32 results

Identifying and synthesizing key messages from projects funded by the FRDC Indigenous Reference Group

Project number: 2018-183
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $167,738.00
Principal Investigator: Leila Alkassab
Organisation: Land to Sea Consulting
Project start/end date: 31 Aug 2019 - 8 Mar 2020
Contact:
FRDC

Need

The IRG has raised a need to synthesise the key messages from previous projects that they have supported. In order to ensure that the data and information from these projects are accessible and easily understood for various audiences (includes Indigenous, commercial and recreational stakeholders, researchers, policy makers and the general public), the IRG has identified a need to create succinct materials that can be useful to those that seek to develop policy and stimulate community driven engagement.

Objectives

1. To gain an understanding of the materials and formats that policy-makers and key fisheries organizations need in their utilization of research to develop policy.
2. To improve general stakeholder awareness of the key research findings in of FRDC and IRG projects.
3. To provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities with material that they can use in their engagement with government and non-government agencies.
4. To develop a succinct fact-sheets and a report that integrate the key messages of eight previous IRG projects in a user-friendly and culturally appropriate way.

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-646-82309-6
Author: Leila Alkassab
Final Report • 2020-08-01 • 492.72 KB
2018-183-DLD.pdf

Summary

What the report is about
This project identifies, synthesises and summarises the key messages of eight projects that have been funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) and the Indigenous Reference Group (IRG) on fisheries. These key messages have been presented through a series of materials including a synthesis report, summary booklets and an infographic, all of which were developed as a way of raising awareness of the latest research findings regarding the Indigenous fisheries in Australia. They are presented in a manner that is useful and accessible to a wide-range of audiences including Indigenous communities, decision makers and other fisheries stakeholders.
The materials have specifically developed with the aim of empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities by providing them with resources that they can use to engage government and non-government agencies. This project also involved a two-way learning component which entailed engaging an Indigenous student as a researcher for the duration of this project.
Background
In 2011 the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) and the Indigenous Reference Group (IRG) on fisheries held a national forum to discuss issues around Indigenous involvement in fishing and seafood based Research, Development and Extension (RD&E). Participants at the forum included Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with experience or expertise in fishing, seafood, or natural resource management across Australia as well as a small number of non-Indigenous participants (Calogeras et al. 2012). In 2012, participants from the forum reviewed and endorsed the work and confirmed that the outputs and the outcomes aligned with the desires of the group. Through this process, the IRG developed a set of five priorities to guide RD&E for and about Indigenous fishing in Australia (Calogeras et al. 2012).
The FRDC-IRG have supported a number of projects focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fisheries that focus on elements of the RD&E priorities (Calogeras et al. 2012). These projects have information that the IRG needs to communicate with Indigenous, commercial and recreational stakeholders, researchers, policy makers, agencies and the general public. Their findings bridge certain knowledge gaps about the Indigenous fisheries and highlight key issues and priorities of Indigenous fishing communities in terms of access and use of their fisheries.
Aims/objectives
This project was undertaken in response to the need identified by the IRG to ensure that the research findings from the previous eight projects are made accessible and easy to understand. The project consisted of the following objectives:
  1. To gain an understanding of the materials and formats that policy makers and key fisheries organisations need in their use of research to develop policy.
  2. To improve general stakeholder awareness of the key research findings in of FRDC and IRG projects.
  3. To provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities with material that they can use in their engagement with government and non-government agencies.
  4. To develop succinct fact-sheets and a report that integrate the key messages of eight previous IRG projects in a user-friendly and culturally appropriate way.
Methodology
The project team conducted a desk-top review of eight project reports, their appendices, conducted phone meetings with the principle investigators of each project and liaised with the IRG. Project materials were subsequently developed with the use of qualitative data analysis software NVIVO and designed through Canva, a graphic design program.
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artwork was used for the materials produced and where appropriate the artist engaged was from the region that the original project was for or about. An Indigenous student was also recruited as an employee of Land to Sea Consulting for the purposes of two-way capacity building.
Results/key findings
The project findings echo the key messages drawn from the eight recent FRDC-IRG projects that took place on country through participatory and ethical research methodologies. The five themes identified provide an insight into Indigenous priorities for:
  1. Indigenous fisheries
  2. Governance and management
  3. Legislation and policy
  4. Economic empowerment
  5. Capacity building
These five themes have been developed as a way of understanding the key messages of recent FRDC-IRG research and for providing a step forward in offering fisheries stakeholders with in-depth insights into the challenges and opportunities facing the Indigenous fisheries sector. They support and align with the IRG RD&E principles and priorities while emphasising the particular findings and core assertions of the research projects analysed.
Implications for relevant stakeholders
The significance of this project lies in the materials created to communicate with Indigenous communities, fisheries managers, policy makers and other stakeholders involved in the Australian fisheries. They are short, easy-to-read and accessible versions of eight comprehensive research projects and clearly summarise their findings and synthesise their key messages.
The also provide Indigenous communities with material that they can use to engage decision makers. For policy makers and managers, they provide a synthesised and summarised version of recent research bout Indigenous fisheries from which proactive policy can be built and based upon.
Recommendations
The five key messages that have been created through the synthesis of the FRDC-IRG projects have come to shape the very core of this project. Therefore, it is ultimately inevitable that these are the same messages that must embody the recommendations of this project. They are particularly aimed at policy makers and the direction for further development in the Indigenous fisheries sector.

Project products

Brochure • 2020-08-01 • 33.17 MB
2018-183-synthesis report.pdf

Summary

Indigenous communities in Australia have utilised, shared and traded marine resources since time immemorial. These communities continue to hold strong connections and knowledge to aquatic ecosystems and biological resources, and fishing remains embedded in their cultural, social and economic lives.
Since the early stages of colonisation, the ability of Indigenous fishing communities to access their fisheries for both cultural and commercial purposes has been disrupted by external factors, including the policies and practices of the Australian state. In recent history international agreements have been put in place to protect Indigenous rights to access and manage their fisheries worldwide. The Australian government has an obligation to ensure the protection of Indigenous peoples access to their land and sea. Yet there still remains a gap in the aspirations of Indigenous community for their fisheries and formal fisheries management arrangements.
Presently, the Commonwealth, States and Territories define and recognise Indigenous fisheries through different legislation, policy and practices. In turn, there is an identified need for a comprehensive set of national principles to guide the development, implementation and monitoring of Indigenous fisheries policy across all jurisdictions.
The key messages that have been identified through the findings of recent FRDC-IRG research projects present opportunities for various levels of government to proactively assist and support Indigenous fishing communities to access and utilise their fisheries in ways that align with Indigenous aspirations.
Communities
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-069
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Indigenous Capacity Building Program

This project aimed to address the need to increase the number of Indigenous Australians with capacity to engage in management and governance of fisheries and aquatic resources, by developing a capacity building program with supporting materials and conducting capacity building activities with...
ORGANISATION:
Fishwell Consulting Pty Ltd

Futures of Seafood. Wild. Aquaculture. Recreational. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders

Project number: 2023-092
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $2,750,000.00
Principal Investigator: Angela Williamson
Organisation: Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre Co-Ltd
Project start/end date: 30 Nov 2023 - 27 Nov 2025
Contact:
FRDC

Need

“Futures of Seafood” is an 18th month multi-disciplinary study co-designed with industry and government. It will draw from existing data, complementary work underway or concluded, and importantly will involve a suite our outputs that can be used by a variety of stakeholders in formats that are fit for purpose.

The study will provide a contemporary description on the state of play of Australia’s seafood system, the supply chain, markets and its reach into communities. It will identify and report on trends, insights, forecasts and cumulative impacts that are impacting (positive and negative) the industry. It will include the first in-depth spatial and descriptive profile of the seafood industry by sector and jurisdiction through spatial mapping and productivity reporting since Marine Matters in 2003. Beyond seafood, it will also identify, describe and map other ocean uses (new, emerging and transitioning), including assumptions about current growth plans / policies / rights completed / taken up, looking towards 2040.

Drawing from information collated, the study will include scenario modelling to model and scrutinise the cumulative impacts of these trends and produce associated impact reporting against productivity and sustainability (social, economic, environmental and governance) metrics for a series of ten scenarios.

It will synthesise the study findings, as well as curate across other studies underway or completed, to develop a series of industry-specific assets (reports, tools, frameworks and systems) that aim to improve knowledge and support ongoing participation in the ocean estate policy conversation. This includes supporting priority contemporary frameworks to support transitions to future states and de-risking industry/sectors.

‘Futures of Seafood’ will support a shared understanding of the potential pathways and opportunities that lie ahead for Australia’s seafood stakeholders during this time of rapid change and transformation. It will furthermore provide a foundation for industry, Government and policy makers to make better decisions, navigate changes, and ensure industry and stakeholders are well-equipped to adapt and hopefully flourish in a dynamic environment.

This study and its intended outputs are consistent with and seeks to promote action against local, national, and global strategic initiatives, including those of the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, the Biodiversity Framework within the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Paris Declaration, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and associated Forward Faster Initiative.

WORK PACKAGE SUMMARY

In short, this is a novel study that describes, maps and models the spatial, economic and social impacts of Government targets and decisions, provides evidence-based insights and charts a course for Australia’s futures of seafood alongside other ocean uses for the coming 10-15 years.

It will be delivered through a series of four work packages. These are founded on an enduring data collation platform, undertaken by a series of expert commissions and overseen and supported by a strong and inclusive governance framework.

Work Package 1: State of Play
• Identify data system to support mapping and describing the current state of the industries/sectors – i.e. locations, GVP, employment, production, jurisdiction input/output.
• Identify social and economic values i.e. contribution to regional communities, nutrition + value of supply chain.
• Deliver a contemporary description on the building blocks and state of play of Australia's ocean food system, its supply chain and markets alongside the other uses of the ocean estate.
• Investigate and report the trends, forecasts and cumulative impacts (positive and negative) on Australia's seafood industry. i.e. Nutritional security; spatial squeeze; working in a changing climate i.e. resilience, adaptation, emergency response; Industry transitions i.e. decarbonisation; Jurisdiction i.e. policy/strategy, production v consumption; Workforce + training; Nature based solutions & investment, sustainable food systems i.e. ESG and sustainability

Work Package 2: Future Estate
• Map and overlay impacts of new and emerging transitioning industries in the ocean estate.
• Identify and describe the trends, forecasts and cumulative impacts affecting the seafood industry.
• Map/measure/describe the implications of trends, forecasts and cumulative impacts of these industries and impacts (positive and negative) on Australia's seafood industry.
• Describe other uses of the ocean estate.

Work Package 3: Scenario Modelling
• Design and develop tool to test future state scenarios for commercial, recreational and indigenous fishing.
• Undertake a series of impact scenario examples: i.e. spatial squeeze/crowded ocean, a changing climate, a regulatory reset, sector case studies and cumulative pressures.
• Use the scenarios to deliver impact reporting on productivity, nutrition and sustainability metrics to include: spatial mapping, heat maps, regulatory options, socio-economic attributes, community sentiment, nutrition, consumer and market impacts and opportunities.

Work Package 4: Synthesis
• Synthesis of research from WPs into a complete report and communications assets.
• Develop a Futures of Seafood Roadmap to navigate the likely impacts of the futures scenarios.

Governance Framework
• This collaboration will bring together leaders from industry sectors and government portfolios of agriculture, energy and environment.
• A strong and inclusive governance model is proposed to capture the breadth of stakeholders and ensure oversight of the study, strategic relevance and timely input from data and information contributors.
• Oversight Committee
• Industry + Community Advisory Committee
• Government Advisory Committee
• WP Technical Teams + Data Management & Communications Teams
• Terms of Reference for each committee with be established.

Project Management
• This will be supported by a mature project administration system, drawing from the Blue Economy project management system, a governance model and also an independent project evaluator to undertake assurance and integrity of program logic and models.

Objectives

1. Provide a contemporary description on the state of play of Australia’s seafood system, the supply chain, markets and its reach into communities.
2. Identify the trends, insights, forecasts and cumulative impacts that are impacting (positive and negative) Australia's seafood industry.
3. Provide an in-depth spatial and descriptive profile of the seafood industry by sector and jurisdiction through spatial mapping and productivity reporting.
4. Identify, describe and map other ocean uses (new, emerging and transitioning), including assumptions about current growth plans / policies / rights completed / taken up, looking towards 2040.
5. Develop scenario modelling tools to model these trends and produce associated impact reporting against productivity and sustainability (social, economic, environmental and governance) metrics.
6. Synthesise the research and available to develop industry-specific assets (tools, frameworks and systems) that improve knowledge and support ongoing participation in the ocean estate policy conversation.
7. Progress priority contemporary frameworks to support transitions to future states and de-risking industry/sectors.

Comparative evaluation of Integrated Coastal Marine Management in Australia - Workshop

Project number: 2017-214
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $14,640.00
Principal Investigator: Alistair Hobday
Organisation: CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Hobart
Project start/end date: 19 Jun 2018 - 29 Nov 2018
Contact:
FRDC

Need

There is widespread evidence, in Australia and internationally, of increased need for an improved, practical approach to integrated management (IM) of fisheries and other coastal marine activities that is able to fully embrace the social, economic and institutional aspects (the so-called ‘human dimensions), of management. Assessment and management systems traditionally neglect the human dimensions. Further, they treat sectors separately, often with different authorities managing diverse activities in different ways, resulting in inconsistencies in management across activities. The result is that there is almost no consideration of the cumulative social, economic or ecological impacts of multiple activities, and no way of informing trade-offs among activities in management decision-making.
Experience to date is that IM has been only partially successful. Management of multiple activities has been additive…squeezing one activity in among others (e.g aquaculture in light of others). While there are some examples of movement toward IM, these have resulted in partial or temporary success. There are examples where management has started toward IM, but progress has been stalled or has fallen back. In general, many preconditions exist, but it has been hypothesized that management is missing key aspects of intentional design that would allow IM to proceed.
The proposed workshop will bring together those with both the science knowledge and the operational knowledge of 8-10 Australian IM case studies and a few with international expertise, to evaluate and compare experience towards identifying key elements of success and failure of Integrated Management.

Objectives

1. Complete the creation of a lens for evaluation of Integrated Management that includes appropriate attention to social, cultural, economic, institutional as well as ecological aspects
2. Convene two workshops involving expert practitioners with sufficient scientific and operational knowledge of existing Australian Integrated Management case studies
3. Evaluate and compare experience on implementing IM in Australia using a single evaluative lens
4. Synthesize and report results of the evaluation and make recommendations for improved IM in Australia

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-4863-1276-4
Authors: Robert Stephenson Alistair Hobday Christopher Cvitanovic Maree Fudge Tim Ward Ian Butler Toni Cannard Mel Cowlishaw Ian Cresswell Jon Day Kirstin Dobbs Leo X.C. Dutra Stewart Frusher Beth Fulton Josh Gibson Bronwyn Gillanders Natalie Gollan Marcus Haward Trevor Hutton Alan Jordan Jan Macdonald Catriona Macleod Gretta Pecl Eva Plaganyi Ingrid van Putten Tony Smith Ian Poiner Joanna Vince
Final Report • 2019-08-02 • 1.16 MB
2017-214-DLD.pdf

Summary

The need for Integrated Management (IM) of diverse marine activities is increasing, but there has been no agreed IM framework. In 2017 and 2018, a team of researchers collaborated to develop a framework for implementation and a ‘lens’ for evaluation of IM.

Project products

Fact Sheet • 408.36 KB
2017-214 - Fact Sheet 1- Integrated Management.pdf

Summary

Integrated Management is an approach that links (integrates) planning, decision-making and management arrangements across sectors in a unified framework, to enable a more comprehensive view of sustainability and the consideration of cumulative effects and tradeoffs.
 
Nine key features and five phases of implementation provide a lens for implementation and evaluation of Integrated Management. 
Fact Sheet • 285.61 KB
2017-214 - Fact Sheet 2- Integrated Management.pdf

Summary

Integrated Management is an approach that links (integrates) planning, decision-making and management arrangements across sectors in a unified framework, to enable a more comprehensive view of sustainability and the consideration of cumulative effects and tradeoffs.
 
Evaluation of nine key features and five phases important to Integrated Management has been investigated in seven Australian case studies.
Article • 2.85 MB
2017-214 - Stephenson et al 2023.pdf

Summary

Integrated management (IM) has been widely proposed, but difficult to achieve in practice, and there remains the need for evaluation of examples that illustrate the practical issues that contribute to IM success or failure. This paper synthesises experiences of academics and practitioners involved in seven Australian case studies in which there have been attempts to integrate or take a broader, holistic perspective of management. The evaluative framework of Stephenson et al. (2019a) was used as a lens to explore, through workshops and a questionnaire survey, the nine key features and five anticipated stages of IM in the Gladstone Harbour Project, the Great Barrier Reef, the Northern Prawn fishery and regional development, the South-East Queensland Healthy Waterways Partnership, the Australian Oceans Policy, the New South Wales Marine Estate reforms, and progress toward Integrated Management in the Spencer Gulf. Workshops involving experts with direct experience of the case studies revealed that most of the key features (recognition of the need; a shared vision for IM; appropriate legal and policy frameworks; effective process for appropriate stakeholder participation; comprehensive suite of objectives (ecological, social, cultural, economic and institutional); consideration of trade-offs and cumulative effects of multiple activities; flexibility to adapt to changing conditions; process for ongoing review, evaluation and refinement; and effective resourcing) were seen as important in all case studies. However, there are only a few examples where key features of IM were implemented ‘fully’. A subsequent questionnaire of participants using ‘best-worst’ scaling indicated that an appropriate legal and institutional framework is considered to have most influence on IM outcomes, and therefore is the most important of the key features. This is followed in salience by effective stakeholder participation, effective resourcing, capacity and tools, and recognition of the need for IM. Key features may change in relative importance at different stages in the trajectory of IM. 
Adoption
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-249
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

RRD4P: FRDC contribution: Precision to Decision Agriculture (Rural Research and Development for Profit Programme 2016)

The aim of this project was to benchmark Australian producers’ needs, perceived risks and benefits, and expectations associated with digital agriculture and big data context. Such understanding will inform strategies aimed at 1) better utilising agricultural data to...
ORGANISATION:
Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC)

Recreational fishing and human wellbeing: insights from existing data and development of best practice approaches to future measurement

Project number: 2018-095
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $46,000.00
Principal Investigator: Jacki Schirmer
Organisation: University of Canberra
Project start/end date: 8 Nov 2018 - 28 Mar 2019
Contact:
FRDC

Need

This project is needed as there are knowledge gaps about the effect of recreational fishing on the health and wellbeing of recreational fishers. Recent years have seen many claims about the health and wellbeing benefits of recreational fishing, as well as growing interest in nature connection and outdoor recreation as wellbeing interventions more generally. Measuring and valuing the wellbeing benefits of recreational fishing is not currently possible due to a lack of evidence, and limited methods for monitoring, measuring and reporting wellbeing effects. The FRDC’s RD&E Plan 2015-20 aims by 2020 to have robust community net benefit metrics that enable measurement of the benefits of fishing. This project will develop robust metrics related to health and wellbeing benefits of recreational fishing. Achieving this requires better understanding both (i) whether and under what circumstances engaging in recreational fishing has measurable impacts on health and wellbeing, and (ii) how to measure these benefits to produce readily accessible and understandable metrics. This will help achieve the FRDC’s national research strategy deliverable ‘Social contribution is supported by the fishing and aquaculture sector so it can capture the non-monetary value of activities across sectors.’ This work will also contribute to national science and research priorities in the health field, specifically the priority ‘Build healthy and resilient communities throughout Australia by developing … preventative strategies to improve physical and mental well-being’ (http://www.science.gov.au/scienceGov/ScienceAndResearchPriorities/Pages/Health.aspx). Nationally, this research priority aims to develop strategies for supporting wellbeing. This project contributes by identifying the role recreational fishing can play in building healthy and resilient communities through supporting physical and mental wellbeing. This research will also contribute to the overarching aims of Australia’s rural research, development and extension strategy, which include ‘develop a range of technologies and knowledge to contribute to healthy Australian lifestyles’ (http://www.agriculture.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/ag-food/innovation2/nsrrdip-investment-plan1.pdf)

Objectives

1. Understand whether engaging in recreational fishing (or in particular types or frequency of fishing) is associated with improved health and wellbeing for individual recreational fishers using available datasets
2. Identify best practice methods for establishing a causal relationship between (i) engaging in fishing and (ii) health and wellbeing outcomes for individual recreational fishers
3. Produce proposed set of measures and associated methodology that can be used to robustly measure causal association between engaging in fishing and health & wellbeing for individual recreational fishers and that can be used to provide valuation of these benefits for the broader economy
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2019-093
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Australian Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics 2018

Since 1991 ABARES has published detailed production and trade data annually in Australian fisheries statistics, now renamed Australian fisheries and aquaculture statistics. The publication is designed to meet the needs of the fishing and aquaculture industries, fisheries managers, policymakers and...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry
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)
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