138 results
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2019-107
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Attendance at the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, Tenure and User Rights Conference in Yeosu, Korea 10 to 14 September 2018

The present project, which was undertaken by Primary Industries and Regions South Australia, was developed to provide the opportunity to showcase the management arrangements in the Spencer Gulf Prawn Fishery (SGPF) and expand the knowledge base in relation to contemporary management arrangements in...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA)
TAGS
Sustainability
Survey
Stakeholder
Policy
Individual Transferable Quota
SPECIES
King Prawns
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-106
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Identifying electronic platforms to increase safety at sea in the Australian commercial fishing fleet

Maintaining safety at sea requires a multi-faceted and complex system including coordinating vessel integrity and the carriage of the correct equipment, the provision of accurate information on weather and sea conditions, the training of the crew and managing their actions at sea. ...
ORGANISATION:
Diversity Sustainable Development Consultants Pty Ltd
TAGS
Software
Health And Safety
Fishing Technology
Fisheries Management
Communications
SPECIES
Prawns
Industry

Sustainable Fishing Families: Developing industry human capital through health, wellbeing, safety and resilience

Project number: 2016-400
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $122,840.52
Principal Investigator: Tanya King
Organisation: Deakin University Geelong Waterfront Campus
Project start/end date: 30 Jun 2016 - 29 Sep 2017
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Wellbeing
Sustainability
Survey
Rac Wa
Rac Vic

Need

By developing an evidence-based health and safety training program for Australian fishing communities, this project meets the needs of the commercial wild-catch and aquaculture industry identified in FRDC’s RD&E Program 3, ‘Communities’ and particularly theme 10, which promotes resilient and supportive communities who are able to adapt to the social impacts of change in industry business environments.

The project will address a national need, identified by VicFRAB, to better understand the social and economic contribution of commercial fisheries, by identifying and addressing potential losses incurred through the poor health and wellbeing of the industry’s human capital.

Fishers tend to work in rural and remote communities, which means they have higher rates of mortality, disease and health risk factors than urban dwellers, further impacted by reduced access to primary health care services. Fishers are at particular risk of certain kinds of illnesses (eg. skin and diet-related), as well as injury (fatality rates are more than double those in the agricultural sector). Mental health concerns are higher than average in the fishing industry, exacerbated by uncertainties within the industry including often high debt and insecurity of tenure and licencing. While both women and men are at risk, 86.9% of fishers are male, a factor placing them at greater risk of suicide.

Fisher ‘attitudes’ also impact health, such as the culture of self-reliance, particularly among males. This may make fishers resilient, but also makes them less likely to adopt preventative health practices or to use health services, and they will usually wait longer before seeking medical assistance, particularly for issues of chronic poor mental health.

The Sustainable Fishing Families project will benefit fishing families’ health, safety and resilience by promoting a self-awareness of the value of the industry’s human capital, and building their health capacity.

Objectives

1. To improve the health and wellbeing of fishing families by promoting safer and healthier work practices
2. To develop strategies to inform fisher families of appropriate physical and mental health care programs and information, including strategies to address barriers to uptake
3. To provide rigorous research that will raise the profile of the health issues and needs of Australian fishing families, and inform government, industry and health services of specific health issues and needs of, and effective support pathways for, fishing families as distinct from farming families.
4. To develop a targeted, industry-led program that will address the health issues and needs of fishing families based on the proven Sustainable Farm FamiliesTM protocol

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-646-98116-1
Authors: Tanya J. King Kirsten Abernethy Susan Brumby Tracey Hatherell Sue Kilpatrick Katarina Munksgaard & Rachel Turner
Final Report • 2019-01-21 • 4.30 MB
2016-400-DLD.pdf

Summary

This project conducted the first national survey of the health, safety and wellbeing of the Australian professional fishing industry in 2017. The results of the survey provide a baseline for the state of the wild-catch industry members across a range of indicators, including reported physical and mental health, factors affecting health and safety, factors affecting levels of stress, health and safety behaviours, and access to health services and information.
 
The project also conducted and evaluated an intensive pilot program on health, safety and wellbeing tailored specifically for fishing families. The program was modelled on an existing and highly successful program with farming families, Sustainable Farm FamiliesTM developed and delivered by the National Centre for Farmer Health, at the Western District Health Service, Victoria. The materials and presentations were reviewed and modified to reflect the specific strengths and challenges of the fishing industry. For the first time, this award-winning program is now available for use by fishing communities across the country.

Project products

Brochure • 2019-10-01 • 3.65 MB
2016-400 Fishing Families-Key Survey Findings Final.pdf

Summary

In 2017, the National Health, Safety and Wellbeing survey was posted to 4,584 professional wild catch fishers across all jurisdictions of Australia through peak bodies, industry associations and large fishing companies. The survey was also made available online to capture those fishers without membership to an industry organisation. 872 surveys were returned for analysis. The survey focussed on self-reported health relating to work, and asked respondents about their physical and mental health status and perceived causes, health and safety behaviours, and access to health services and information. The survey was part of the project Sustainable Fishing Families (FRDC Project 2016-400).
Educational material • 2019-10-01 • 7.49 MB
2016-400 Managing Stress for Fishers Book Final.pdf

Summary

This resource is a way of enabling fishing families to understand stress, its impact, and learn skills to help balance stress when fishing in difficult times.

This is a resource for all people who work in the business of fishing — from deckhands to skippers to office staff.

Flyer • 2019-10-01 • 2.55 MB
2016-400 Sustainable Fishing Families Flyer Final.pdf

Summary

Sustainable Fishing Families is a health program specifically designed for fishing families to address the health, wellbeing and safety issues facing the fishing industry through an evidence-based health program run by rural health experts

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.
 
Adoption

2024 Fishing & Farming for the Future - DAF Hermitage Research Facility Schools Plant Science Competition

Project number: 2023-117
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $5,000.00
Principal Investigator: Kerrie A. Rubie
Organisation: Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (QLD) - Hermitage Research Facility
Project start/end date: 22 Mar 2024 - 12 Sep 2025
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Education
Capacity Building

Need

Should the FRDC be happy to provide sponsorship at a 'gold' level, as requested, the following benefits will be offered:
- FRDC invited to sponsor a specific competition prize/award.
- FRDC logo to be included in the competition coordinator's signature block in all competition email correspondence.
- FRDC logo to be included in all official 2024 competition publications (eg, competition instructions/guidelines resource, event invitations, event programs, certificates, etc).
- FRDC logo/banner displayed at promotional events including on stage at the Awards Day & Ag Science Expo (13 August 2024).
- FRDC representative(s) Invited to attend and present awards during the Awards Day & Ag Science Expo.
- FRDC acknowledged verbally during the welcome address at the Awards Day & Ag Science Expo.
- FRDC representative invited to give a 5-10min speech at the Awards Day & Ag Science Expo.
- FRDC invited to set up a trade display at the Awards Day & Ag Science Expo.
- FRDC's website linked to the DAF competition website.
- FRDC acknowledged in all DAF competition media releases. The competition attracts widespread media coverage throughout the year.
- FRDC's social media handles included in competition social media posts.
- FRDC promotional materials can be distributed to students and guests at the Awards Day & Ag Science Expo and/or in prize packs mailed to schools.
The 'Sponsorship Proposal' document outlines all details of the sponsorship opportunity and alternative arrangements may be discussed.

Objectives

1. Improve awareness and understanding to attract capable people in fishing and aquaculture
2. Students, educators and fishing and aquaculture stakeholders are connected
3. Fishing and aquaculture is competitive and complementary with Agriculture to attract and engage people
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