123 results

Circular Economy Opportunities for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Australia

Project number: 2020-078
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $158,000.00
Principal Investigator: Kate Barclay
Organisation: University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
Project start/end date: 16 Mar 2021 - 29 Sep 2021
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Waste
Sustainability
Marine Plastics

Need

Current resource use challenges sustainability and resilience of industries. Circular value chains allow management of waste losses and maximise resource recovery. A circular economy (CE) mimics the cycles in nature in which there is no waste. Maximum value and utility of products and materials is maintained in CE through a combination of extending product lifetimes, increasing resource use intensity, and end-of-life material recycling. CE includes the idea of regenerative development, i.e. as the earth’s resources cycle as materials through the economy they restore and enhance, rather than deplete, natural capital.

Economic opportunities of circularity are well identified, the World Economic Forum estimates global adoption of CE principles would deliver cost savings of US$1trillion dollars per annum by 2025. A recent UTS:ISF study estimated an Australian CE could be worth AU$2 billion by 2025. However, current knowledge gaps constrain how CE may develop, at what scale it makes sense to close loops, and the strategies, policy mix and incentives needed to promote circularity.

For fisheries and aquaculture, CE adoption addresses waste challenges through the creation of new value chains for fish/shell waste and substitution or recycling plastics and provides co-benefits of resource efficiency, contributions to healthy aquatic eco-systems and creation of added value and new employment. Frameworks to guide ‘CE thinking’ exist e.g. Ellen Macarthur Foundation’s 10R’s and ReSOLVE (see Supplementary Material), but have not been explored, are often omitted in food innovation debates (Pagotto and Halog 2015), and opportunities for implementation within the sector are still emerging (e.g., replacement of fish-feed for abalone with wine production waste or repurposing mussel shells as high-nutrient fertiliser). The need to understand the context, opportunity and benefit of CE innovations and to identify strategic approaches to sectoral circularity at scale are apparent.

Objectives

1. Develop increased knowledge of how the concept of circular economy relates to fishing and aquaculture, including downstream activities such as post-harvest processing and packaging.
2. Develop increased knowledge of how circular practices being applied in other sectors and industries relate to the fishing and aquaculture sectors and could be adopted by fishing and aquaculture businesses. This includes opportunities for fisheries/aquaculture industries to develop circular linkages with other marine and land based sectors.
3. Identify opportunities that are available and areas for exploration in the short, medium and longer term to progress a circular economy for fisheries and aquaculture.
4. Identify barriers to adopting circularity within the fisheries/aquaculture sector, and known strategies for addressing those barriers.

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-9953662-6-8
Authors: Rebecca Cunningham Kate Barclay Brent Jacobs Samantha Sharpe and Nicholas McClean
Final Report • 2022-09-30 • 7.78 MB
2020-078-DLD.pdf

Summary

The aim of this project was to understand current circular economy (CE) activities, opportunities and barriers in the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Australia through extensive stakeholder engagement. This research and consultation project has found that there are many CE activities occurring throughout the sector at a range of scales. However, there are significant barriers to overcome to fully realise the opportunities that CE presents. One finding is that the scale of the enterprise plays a role in the ability of any business to absorb elements of the supply chain and optimise the reprocessing of their waste streams.  
Those businesses working on developing new and niche products may require additional collaborations to meet their circular goals. There is also a balance to be struck in terms of gathering the appropriate volumes of waste or reuse materials for a business to be economically viable, while ensuring that the transport and storage (e.g. freezing) of those materials does not invalidate a company’s existing carbon footprint.  

Project products

Educational material • 2022-09-30 • 405.26 KB
2020-078-Fisheries_Aquaculture_Circularity_Vignettes to showcase current initiatives.pdf
Educational material • 2022-09-30 • 511.66 KB
2020-078-INFOGRAPHIC-Circularity_for_Seafood_Butterfly.pdf
Educational material • 2022-09-30 • 287.76 KB
2020-078-DIAGRAM-Wildcatch fisheries input-output circularity flow diagram.pdf
Educational material • 2022-09-30 • 311.47 KB
2020-078-DIAGRAM-Aquaculture input-output circularity flow diagram.pdf

Aquatic animal welfare – a review of guidance documents and legislation

Project number: 2020-040
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $209,420.00
Principal Investigator: Paul Hardy-Smith
Organisation: Panaquatic Health Solutions Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 14 Jan 2021 - 29 Nov 2023
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Policy
Fisheries Management
Aquaculture
Animal Welfare

Need

The aquaculture, commercial and recreational fisheries sectors along with the FRDC have recognised the need to continue the work of the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy (AAWS) Aquatic Animal Working Group (AAWG) (2005-2013). In September 2018, the FRDC funded a workshop to review the activities of the AAWS-AAWG and for the industry peak bodies to prioritize knowledge gaps for future R&D. One of the recommendations from the workshop funded by FRDC 2017-221 was to conduct a stocktake of the current industry processes and legislation that relate to aquatic animal welfare.

The initial stocktake was completed in 2006 by Dr Paul Hardy-Smith and colleagues. The aquatic animal welfare landscape has significantly changed since 2006. States and Territories are developing animal welfare legislation and guidelines that either specifically addresses aquatic animal welfare considerations and/or includes aquatic animals (e.g. fish, crustaceans) under the definition of “animal” in the legislation. This changing landscape has implications for “in-field” practices (e.g. methods used to kill aquatic animals) and other practices (e.g. transportation of live aquatic animals).

It is critically important that the commercial wild capture, aquaculture and recreational fishing sectors understand the implications of this changing landscape. These sectors need to ensure their own guidelines or codes of conduct are addressing the regional requirements and if they are not, then it is important that they are assisted in addressing changes to protect themselves. It is important that aquatic animal welfare requirements in no way place human welfare at risk. There is a need to promote the changes to industry practice that have positive outcomes for aquatic animal welfare and to ensure industry practices are keeping within the welfare requirements of that State or Territory.

Our project will comprehensively document and analyse the legislative framework as it applies to aquatic animal welfare in each State and Territory. The project will identify key areas of concern for commercial wild capture, aquaculture and recreational sectors which will be used to assist in developing priority case studies.

Objectives

1. To conduct a contemporary stocktake of Australia's current aquatic animal welfare policies, programs, and procedures as expressed in legislation, Codes of Practice, Standards or other relevant guidance documents as applicable to the commercial wild capture, aquaculture and recreational fishery sectors.
2. To develop case studies to assess the suitability and practicality of the all Codes of Practice, Standards or other relevant guidance documents to align with industry practice and the legislative animal welfare requirements in the commercial wild capture, aquaculture and recreational fishery sectors.
3. Make recommendations to improve the alignment of industry practice with legislation for improved outcomes for aquatic animal welfare in the commercial wild capture, aquaculture and recreational fishery sectors.

Report

ISBN: 978-0-9756047-6-2
Authors: Dr Paul Hardy-Smith Dr Joy A. Becker and Dr Robert Jones
Report • 2023-03-01 • 3.07 MB
2020-040-DLD.pdf

Summary

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 in teaching or research.
Aquatic animals, like all animals, play an important role in maintaining a healthy environment. Many aquatic animals are valuable sources of nutrition for humans and other animals and contribute significantly to Australia’s primary industry in both domestic and international trade. Other aquatic animals have cultural and economic importance to our tourism and recreational industries. For aquatic animals, as with other animals, better health through improved welfare can increase productivity and can have beneficial impacts on sustainability.
The last review of aquatic animal welfare arrangements in Australia was conducted in 2006. Community understanding of animal welfare, including aquatic animal welfare, has increased since then. Having a sound understanding of animal welfare laws and any changes that may be happening to those laws is important to industries that work with aquatic animals.
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2019-214
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Survey for WSSV vectors in the Moreton Bay White Spot Biosecurity Area

The objective of this project was to undertake opportunistic plankton sampling and collect small non-commercial species of decapod crustaceans in northern Moreton Bay and near the intakes of the three prawn farms which remained operating on the Logan River during April and May 2020, at a time when...
ORGANISATION:
DigsFish Services Pty Ltd
TAGS
White Spot Disease
Survey
Rac Qld
Fisheries Management
Disease
SPECIES
Black Tiger Prawn
Freshwater Prawns
King Prawns
Banana Prawns
Tiger Prawns
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2019-212
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Compilation of information for the US Marine Mammal Protection Act Comparability Finding process

Recent changes to legislation in the United States (US) requires that nations importing seafood must demonstrate that they have a regulatory program for reducing marine mammal bycatch that is comparable in effectiveness to the US standards under the ‘Fish and Fish Product Import...
ORGANISATION:
Alice Ilona Mackay
TAGS
Resource Rehabilitation
Population Dynamics
Mortality
Market Opportunities
Fisheries Management

AQUAPLAN Development Workshop

Project number: 2019-206
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $17,147.50
Principal Investigator: Olivia M. Liu
Organisation: Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry
Project start/end date: 11 Mar 2020 - 26 Mar 2020
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Workshop
Wild Catch
Stakeholder
Aquarium
Aquaculture

Need

Similar to the development process of the previous plans, an industry-government workshop is proposed to be held in late 2020 to consider the review’s findings and consult industry and governments on priority issues to be included in the 4th AQUAPLAN. The workshop would be organised and supported primarily by APHP staff, in conjunction with FRDC, and funding is required to hold the workshop in a venue that maximises attendance from key stakeholders (i.e. in a convenient location). The workshop will be held 18-19 March 2020 and planning will need to begin as soon as possible.
Workshop participants would include representatives from industry (including wild catch, aquaculture and ornamental fish sectors), Commonwealth and state and territory governments, and other government and non-government agencies (e.g. CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and Animal Health Australia).

Objectives

1. To host an industry-government workshop to consider the findings and recommendations of the AQUAPLAN 2014-2019 Review and consult on the priority issues to be included in the 4th National Strategic Plan for Aquatic Animal Health.
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2019-172
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

RRD4P: FRDC Contribution: Closing the Loop: Black Soldier Fly technology to convert agricultural waste

This project investigated BSF waste treatment technology to provide a new waste management options that is more sustainable, productive and profitable for the primary industries. It explored the conversion of low-value agricultural waste products into high quality, innovative fertilisers and soil...
ORGANISATION:
Australian Pork Ltd (APL)
TAGS
Social Science
Social Science
Rac Wa
Nutrition
Non Market Values
People
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2019-106
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Minor use permit for oxytetracycline in non-salmonid finfish

There are no registered or permitted antimicrobial products approved by the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicine Authority (APVMA) for treatment of bacterial infections in finfish. This project developed an application for a minor-use permit (MUP) for the use of oxytetracycline (OTC) to...
ORGANISATION:
University of Adelaide
TAGS
Vaccine
Trade
Toxin
Resource Access And Allocation
Health And Safety
SPECIES
Mulloway
Snapper
Yellowtail Kingfish
Cobia
Silver Perch

Investigation of the direct and indirect role of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) on Western Rock Lobster settlement processes: with consideration of the potential role of contaminants

Project number: 2019-101
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $44,000.00
Principal Investigator: Tim J. Langlois
Organisation: University of Western Australia (UWA)
Project start/end date: 1 Jul 2020 - 1 Nov 2022
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Wild Catch
Threatened Endangered Protected Species
Stock Assessment
Stakeholder
Resource Access And Allocation
SPECIES
Western Rock Lobster

Need

In Western Australia, the positive and negative effects of SGD in marine benthic communities remains unknown. In Marmion Lagoon, SGD is known to supply up to 50% of the nutrients required for the macrophyte growth rates observed (Johannes and Hearn 1985). Freshwater input has been observed to positively impact seagrass germination (Xu et al., 2016), and although no similar studies exist for temperate seagrass species in the southern hemisphere, SGD may have a role in the creation, maintenance and augmentation of seagrass beds.
The direct influence of SGD on puerulus settlement rates is unknown but freshwater discharge has been shown to be positively correlated with crab larval abundance (Boylan and Wenner, 1993). An ongoing FRDC project (2016-260: Assess causes and implications of anomalous low lobster catch rates) has demonstrated post-puerulus western rock lobster exhibit a strong choice for the chemical signature of seagrass (Brooker et al. in prep). These findings suggest that SGD may affect puerulus settlement rates either directly through chemotaxis or indirectly by impacting the density of seagrass meadows. Hence, there is a need to investigate both the role of SGD and the presence of seagrass on puerulus settlement rates.
Land derived contaminants potentially impacting puerulus settlement and survival could include heavy metals and endocrine disrupting chemicals, such as flame-retardants or pesticides targeting insects (McKenney, 1999). Adult lobster have been shown to be repelled by the presence of copper (McLeese, 1975) and both flame-retardants (polybrominated diphenyl ethers - PBDEs) (Davies and Zou, 2012) and various insecticides (Ghekiere et al., 2005) have been shown to disrupt moulting in marine crustacea. Alkylphenol pollution was implicated in a major die-off of the American lobster (Homarus americanus) population that occurred in Long Island Sound in 1999, with acute impact on post-puerulus mortality during moulting (Laufer et al., 2013). There is a need to investigate both the occurrence and concentration of likely contaminants at potential source locations within the Western Rock Lobster fishery and assess their impact on post-puerulus survival.

Objectives

1. Identify areas of significant submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) nearby established western rock lobster settlement monitoring sites.
2. Investigate the direct role of SGD on western rock lobster settlement rates.
3. Investigate the link between SGD and the extent and condition of important lobster habitat (e.g. seagrass).
4. Identify and map input of contaminants by SGD in key fishery areas.
5. Investigate impact of contaminants on the survival of puerulus and post-puerulus lobster.

Final report

Authors: Tim Langlois John Fitzhardinge Simon de Lestang Claude Spencer Stanley Mastrantonis and Anita Giraldo
Final Report • 2025-02-21 • 3.83 MB
2019-101-DLD.pdf

Summary

The influence of Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) on coastal ecosystems of the West Coast Bioregion of Western Australia, and particularly its impact on the Western Rock Lobster (WRL) and the West Coast Rock Lobster Managed Fishery (WCRLMF), is poorly understood. This is despite that the region's unique oceanography and geological history, where the prevailing oceanography suppresses upwelling and there is limited nutrient input from the land, would predict that SGD could have a significant role in the productivity of coastal ecosystems. In addition, this region is reported to be drying and warming under the influence of climate change, and localised decreases in SGD have already been reported. Three linked objectives were originally proposed within this project:

 

1. Identify areas of significant submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) nearby established western rock lobster settlement monitoring sites.

2. Investigate the direct role of SGD on western rock lobster settlement rates.

3. Investigate the link between SGD and the extent and condition of important lobster habitat (e.g. seagrass).

 

To address the knowledge gaps surrounding SGD and inform further research, a workshop was convened in December 2020, bringing together experts from various disciplines. The workshop aimed to identify key research priorities and effective methodologies for studying SGD and its potential role in the productivity of coastal ecosystems.

 

The influence of SGD on coastal ecosystems of the West Coast Bioregion are poorly understood. After the expert workshop, the project identified that the initial objectives proposed were not achievable and used the outputs of that workshop and pilot studies, to evaluate potential field methods, and recommend that future studies should instead focus on detailed characterisation of SGD within locations of interest. The proposed multi-sensor sampling approach and survey design provided here, would provide a robust basis for any future investigation of the role of SGD on WRL ecology and any implications for the WCRLMF.

 
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