47 results

Responsible fisheries and aquaculture - Activating a comprehensive Ecological, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting data system to uplift sustainability and traceability

Project number: 2023-024
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $500,000.00
Principal Investigator: Alistair Hobday
Organisation: CSIRO Environment
Project start/end date: 31 Jul 2023 - 29 Jul 2025
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Sustainability
Data

Need

Verification of fishing and aquaculture sustainability credentials is essential to increase consumer confidence, market access and community benefit. Sector performance currently centres on monitoring fish stocks & economic benefits. However, markets increasingly require traceable evidence of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) indicators such as provenance, safety, diversity, animal welfare, carbon, biodiversity to inform decisions. To meet this need, this project activates CSIROs Healthcheck ESG Fishing & Aquaculture data system by engaging industry, managers & researchers to identify data gaps and prioritise/collect essential indicators to allow more comprehensive ESG reporting. Data will be compatible and interoperable with existing catalogues/exchanges, for publishing to recognised sustainability frameworks (e.g. Status of Australian Fish Stocks, WhichFish, National Fisheries Plan, UN SDGs). Community surveys will allow adaptive prioritisation of future data/reporting needs.

Objectives

1. Activate an existing ESG data system (Healthcheck) with complementary ESG frameworks (Status of Australian Fish Stocks, Whichfish, Our Pledge, National Fisheries Plan, UN SDGs) and promote data use to increase traceability & sustainability of wild harvest fisheries, aquaculture operations and fish stocks (hereafter, F&A)
2. Increase the number of F&A reporting against ESG frameworks from 20 to 100 stocks (over 90 percent seafood value)
3. Address F&A priority data gaps
4. Increase data access & traceability through use of data exchanges
5. Use feasibility tested data to populate existing/emerging sustainability frameworks (e.g. Status of Australian Fish Stocks, National Fisheries Plan reporting, carbon & nature-based financial disclosure frameworks) and use verified sustainability credentials to demonstrate best practice (e.g. SIAs ‘Our Pledge’, Marine Stewardship Certification)
6. Be interoperable with related frameworks e.g. Australian Agricultural Sustainability Framework, ‘Know & Show your Carbon Footprint’ (funded by Agricultural Innovation Australia)
7. Understand community sustainability sentiment to inform future data gap prioritisation and build confidence

Digital Campaign: Innovation, sustainability, labour retention in Western Australian inshore fisheries - National video stories investment

Project number: 2022-209
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $182,505.00
Principal Investigator: Darryl P. Anderson
Organisation: Anvil Media
Project start/end date: 13 Jul 2023 - 30 Jan 2024
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Rac Wa
Rac Sa
Rac Qld
Communications

Need

FRDC has an already developed video and image library, however, does not have the resources to keep it supplied with new and relevant images, or to produce a series of short video clips and capture professional photos to showcase the innovation and sustanability of Australia's commercial fisheries. This is planned as a Phase #1 proof of concept project focusing on fisheries in 3 states: WA, SA and Queensland.

There is a need to produce a digital campaign that encapsulates the stories of commercial fishers and the role of their seafood supply locally and outside of Australia. These fisheries, their people, their fishing techniques and their markets have changed considerably over time. This presents an opportunity to showcase these changes –the new fisheries, the innovations and the inspiring young people taking over the reins.

This project is well aligned with the FRDC’s Strategic R&D priorities, and aims to build community, trust, respect and value (FRDC R&D Plan 2020-2025: Outcome 5) by providing foundational information and support services (FRDC R&D Plan 2020-2025: Enabling Strategy V).

Objectives

1. Increase the awareness of innovation and sustainability in wild catch seafood producers and their link to ongoing local seafood supply.
2. Increase the socio-economic development in coastal fishing communities.
3. Improve social acceptability and perception of the people, products, and organisations who are part of the regions featured in the series.

Website

Website • 2025-01-22
Take a Deep Dive_FRDC

Summary

This project developed a suite of videos that showcased an unbiased and authentic perspective on what the commercial wild catch sector looks like from the fishers' perspective. Through a series of interviews, each video focuses on the themes of - career opportunities, sustainability within wild catch fishing, innovation across the sector and its socio-economic benefits.
 
The videos were used in a social media campaign "Take a deep dive into wild catch fishing" with further details on the campaign and the videos available on the FRDC website here: https://www.frdc.com.au/take-deep-dive-wildcatch-fishing

Media messages about sustainable seafood: how do media influencers affect consumer attitudes?

Project number: 2017-131
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $85,550.36
Principal Investigator: Michelle Phillipov
Organisation: University of Adelaide
Project start/end date: 31 Dec 2017 - 30 Dec 2019
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Sustainability
Media
Human Dimensions Research
Consumer
Community

Need

From television cooking shows to social media, an intensified media focus on food has increased public visibility of issues of food provenance and sustainability in recent years. This has profoundly changed the communications landscape in which Australian food industries operate. There is now increased scrutiny and criticism of food industry activities not just from the ‘usual suspects’ (such as environmental activists), but also from a range of new players: celebrity chefs, food bloggers, social media ‘clicktivists’, and other media influencers. On the issue of sustainable seafood, these influencers have often been successful in securing a greater share of media ‘voice’ than industry itself. This is concerning because influencers’ messages are not always aligned with industry claims or with Government sustainability assessments. We know from international research that food celebrities and food media can either encourage or deter seafood consumption depending on the message (Bowman & Stewart 2013), but we don’t yet know what the impact is of Australian media, and media influencers, on consumer purchasing intentions, their attitudes and beliefs regarding the sustainability of Australian seafood, and the social acceptability of the industry. Aligning with National Priority 1 and its focus on industry communications strategy, this project will examine media coverage of Australian domestic fisheries sectors to identify: the messages about sustainable seafood prominent in Australian media; the media influencers, strategies, and professional networks underpinning their circulation; and how these messages are understood and interpreted by consumers. This knowledge will be used to inform communication strategies that will ensure clearer sustainability messages, reduce consumer confusion, and improve consumer trust in the Australian seafood industry.

Objectives

1. To identify the role and preferred mechanisms of media influencers in shaping media messages about the sustainability of Australian produced seafood and the Australian domestic seafood industry that are successful in achieving the greatest share of media ‘voice’, and to evaluate the impacts of this on consumer perceptions.
2. Contribute to the ongoing development of National Priority 1 Communications Strategy.
3. Offer best-practice strategies for dealing with the divergent messages from industry, and media influencers, and in doing so, boost the profile of the Australian seafood industry achievements in relation to sustainability initiatives.

Article

Author: Michelle Phillipov
Article • 2018-08-27 • 218.11 KB
Media Messages about Sustainable Seafood_Update 1.pdf

Summary

We have conducted a comprehensive media survey of key media texts across all major genres and platforms for the past 3 years (2015-2018) to identify: the major reported issues affecting seafood sustainability; the role of celebrity chefs and media influencers in this media coverage; and the effects of different media and communications strategies in contributing to ‘share of voice’ in key issues.

Project products

Report • 2020-04-01 • 2.80 MB
2017-131-DLD Media Survey.pdf

Summary

This report outlines results from a preliminary analysis of media (news, social, and lifestyle media) over a 4-year period of 2015–2018, focusing on media examples that have the potential to shape consumer attitudes about the sustainability of Australian seafood. The effectiveness of these messages will be tested in interviews with chefs and media influencers, and in focus groups with seafood consumers.
Report • 2020-04-01 • 4.92 MB
2017-131-DLD Best Practices for Media Engagement.pdf

Summary

This guide includes best practice principles, strategies and practical advice that will enable the Australian seafood industry to plan, carry out, and evaluate communication activities. In today’s hyper-mediated world, effective media engagement is essential. Even if media engagement feels like just ‘one more thing’ on an ever-expanding list of tasks, this guide will help to make best use of the time and resources available to ensure the best return possible.
Final Report • 2020-04-01 • 12.52 MB
2017-131-DLD.pdf

Summary

Influential individuals, such as chefs, industry figures and media content producers, are increasingly important to how food and sustainability issues are publicly framed, and to how these issues and industries may be perceived by consumers. This research has identified best practices for media engagement when communicating sustainability messages by analysing the media messages circulating about the sustainability of Australian seafood, the roles and attitudes of media influencers in circulating these messages, and the perceptions of seafood consumers when engaging with these messages.

Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-090
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Seafood Directions 2017

In May 2016, The Association Specialists were contracted to manage the biannual National Seafood Industry Conference, Seafood Directions, at the International Convention Centre Sydney. The event included the following: The conference was held across three days (Wednesday 27 September...
ORGANISATION:
Sydney Fish Market Pty Ltd
TAGS
Trade
Sustainability
Rac Nsw
Media
Fisheries Management
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
Blank
PROJECT NUMBER • 2020-110
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Fish and Chips Awards 2021

The Fish and Chip Awards are a celebration of Australia’s iconic Fish and Chips, and draws focus to the sustainability of Australian seafood, underutilised species, Fish Names, and Country of Origin Labelling in foodservice. The awards are popular with consumers, retailers, and media...
ORGANISATION:
Seafood Industry Australia (SIA)
TAGS
Rac Cmwth
Environment

Investigating drivers of environmental change in Pipe Clay Lagoon

Project number: 2023-176
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $38,400.00
Principal Investigator: Carryn Manicom
Organisation: Marine Solutions Tasmania Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 15 Sep 2024 - 29 Jun 2025
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Wild Catch
Recreational Fishing
Rac Tas
Climate Change
Aquaculture

Need

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.

Objectives

1. Characterise and quantify environmental changes in Pipe Clay Lagoon, providing an evidence base for anecdotal observations of change.
2. Understand the drivers and interactions behind observed environmental changes in Pipe Clay Lagoon.
3. Identify management mechanisms to safeguard the values of Pipe Clay Lagoon and other Tasmanian coastal lagoons, including sustainability of the aquaculture industry.
4. Capacity building and increased marine literacy within community and industry to help observe and report change.
5. The applicant would welcome feedback and suggestions from FRDC and/or key beneficiaries for additional objectives.
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