36 results

A review of projects concerned with improved exploitation of underutilised species

Project number: 2017-185
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $36,729.16
Principal Investigator: Len Stephens
Organisation: Dr Len Stephens
Project start/end date: 21 Mar 2018 - 28 Jun 2018
Contact:
FRDC

Need

The potential use of underutilised species has been identified as a means of increasing the productivity and profitability of some fishing sectors, as such, jurisdictions continue to prioritise research that explores the viability of underutilised species as seafood and/or receives applications of this nature.

While the prospect of using fish that are readily available is attractive, there are likely to be numerous reasons why the fish are not currently exploited commercially. These reasons may be related to fishing processes, regulation, market perceptions, quality and supply chain arrangements.

Before investing additional funds in projects of this nature, FRDC requires an evaluation of past projects to determine the factors behind their success or failure. This analysis will then provide the basis for a decision matrix that can be used by project applicants and FRDC staff to design future projects.

It is not clear why there is a low market demand for seafood products derived form underutilized species. It is likely that provision of low cost, attractive seafood would create significant consumer interest, as has happened with basa. But it is unknown why the supply chain has not responded to this opportunity. More information about seafood demand is required from the seafood trading companies.

If a significant change to the emphasis of these projects is proposed by FRDC as a result of this study, a workshop will be needed to inform and consult with key stakeholders about the proposed changes.

Objectives

1. Provision of a collated summary of all underutilized species projects supported by FRDC, and an analysis of lessons learned from each project.
2. Provision of a check list of success criteria to be used as guidance for future applicants in preparing projects concerned with underutilized species and by FRDC in evaluating them.
3. Identification of commercial factors and fisheries managememt policy concepts that might influence future supply and demand of underutilized species in Australia.

Report

ISBN: 978-0-9752258-3-7
Author: Leonard Stephens
Report • 2019-03-19 • 1.93 MB
2017-185-DLD.pdf

Summary

Catching unwanted fish species is an unavoidable consequence of commercial fishing. Some of this fish is bought from fishers at very low prices and used for low value products but the bulk of it is discarded at sea.

Many improvements have been made to fishing gear to reduce fishing bycatch, however there are still large volumes of underutilised species caught. Apart from some niche products, little of this product that is landed reaches wholesale and retail food markets because there is lack of demand for it, further complicated by failures in the supply chain.  Most of the landed product is diverted to pet food, bait, and rendering for fish meal and oil. This study was commissioned by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation to investigate the factors that influence supply and demand of underutilised species. This project also sought to make recommendations on how FRDC might support future research on this subject.

The study was conducted in two parts: 

1. The first part involved a review of previous and current FRDC projects focusing on developing commercial opportunities for underutilised species. This component was undertaken to assist FRDC and researchers in the design and execution of projects aiming to improve exploitation of underutilized species.

2. The second part involved interviewing operators at all levels of the supply chain and Principal Investigators of past and current FRDC projects to better understand the potentially competing objectives of public policies aimed at minimizing fish discards and commercial drivers that limit the harvest of underutilized species.

Communities

Maximising industry representational capacity and capability through improved skills and knowledge

Project number: 2018-063
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $40,000.00
Principal Investigator: Julian J. Harrington
Organisation: Seafood Industry Tasmania
Project start/end date: 30 Nov 2018 - 31 Jul 2019
Contact:
FRDC

Need

The Tasmanian seafood industry operates in an exceptionally complex environment, with a diverse range of stakeholders who have input and influence over the decision making process. Furthermore, an increasing number of issues and challenges threaten the ongoing viability of the industry, notable examples include large scale harmful algal blooms on Tasmania's East Coast, community and industry acceptance of salmon expansion and political influence overriding a scientific evidence base. Industry associations and the volunteer Directors of such organisations are tasked with steering the Tasmanian seafood industry towards a sustainable and prosperous future. Fundamental to the success of seafood sector associations is sound governance, fiscal responsibility and strategy and risk preparedness. Directors of not-for-profit associations must clearly understand their role and legal obligations of being a Director, and their role in steering industry in a positive forward projection.

Governance, fiscal responsibility and strategy and risk preparedness are fundamental skills and knowledge that all Directors must be aware of and constantly reminded of, and it is important to provide volunteer Directors the opportunity to up-skill or re-skill in this important area. Noting that the Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishemen's Association and Oysters Tasmania are about to finalise new Directors, it is timely that TSIC run professional development opportunities to support these and other sector association representatives.

The Australian Institute for Company Directors offer short, one day courses tailored to the Tasmanian seafood industry needs.

Objectives

1. To conduct two (2) one (1) day Australian Institute of Company Directors courses focusing on Governance and Strategy and Risk for Directors, with a focus on not-for-profit organisations.
2. To improve the skills and knowledge of seafood industry representatives
3. To ensure sector associations are operating within their legal requirements
4. To improve industry capacity and capabilities to strategise and address risk

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-925983-15-9
Author: Julian Harrington
Final Report • 2019-08-01 • 866.20 KB
2018-063-DLD.pdf

Summary

Twenty (20) Tasmanian seafood leaders participated in a two (2) day Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) course over the 30 and 31 May 2019. Courses completed were:
• Governance for Directors
• Finance for Directors
Participants gained a better understanding of best practice governance and how to interpret and understand financial reports.
The skills gained will provide greatly improved capacity and capability within Tasmanian seafood sector associations and the Tasmanian Seafood Industry Council (TSIC).
Industry

Developing automated data cleansing and validation processes for fisheries catch and effort data

Project number: 2017-085
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $397,750.00
Principal Investigator: Karina C. Hall
Organisation: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW)
Project start/end date: 21 Dec 2017 - 29 Jun 2020
Contact:
FRDC

Need

During a recent national Fisheries Statistics Working Group meeting, data managers from all Australian states highlighted and discussed the likely high prevalence of inaccurate or fraudulent data supplied by fishers and accrued through data-entry errors. Current data quality control measures in each jurisdiction are largely heterogeneous, undocumented and often rely on manual checks by clerks or analysts that are labour intensive and costly and not routinely executed. Because many of these checks occur during manual data entry of paper-based records, these are likely to become obsolete as reliance on electronic reporting increases, with data entered directly by fishers through online portals or mobile applications.

There is a need to develop automated data cleansing and diagnostic procedures that can be applied post-hoc or retrospectively to large fisheries databases to detect and flag errors and outliers and provide subsets of reliable catch and effort data for stock assessments and other analyses. This project will contribute towards addressing these issues, by developing automated processes to routinely assess newly entered fisheries catch and effort data for errors, retrospectively quantify error rates in existing data and assess their likely influence on the outputs of stock assessment analyses. The outcomes will help improve the quality and accuracy of catch and effort data used in routine stock assessments, and in turn lead to more sustainable management of wild capture fisheries resources.

Objectives

1. Review existing data quality control and cleansing processes applied to fisheries catch and effort databases in all state and commonwealth jurisdictions.
2. Develop a suite of generic algorithmic and statistical approaches to detect and flag different error types (e.g., anomalous, missing and outlying values) in fisheries catch and effort relational databases.
3. Trial the above approaches with several case-study fisheries datasets to assess the performance of different data cleansing approaches, quantify error rates and types and assess the sensitivity of catch and effort statistics to these errors and outliers.
4. On the basis of the above findings, recommend a standard national approach for data cleansing and validation of fisheries catch and effort data.
5. Customise and integrate the generic approaches into NSW fisheries database systems to implement automated data cleansing processes.
6. Extend the results of the project to fishers and industry representatives to encourage greater accuracy in fisheries catch and effort data reporting.
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-018
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Improving survival and quality of crabs and lobsters in transportation from first point of sale to market.

Eastern rock lobsters, spanner crabs and mud crabs command a high price when supplied to the market as live product. Being aquatic animals, the demands to retain maximum quality and liveliness through the supply chain are challenging. Once taken from water, these crustaceans are subject to...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
People
PROJECT NUMBER • 2022-153
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Fishing and Aquaculture Workforce Capability Framework

In 2023 RM Consulting Group (RMCG) was contracted by FRDC to develop a Fisheries and Aquaculture (F&A) Workforce Capability Framework (hereafter referred to as the Framework) that would be used as a high-level, standardised tool across all F&A sectors. The FRDC and other groups in leadership...
ORGANISATION:
RM Consulting Group (RMCG)
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2021-089
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Climate resilient wild catch fisheries

This report outlines the impending need for the fishing industry to reduce GHG emissions by 2030. Over 8 months, the project evaluated alternative fuels' potential to cut emissions, recognising challenges in regulatory stimulus and incomplete research. Among numerous options, certain solutions...
ORGANISATION:
Seafood Industry Australia (SIA)
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2023-099
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Development of a temperature monitoring framework for Tasmania's seafood industry during marine heatwaves

Marine heatwaves can have devastating impacts on marine ecosystems, with a strong El Nino event forecast in Australia for the summer/autumn of 2023-24. Forecasts by CSIRO indicated sustained increases in water temperatures down the east coast of Tasmania with potential to significantly affect...
ORGANISATION:
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) Hobart
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