National people development: Building education and training pathways for research and development adoption
e-fish - An Integrated Data Capture and Sharing Project
Pursuing Marine Stewardship Council Certification for the Australian Southern Rock Lobster fisheries
Fishing and Aquaculture Workforce Capability Framework
The objective of this foundational work is to collaborate with industry to produce a Fishing and Aquaculture Workforce Capability Framework. The Framework will be used by fishing and aquaculture sectors / communities for workforce planning and career mapping. It will support a more strategic and consistent approach to workforce planning. This in turn, will enable industry to build its capacity through better understanding of capability needs.
In addition to the universal challenges associated with a tight labour market (e.g. attracting people, barriers to entry, addressing skills needs), the industry is operating in a changing environment. Other challenges and opportunities for the fishing and aquaculture sectors include:
• Adapting to climate change
• Biosecurity
• Managing resources efficiently
• Meeting sustainability standards / social license to operate
• Moving to a circular economy
• Managing global supply chains (developing traceability, addressing counterfeit)
• Competing with other proteins
• New markets through free trade agreements
• Adopting digital technology, and;
• Attracting and retaining people to drive responses to changes that impact on the F&A community.
The AgriFood Supply Chain Resilience report (KPMG, 2022) identified ‘labour supply, wellbeing and succession’ as one of the significant stresses for seafood supply chains. Other significant stresses were weather and climate change, cold chain and freight space availability, sustainability and social licence, pests and disease and market access.
Fish Forever (2030 vision for Australia’s fishing and aquaculture community) highlights opportunities for the F&A community and contains outcomes under each of the following missions:
1. Growth for enduring prosperity
2. Best practices and production systems
3. A culture that is inclusive and forward thinking
4. Equitable and secure resource access
5. Society and consumers trust, respect and value.
This project will identify the capability needs (current and future) to address these challenges and opportunities. Further, it will support industry, to attract and retain people and to provide pathways to build capability. Sectors will be better informed as to how to address capability needs.
Addressing these needs will ensure industry is better equipped to respond to changes, challenges and opportunities that impact the fishing and aquaculture communities. The fishing and aquaculture map (FRDC website) highlights the “complex systems behind Indigenous, commercial and recreational fishing and aquaculture in Australia and how the elements are connected”. It also highlights how issues or events in one part of the system can have impacts on other sectors. Therefore, industry needs to be prepared for changes.
This project will engage with all key F&A sectors to ensure the capability framework is industry-driven and collectively owned. In addition, the project approach is designed to utilise existing sector/industry plans and not replace existing frameworks. RMCG will work collaboratively with industry.
Final report
The case studies included in this document offer real-world examples of where innovative thinking has been used to solve issues around workforce planning, attraction and retention of staff, and broader geographical and social challenges.
The research and the development of this Framework emphasises the need to think differently, innovate and enable collaboration.
Animal Welfare – what we do know and where to from here?
The topic of animal welfare in fisheries remains highly contentious and contested and there is a need to find both common ground and to understand and respect the diversity of views. Failure to do so represents a financial risk to wildcatch fisheries and aquaculture and some recreational fishing activities. Animal welfare issues continue be a community focus, and more focus is being placed on the welfare of fish and selected marine invertebrates (e.g. crustaceans and cephalopods). Active campaigns of various types and levels of organisation that oppose fishing activities are not uncommon and garner attention. This project aims to consolidate our knowledge of animal welfare issues of direct relevance to FRDC and its stakeholders and provide a way forward for future research investment that is tailored to FRDC's legislative remit and the needs of its stakeholders.
There has been a considerable number of publications globally that have tackled the topic and provided a diversity of perspectives on the issue. A single workshop and report are not going to unify thinking around the question. The workshop will have a starting point that the question “do fish feel pain” is an issue that there is a diversity of views on the topic, and the focus is on currently accepted best practices and continual improvement in those practices. The workshop will have a session that focuses on community perceptions and highlighting the legitimacy of considering the community perceptions.
National Seafood Industry Leadership Program (NSILP) 2025-2026
FRDC is currently operating under the 2020-2025 Research and Development Plan. This plan details the areas of investment for the industry and provides direction regarding the leadership requirements for the Australia seafood industry.
FRDC states that "This is one of the FRDC’s most ‘people-centric’ plans to date, with a focus on capacity building, shaping culture, building relationships and establishing shared principles and values.” Importantly for the seafood industry and community, capacity building is high on the agenda.
The NSILP responds to four enabling strategies
‘Strengthen adoption for transformative change’ (through increasing and improving the uptake of knowledge, skills, solutions, technology and new ways of thinking to create positive change for industry).
‘Promote innovation and entrepreneurship’ (through encouraging new solutions, products and processes as well as new ways of thinking and doing).
‘Build capability and capacity’ (through helping people from across fishing and aquaculture to have the knowledge and skills needed to be safe, happy and productive, and to adapt and flourish in the face of change).
‘Provide foundational information and support services’ (through delivering information to guide the evolution of fishing and aquaculture in Australia).
The industry needs that have been identified are:
- Capacity building and leadership knowledge.
- Although online delivery evolved and improved during COVID, face-to-face remains the preferred method of NSILP learning/delivery to enable the opportunity to build in-person connections.
- Resourced and facilitated Alumni and industry networking and connections.