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While the AAHTS has been in operation for 9 years, there remains a need for the continual education and training of aquatic animal health professionals to enhance their skills across a range of specialist disciplines. Based on the significant outcomes from the previous nine years of the AAHTS, the Department of Agriculture has contributed $75,000.00 (less $7,500.00 (10%) management fee, cash contribution to FRDC) to ensure that the AAHTS continues to be implemented for a further 3-year period (2019/20-2021/22) with matching funding anticipated from the FRDC Aquatic Animal Health and Biosecurity Subprogram. Thus, an application is needed to generate an agreement between CSIRO-AAHL and FRDC for continuation of AAHTS which would be administered as previously, i.e., by CSIRO-AAHL (rather than FRDC) through the FRDC Aquatic Animal Health and Biosecurity Subprogram.

Objectives

1. To improve the knowledge and skills in aquatic animal health management to support Australia’s fishing and aquaculture industry, including the aquarium sector

PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-109

PROJECT STATUS:

COMPLETED

Development of Fish Health Indicators for the Gladstone Harbour Report Card

As the link between land and sea environments, estuaries are complex ecosystems vulnerable to human impacts, which directly and indirectly affect plants and animals, including fish. Fish are key biological indicators of environmental contamination, as they are water breathers, common in aquatic...

ORGANISATION:

CQUniversity (CQU) Gladstone

TAGS

SPECIES

FRDC communication of evidence-based information on the healthfulness and sustainability of seafood to Health Professionals

Project number: 2018-092

Project Status:

Completed

Budget expenditure: $69,043.99

Principal Investigator: Nicole Senior

Organisation: Professional Nutrition Services

Project start/end date: 8 Jul 2018 - 20 Dec 2018

Contact:

FRDC

TAGS

Need

The present application will build extensively on the previous nutrition research of Somerset and Bowerman by engaging health professionals in evidence-based and practical communication material which they can use to assist consumers in integrating seafood towards more healthy and sustainable dietary choices.

Dr Gabrielle O’Kane, a board member of the Dietitians Association of Australia, has also been conducting multi-disciplinary research focusing on the barriers and drivers of fish consumption in Australia. On the 18 May 2017, Dr O’Kane gave an oral presentation ‘Aligning sustainability and nutrition goals in Australian seafood consumption’ at the 34th National DAA conference in Hobart, reporting on the findings of the advice related to seafood consumption provided by APDs and PHNs to their clients. The findings showed that APDs and PHNs are uncertain as to where to find reliable evidence-based information on sustainable seafood stocks. The conference had over 600 delegates and there was keen interest in the Nutrition in Public Health, Community and the Environment stream of concurrent sessions, of which this presentation was a part. See the link http://daa2017.com.au/cms/wp-content/uploads/DAA-2017-Final-Program-as-of-24-April-2017.pdf. Dr Carolyn Stewardson was able to assist Dr O’Kane with sourcing clear, summarised information on the status of Australian wild fish stocks in advance of the conference, which was well-received by delegates. One of the key take home message of Dr O’Kane's presentation was to check the sites www.fish.gov.au and www.fishfiles.com.au.

There is a clear gap in the provision of evidence-based information on (i) performance of fisheries management/status of Australia’s fish stocks and (ii) the health benefits and recommendations around eating fish, to this sector. Dietary recommendations for fish intake presents a conflict between desired outcomes for environmental sustainability and health.

Objectives

1. Gather evidence-based information about the nutritional benefits and recommendations of seafood, and the performance of fisheries management/status of Australian fish stocks(Original objective: Translate FRDC's nutritional data and fish stock status information into simple, credible educational resources for health professionals and consumers according to their expressed needs and wants)

2. Translate this into a credible educational resource for health professionals according to their expressed needs and wants(Original objective: Effectively disseminate these resources through DAA, PHAA and Practice Nurses Association to health professionals in Australia for distribution into the wider community)

3. Effectively disseminate this resource to nutrition professionals and practice nurses in Australia for distribution into the wider community

Magazine

Author: Senior Nicole and Stewardson Carolyn

Magazine • 2019-05-01 • 4.19 MB

2018-092 Food_Australia_April-May 2019.pdf

Summary

Seafood is a nutritionally important food and an inherent part of Australian eating culture. However, consumers are often unsure which seafood to eat. This is for a range of reasons, including not knowing enough about the defining features of differing species or how to prepare and cook them, as well as concerns about sustainability.

In 2018 the FRDC commissioned resources to better equip health professionals to support their clients and communities to eat the recommended amounts of seafood and encourage them to choose Australian sustainable seafood. The suite of resources includes an evidence review of seafood and health, an online brochure and a collection of family friendly recipes using Australian sustainable seafood species. The resources can be accessed at www.fishfiles.com.au

Final Report • 2020-02-01 • 3.85 MB

2018-092-DLD.pdf

Summary

The overall goal for this project was to translate, integrate and communicate contemporary scientific knowledge on the performance of fisheries management/status of Australia’s fish stocks, and the health benefits of eating seafood, to the Australian community through a partnership between Accredited Practising Dietitians (APDs), primary health care nurses, public health nutritionists, food technologists, home economists and the FRDC.
This research is important because health professionals are an important influencer group on food choice and a key channel for food education.
Both health professionals themselves, and their clients, will benefit from this research. It provides scientific, evidence-based information health professionals can trust when educating patients and communities about seafood for health and sustainability. It provides them with information they need and want, but it also provides information they can share with their patients, clients and communities. Ultimately, it can steer Australians toward more sustainable seafood choices.
The key finding is that providing evidence-based information of seafood for health and sustainability to health professionals fulfilled an unmet need in this group that allows them to better support their patients, clients and communities.
As a result of this project, FRDC and seafood sector stakeholders can consider health professionals an additional influential channel for disseminating information of seafood
health and sustainability. The primary outcome of this project was to raise awareness about the nutritional benefits and recommendations of seafood, and the performance of fisheries management/status of Australian fish stocks via empowering health professionals to relay evidence based information (new resources and the FRDC website) to the wider community. Importantly, these resources were developed according to needs and wants of health professionals and consumers.

Final Report • 2020-02-01 • 3.85 MB

2018-092-DLD.pdf

Summary

An investigation of Indigenous knowledges and nutritional health and wellbeing benefits and values of seafood for supporting Indigenous fisheries development

Project number: 2019-143

Project Status:

Current

Budget expenditure: $111,932.00

Principal Investigator: Julie K. Brimblecombe

Organisation: Monash University Clayton Campus

Project start/end date: 29 Apr 2021 - 30 Oct 2022

Contact:

FRDC

TAGS

Need

Development of Aboriginal fishing businesses in the Northern Territory is aiming to improve the livelihoods of community members by providing access to a nutritious, diverse and culturally significant food supply. At both global and national levels, organisations are advocating for health to be considered in all policy (WHO, 2013). The objectives of the proposed research are to understand from an Indigenous knowledge domain the nutritional health and wellbeing benefits of seafood. This information can therefore support future considerations of nutrition and health benefits in policy and ensure that health and related unintentional impacts of policies are at least considered in the policy making process in fisheries development. There is an ongoing need for Indigenous grounded approaches to be implemented to improve the diet and nutritional programs in Aboriginal communities (e.g. government programs, Aboriginal Health organisations and school nutrition). It is anticipated that this research will be relevant to a wide range of stakeholders involved in addressing the nutritional and health outcomes in communities through promotion of seafood in diets. The western biomedical health benefits of seafood are widely known globally and nationally (FRDC, 2004). However, the relationships between Indigenous health and wellbeing and seafood in an Indigenous knowledge domain is not well understood. The proposed research aims to address this knowledge gap though a multidimensional approach including localised documentation and representation of Indigenous knowledges of the nutritional health and wellbeing benefits values and meanings of seafood and nutritional analysis of fish and seafood species. This approach will bring together two knowledges in a culturally appropriate manner to better promote a holistic understanding of nutritional benefits of seafood.

The outcome of the research will contribute new knowledge to ensure the development of Indigenous fisheries is sensitive to health, nutritional and wellbeing values and meanings of culturally important seafood. This research project is funded by the Fisheries Research Development Corporation (FRDC project 2019-143) on behalf of the Australian Government and is being implemented in partnership with Monash University, Charles Darwin University and Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation and Traditional Aboriginal Owners from the Maningrida region in the Northern Territory. Project investigators are Associate Professor Julie Brimblecombe, Associate Professor Natasha Stacey, and PhD candidate Beau Cubillo.

Objectives

1. To document Indigenous knowledges on the understanding of the nutritional health and wellbeing benefits and the value and meanings of locally caught and consumed seafood

2. To develop outputs (e.g. poster, booklet) based on Aboriginal knowledge and nutrition profiling of identified seafood species for inter-generational knowledge transfer

3. To develop a conceptual framework to bring together and represent the components and values of Indigenous knowledges of the nutritional health and wellbeing benefits of seafood

Technical support and advice to the Australian fishing and aquaculture sectors on aquatic animal health and biosecurity related matters

Project number: 2022-125

Project Status:

Current

Budget expenditure: $485,030.00

Principal Investigator: Steve B. Percival

Organisation: Aquaculture Development and Veterinary Services

Project start/end date: 14 Apr 2023 - 27 Feb 2026

Contact:

FRDC

TAGS

Need

Commercial in confidence. To know more about this project please contact FRDC.

Objectives

Commercial in confidence

PROJECT NUMBER • 2022-056

PROJECT STATUS:

COMPLETED

Bursary to attend the 2022 Microplastics and Seafood: Human Health Symposium in the United Kingdom - Erik Poole

ORGANISATION:

Sydney Fish Market Pty Ltd

TAGS

Symposium

Marine Plastics

Capacity Building

PROJECT NUMBER • 2022-055

PROJECT STATUS:

COMPLETED

Bursary to attend the 2022 Microplastics and Seafood: Human Health Symposium in the United Kingdom - Nina Wootton

ORGANISATION:

University of Adelaide

TAGS

Symposium

Marine Plastics

Capacity Building

PROJECT NUMBER • 2022-018

PROJECT STATUS:

COMPLETED

A global review of disease risks to the health and productivity of South Australia farmed Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT)

ORGANISATION:

Future Fisheries Veterinary Service Pty Ltd (FFVS)

TAGS

Disease

Biosecurity

SPECIES

Southern Bluefin Tuna

PROJECT NUMBER • 2022-054

PROJECT STATUS:

COMPLETED

Bursary to attend the 2022 Microplastics and Seafood: Human Health Symposium in the United Kingdom - Bronwyn Gillanders

ORGANISATION:

University of Adelaide

TAGS

Symposium

Marine Plastics

Capacity Building

Our Pledge: Australian seafood industry response to community values and expectations

Project number: 2017-242

Project Status:

Completed

Budget expenditure: $153,484.97

Principal Investigator: Jane D. Lovell

Organisation: Seafood Industry Australia (SIA)

Project start/end date: 14 Aug 2018 - 30 Jul 2019

Contact:

FRDC

TAGS

Wellbeing

Value Add

Sustainability

Human Dimensions Research

Health And Safety

Need

Despite considerable investment in RD&E to understand why the Australian seafood industry has been experiencing diminished levels of socio-political and community acceptability, there is still uncertainty regarding the significant values of different segments of the Australian community for coastal and marine systems, their management and industry (Essence Communications 2015). Further, there is evidence these values and associated expectations are highly changeable and can have significant individual, business and national repercussions. While the seafood industry already operates from a strong values-based position of its own - ‘sustainability’, there is evidence the community's concerns have expanded to include animal welfare, supply chain integrity, modern slavery for example.

Understanding community values and expectations is important but not enough. Industry must articulate and demonstrate its commitments to addressing kncommunity expectations. This is critical to breaking the reactive negative cycle that threatens resource access, mental health and viability of our industry. A means of monitoring and tracking industry's success in responding to the community's changing expectations and values must also be developed.

Seafood Industry Australia's (SIA) members have identified social licence. This project is a tangible commitment to a national conversation and action to address community values. It is an opportunity to build seafood industry unity on the basis of a set of shared values and supporting practices.

Australian Council of Prawn Fisheries (ACPF) has initiated a lot of this listening and values-related work relevant to wild catch prawns. ACPF is ready to design, implement and evaluate activities that embed these values as messages and convey the supporting or changing behaviours as proof. ACPF needs to ensure that its outputs reflect the direction of the Australia seafood industry and sees advantages in liaising with SIA as it produces outputs at sector level. In doing so, it will provide a test case for how other seafood industry sectors can undertake to acknowledge and respond to community values and expectations, and make a national set of shared industry-community values their own.

Objectives

1. Identify values of major segments of the Australian community for fisheries resources and seafood industries, and expectations of industry behaviours that support those values

2. Identify values of the Australian seafood industry that are common across the industry at national and sector/regional scales

3. Establish industry response to community values and expectations, including measurable benchmarks of industry behaviours and performance that demonstrate commitment

4. Demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of a community engagement and communication strategy that is built on recognised shared values and committment to supporting industry behaviours (Extension proof of concept – Prawns)

5. Increase capacity of industry's current and emerging leaders to engage in values-and-behaviours conversations with community leaders on an ongoing basis

Report

Author: Futureye

Report • 2020-09-07 • 1.02 MB

2017-242_Review of Community Attitudes.pdf

Summary

Seafood Industry Australia commissioned Futureye to review existing research into the Australian communities attitudes toward seafood, as well as other market research, that has been undertaken since 2014. The findings from this review were used to make recommendations to Seafood Industry Australia about what to address in their pledge to demonstrate the industry’s intent to earn its ‘social licence to operate.’

Project products

Report • 2020-09-07 • 354.06 KB

2017-242_The Pledge - Industry Values & Practices.pdf

Summary

Seafood Industry Australia commissioned Sea Change Consulting Australia to review values statements and recorded practices of 52 Australian seafood organisations. This review collated the most common Australian industry values and underpinning behaviours (practices), which provides evidence to demonstrate the industry’s effort and performance regarding to meet shared practices and values to earn its social licence to operate.

Report • 2020-09-07 • 1.12 MB

2017-242_Community Sentiment Research.pdf

Summary

Essence was engaged by Seafood Industry Australia to undertake a research program to help inform the development of a pledge to the Australian community and provide a benchmark of community sentiment towards the Australian seafood industry.

Final Report • 2020-09-15 • 3.70 MB

2017-242-DLD.pdf

Summary

The Australian seafood industry has clearly identified social licence and community perceptions as critical issues for its ongoing viability and prosperity. This is because current research shows substantial proportions of the Australian public are concerned or knows little about the ethics, environmental impact and governance of the seafood industry. To help improve industry’s social licence, this project aimed to develop a clearer understanding of community and industry values and underpinning behaviours to identify both threats to social license and behaviours community would like to see reinforced by industry.

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