Travel bursary: Sustainable Ocean Summit 2017, Canada
Australia possesses significant coastal and near coastal oil and gas reserves within its continental shelf. It follows that oil and gas exploration (especially seismic) is also significant; especially in the the Bass Strait, Great Australian Bight and North-Western 'Kimberley' areas of Australia. Up until recently, the offshore regulatory framework which includes assessment of effects on the aquatic environment and engagement with other users has been somewhat nebulous and Offshore Industry driven, with the development of aquatic environmental benchmarks being based on the same process as offshore OH&S and butressed by disputed sometimes irrelevant science.
Seismic expoloration in recent years has seen increased interaction between different aquatic ecosystems and marine users, resulting in a "contact" situation that was initially calamitous; but which has resulted in significant investment in Marine biological R&D, an increase in the deployment of the precautionary principle and marine environmental policy innovation.
Johnathon Davey (SIV) and Aaron Irving (NAC) will deliver a presentation that will draw on a number of aquatic environmental effects research project where Australia's fishing sectors were or are driving, policy innovations that we assisted in driving or supporting and case studies including the pearling Industry story, to provide a snapshot of the exciting work being undertaken in Australia currently in the marine environmental space with regard to the effects of seismic surveying and the ability for different users to play together successfully.
Final report
Fish and Chips Awards 2021
Throughout 2017-2019 FRDC established the Fish and Chip awards as a way to create debate around seafood, raise its profile and use this as a vehicle to promote information about sustainability, fisheries management and the R&D being undertaken to underpin it. The approach worked very well generating more than 90,000 votes, hundreds of media articles and millions of consumer views of that media coverage.
There is a need to ensure the base developed in the first three years is not lost and that SIA continues to build on it and centralise consumer-facing activities under the industry’s brand, Great Australian Seafood.
SIA will continue to deliver retailers, consumers and media information on the sustainability of Australian seafood, underutilised species, FishNames, CoOL, along with any other relevant R&D and extension.
In this initial year of SIA management, we will investigate the opportunities for sponsorship of the program and develop a timeline for a self-sustaining model.
There is also a need for SIA to demonstrate how an activity such as foodservice and consumer awards can deliver tangible results. To do this, SIA is looking to capture consumer opinion, engage retailers and measure behaviour.
Final report
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation had run the Fish and Chip Awards since 2017. In 2021 the awards were transferred to Seafood Industry Australia (SIA) to run under the industry’s consumer-facing brand Great Australian Seafood and renamed the Great Australian Fish and Chip Awards.
This report provides an overview of the transfer of the awards to SIA and delivery of the Great Australian Fish and Chip Awards in 2021 and 2022.