The Australian seafood industry aspires to continue improving its sustainability in many areas, including reducing its carbon emissions and ultimately achieving carbon neutrality. The 2017 National Seafood Industry Leaders called for the industry to strive to become carbon neutral by 2030. There are many aspects to this, such as improving fuel efficiency and evaluating land transport options, but some emissions are inevitable. To offset these emissions, the seafood industry might choose to investigate carbon markets. Investments in blue carbon could also provide added value to the industry, say, through better fish nurseries, or through the social benefits of being seen to proactively nurture the ecosystems that support them. However, the mechanisms to allow the seafood industry to pursue this are poorly developed. Impediments include the paucity of blue carbon opportunities in existing regulatory markets, and uncertainty about the most appropriate financial mechanisms for blue carbon investment.

The industry would benefit from a clear guide that outlines the current (and likely future) opportunities, the risks, a realistic assessment of the benefits, and a set of options for potential investors to pursue. To facilitate this, we will hold a meeting of key seafood industry stakeholders: at this workshop we will inform stakeholders about the current state of knowledge and opportunities, ask the extent to which the industry aspires to be carbon neutral, and whether blue carbon investments are perceived to be relevant. We will identify the major impediments to the industry achieving its desired goals, and plan concrete actions that can be taken to achieve them. These will be compiled into a plan to inform the FRDC on what actions to invest in, and how much investment would be needed.

Statistics on Australian fisheries production and trade provides a source of information for a range of
purposes. The information can be used to meet the needs of the fishing and aquaculture industry, fisheries
managers, policymakers and researchers. It can assist in policy decisions, industry marketing strategies and
the allocation of research funding or priorities. The gross value of production for specific fisheries are used for
determining the research and development levies collected by government. The neutrality and integrity of
GVP estimates is therefore important due to their forming the basis for research levies for each fishery. At the
international level, the Department of Agriculture through Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource
Economics and Sciences (ABARES) contributes to a number of international databases. These include
databases managed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD). Information at the international level can assist in international
negotiations on issues such as transboundary fisheries and analysis of trade opportunities.