will also be valuable to regulators’ through an enhanced understanding of values across the different sectors leading to more efficient and effective consultation processes.
 

Objectives

1. To collect, analyse and report on the values held by the Indigenous, commercial and recreational sectors using a robust and systematic methodology that is repeatable (i.e., using Q-methodology).
2. To identify complementary and contrasting values among Indigenous, commercial and recreational sectors through an extensive survey.
3. To report findings and provide recommendations for efficient and practical data collection mechanisms to FRDC. Findings from the project will be used to inform resource management and to support fair and secure access to aquatic resources. The findings will also be valuable to regulators’ through an enhanced understanding of values across the different sectors leading to more efficient and effective consultation processes.

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-6489972-1-4
Authors: Schultz T. Thomy B. Hardaker T. Perry M. Faranda A. Gustavsson M. Chudleigh P. and Binney J.
Final Report • 2022-03-31 • 1.91 MB
2020-088-DLD.pdf

Summary

This study explored the extent to which values are shared (or not shared) by fishers across three key sectors (i.e., Indigenous, commercial and recreational). The study was run online using Q-Method Software (https://qmethodsoftware.com), a semi-quantitative technique used to explore human perspectives in a systematic and repeatable manner.
Fishers across the three sectors were required to sort and rank the pre-listed value statements. Participants were recruited through emailed invitations, social media posts and newsletters from key fishing sector representative bodies as well as snow-ball sampling. In response to a very low response rate from the Indigenous sector, additional participants (n = 6) were recruited by a member of the project team at a conference held in Far North Queensland. A total of 116 fishers completed the Q study. The collected data was analysed using inverted factor analysis to allow for the identification of distinct sub-groups of people whose responses are highly correlated. Through examining the Q-methodology outputs, five distinct sub-groups emerged: Sub-group A – “social-value fishers” (n = 39); Sub-group B – “economic-value fishers” (n = 19); Sub-group C – “environmental-value fishers” (n = 24); Sub-group D – “traditional-value” fishers (n = 10); and Sub-group E – “fish-focused” fishers (n = 15). Each subgroup comprises fishers who ranked the value statements similarly in terms of those statements they felt were very important to them and those that were less important to them. As such, the analysis provided information about complementary and contrasting values among different groups of fishers. 

This study indicated that values (i) do not “neatly” align to the different industry sectors; and (ii) do not differ based on the different industry sectors. However, the Q-methodology analysis indicated that there were five distinct groups based on how values were ranked. 
Across the five distinct groups the top four complementary values were: (1) fishing is environmentally sustainable, (2) accountability for industry participants who break the rules, (3) having access to fish and fishing, and (4) access to the ocean/sea. Environmental sustainability was the highest ranked value even among the sub-group that was dominated by economic type values (sub-group B), suggesting that even for productivity-based research and development (R&D), the focus should be on R&D that drives productivity and/or profitability improvements without reducing/ compromising environmental sustainability. Environmental sustainability is also key driver of production and there seem to be general appreciation of its importance across the fishing sectors.
 
The three lowest ranked values across the five distinct groups were cultural values: (1) fishing’s support of cultural practices and requirements, (2) fishing provides a connection to ancestors/previous generations, and (3) opportunity to barter and trade goods. Some of the social values not considered to be important by any of the sub-groups included catching lots of fish or large fish, and spending time fishing alone. 
 
In terms of contrasting values across the five sub-groups, economic type values were generally not highly ranked except by one group which was dominated by commercial fishers (sub-group B). Statements like fishing’s economic returns and employment/income from fishing, industry innovation and advancement, fishing’s contribution to the local economy were not considered to be important by the remaining groups.
 
The use of Q-methodology to identify values for the different sectors revealed that online survey may not also be practical and effective. For example, there was very limited responses to the online survey by Indigenous sector participants and further effort was required to capture their values in a face-to-face approach. It is recommended that future research should seek to include face-to-face data collection methods to improve efficiency in capturing views of diverse groups.
 
Values play a key role in decision-making and in creating public policy. One of the primary implications of the current study is that it would likely be ineffective and inefficient to make decisions or set policies based on sectoral classifications in the fishing industry such as Indigenous, commercial and/or recreational. The project findings strongly demonstrate that the values held by fishers cannot be neatly delineated into standard industry sector classifications. However, the project findings also show that there are a number of values shared by all fishers across sectors that may provide ‘common ground’ and ‘common language’ that in turn would provide a basis for better engagement and communication both between the sectors and between researchers, fisheries managers, Government and Australian fishers. 
 
Dissemination of the findings that all sectors have several complementary values will help improve engagement and communication between the sectors and enhance effective and efficient implementation of future fisheries policies. Notably, the dissemination of the findings of this study is a step towards building a shared understanding of complementary values among different sectors and contrasting values within individual sectors. The shared knowledge will help improve trust among the sectors and between regulators and resource users. The improvements in trust among the various stakeholders will further enhance effective decision-making processes, particularly co-management and resource access.
 
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