41 results
Adoption
PROJECT NUMBER • 2020-040
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Aquatic animal welfare – a review of guidance documents and legislation

This report provides a contemporary review of aquatic animal welfare in Australia, focussing on fish, crustaceans and cephalopods that are captured or farmed in the commercial wild capture, aquaculture and recreational fishing sectors in Australia. It also reviews the welfare of aquatic animals used...
ORGANISATION:
Panaquatic Health Solutions Pty Ltd
Industry
Adoption
PROJECT NUMBER • 2019-023
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Practicing aquatic animal welfare: Identifying and mitigating obstacles to uptake and adoption by the Australian Fishing Industry

This FRDC funded research focuses on the obstacles to, and drivers of, positive practice change relating to aquatic animal welfare (AAW) in Australia’s wild-catch commercial fishing and finfish aquaculture sectors. It was conducted between December 2019 and March 2022 in response to...
ORGANISATION:
ENVision Environmental Consulting
People
People

Preliminary evaluation of electro stunning technology for farmed Barramundi

Project number: 2021-051
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $21,123.00
Principal Investigator: Brian Paterson
Organisation: Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Brisbane
Project start/end date: 11 Nov 2021 - 28 Feb 2022
Contact:
FRDC
SPECIES

Need

The Australian Barramundi Farmers Association (ABFA) called for an EOI via FRDC for a proposal to evaluate alternative humane harvest methods for farmed barramundi. Specifically, the ABFA identified electro-stunning as a technology of interest to further optimise animal welfare outcomes, while maintaining product quality. The association needs all available information reviewed to evaluate the technology’s potential and if recommended, to help shape the direction of future R&D into the suitability of electro-stunning for the barramundi industry. As a precursor to possible on-farm trials, the ABFA wants to better understand the nature of the technology and learn from international experience in other fish culture sectors. This full proposal addresses the ABFA’s desire for greater insight into; (a) consumer’s attitudes towards fish harvesting and slaughter; (b) the state of uptake of similar technologies by other aquaculture sectors; (c) how to adapt electro-stunning efficiently into a harvest process for a range of barramundi farm sites; (d) whether local or overseas manufacturers/agents can be engaged to co-fund tests of equipment on-farm; and (e) what requirements must be met to make that testing possible and how it would be conducted.
Approval of the EOI was subject to the full application addressing the need for the literature review to include any work on methodology for establishing product quality indicators in addition to welfare indicators (Condition 9).

Objectives

1. Information about electro-stunning in fish aquaculture (reports, publications, websites, media) found using broad and selective web-searching as well as via on-line databases and then compiled/prioritised into an organised electronic library. The other objectives are addressed from this starting point.
2. Identify declared attitudes and expectations of consumers, leading retailers, and animal welfare groups concerning electro-stunning of farmed fish
3. Identify farmed fish sectors using electro-stunning for slaughter or other purposes and the known pros and cons of integrating it into their operations (including demonstrated cost-benefit, and welfare and product quality outcomes).
4. Describe the principle/specifications of electro-stunning and its relevance to different barramundi producers for slaughter and other uses and the desired end points including the methods required to measure product quality and welfare indicators).
5. Shortlist equipment to be tested/adapted on farms and consider IP and partnering/co-funding options
6. Recommend the next steps and a possible structure for a proposal to ABFA that demonstrates the efficacy of the equipment
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