388 results
People
PROJECT NUMBER • 2016-401
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Catch the Drift - Leadership and development training for the next generation in the commercial fishing and aquaculture industries

Catch the Drift (CTD)was successfully completed in October 2018 with the completion of the stakeholder survey. The project delivered three CTD programs within the scheduled timeframe, meeting the expected requested participant numbers. Additionally, due to the success of the first two...
ORGANISATION:
Affectus Pty Ltd
TAGS
Wild Catch
Training
Survey
Rac Vic
Leadership
Adoption

Sea Change: co-developing pathways to mitigate and adapt to a changing climate for fisheries and aquaculture in Australia

Project number: 2023-011
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $1,628,586.00
Principal Investigator: Gretta T. Pecl
Organisation: University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Project start/end date: 31 Oct 2023 - 30 Apr 2027
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Climate Resilience
Climate Mitigation
Climate Change
Adaptation

Need

There is a need to increase effective engagement between fishing and aquaculture stakeholders and climate science and scientists in an ongoing strategic way, and not ‘just’ for single-project outcomes.

Improved engagement will help increase understanding of the likely implications of a changing climate in relevant contexts, and lay foundations for a shared exploration of available options for reducing risk exposure. We have worked with stakeholders and the FRDC Extension Officer Network to design a strategy that will engage fishing and aquaculture stakeholders on existing knowledge regarding risks and opportunities associated with a changing climate, to enable resource managers and researchers to better understand the ways in which many sectors are already adapting autonomously and to identify the barriers to further adaptation, and to co-design solutions that are relevant at local- and industry-levels to help build climate-ready communities and to stimulate economic resilience.

In many cases (but not all), extensive information regarding marine climate change - including key risks to fisheries and aquaculture producers (at a high level) - is already available, along with information on how to develop adaptation plans. However, despite this, progress and uptake within most sectors in terms of planned adaptation responses has been very slow – although many individual operators are already making ‘autonomous’ changes to their day-to-day operations in response to climate change drivers. If these changes are being made without access to best available knowledge, then it is very likely that substantial portions of these responses are maladaptive in the longer term, or may be countervailing to planned government adaptations (see Pecl et al 2019, Ambio, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-019-01186-x). This is a pattern evident within many different industries around Australia and across the rest of the world. ‘What’ needs to happen has thus been outlined in general terms in many cases, but such information is not co-developed or provided in consultation with end-users in ways that resonate or are useful to them. This project will address this need for relevance and usefulness.

The project aims to develop reflexive, ongoing, and two-way knowledge exchange between industry representatives, operators and manager, and the marine climate change impacts and adaptation research sector, so that solutions are co-designed, usable, and adoptable.

Objectives

1. Work with seafood industry leaders to establish two-way climate conversations that can strengthen and underpin Australian fishing and aquaculture’s resilience to a changing climate. This approach will facilitate co-design of pathways to increase agility and build capacity for climate change adaptation with a select number of fisheries and aquaculture operations. This process will also create a model that can be applicable to other RDC’s.
2. Create a climate conversations platform to facilitate knowledge exchange (including identifying ‘gaps’ and shared issues), and thus capture, disseminate, and showcase:a. How fishing and aquaculture sectors are already adapting and responding to recent changesb. What has facilitated these changes made, and what the barriers are to further adaptationc. The story of fishing and aquaculture’s efforts towards achieving climate resilience - using a dynamic ‘story map’ approach, and other multi-media, communicate progress to target audiences.
3. Identify a) key factors influencing the agility of fisheries and aquaculture to adapt to climate change, and b) which factors (e.g. opportunities) are most important for adaptation capacity-building for different types of operations - building on work underway across multiple domestic and international projects and working groups.
4. Co-develop pathways, with a select number of fisheries and aquaculture operations, to increase their agility and build sector capacity for climate change adaptation and resilience.
5. Support the development of communities of practice for groups of fisheries and/or aquaculture operations that have similar opportunities and pathways – to support increased agility and capacity building for climate change adaptation (determined in objective 3).
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)
TAGS
Rac Nsw
Mortality
Audit
SPECIES
Spanner Crab
Eastern Rock Lobster
Mud Crabs
Blank
Adoption
PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-049
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

A Better Way to Fish: testing the feasibility of tunnel net ‘fish trap’ gear in North Queensland

This study found that tunnel nets are technically feasible in this location. In spite of the weather conditions, the fishing gear remained intact and successfully captured significant numbers of marketable fishes. Importantly, SOCI species were released alive and in excellent condition, as were...
ORGANISATION:
James Cook University (JCU)
TAGS
Threatened Endangered Protected Species
Sustainability
Stakeholder
Rac Qld
Policy
SPECIES
King Threadfin
Blue Threadfin
Diamondscale Mullet
Sea Mullet
Striped Perches
People

Increase the participation and employment of Indigenous people in the NT commercial fishing, management and seafood industry

Project number: 2017-039
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $5,100.00
Principal Investigator: Julian Morison
Organisation: Developing East Arnhem Ltd (DEAL)
Project start/end date: 31 Jul 2017 - 30 Dec 2018
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Workforce
Rac Wa
Rac Qld
Rac Nt
Indigenous

Need

More than 25% of the NT Population identify as Indigenous - the highest proportion in any state or territory. Indigenous people also own approximately 84% of the NT coastline. Participation of Indigenous people in industries and businesses that align closely with cultural values such as in natural and cultural resource management have been shown to have beneficial social, economic and health outcomes.

There is a need to expand the proportion of Indigenous people participating in all aspects of the NT commercial fishing and seafood industry. This includes through capacity building activities, traineeships, employment, research, education and extension services.

Currently there is a silo approach across local, Territory and Commonwealth agencies and programs to achieve this and poor integration across sectors. Julian Morison from EconSearch, the Principal Investigator for this proposed project, is currently leading two projects in the NT that are designed to address the problems largely arising from this silo approach. One is the lack of current economic information about the NT Seafood Industry. The second involves providing advice on fishing and aquaculture industry market opportunities, through an economic assessment of the current value and nature of opportunities in the NT market with a particular focus on the market size, value and opportunities that are present in East Arnhem Land.

These two studies which are due for completion in March and May 2017, respectively, will provide a solid basis for the proposed project. The primary aim of this project is to conduct research and stakeholder consultation to identify ways to promote and increase participation and employment of Indigenous people in NT fishing and seafood industries.

The project is to be managed under the auspices of Developing East Arnhem Limited (DEAL). DEAL is a not-for-profit development body established in November 2014 to act as the front door to the region for industry and business. DEAL facilitates connections between private enterprise, industry, community and government agencies to support economic diversification and growth in the East Arnhem region for the benefit of the regional population.

Objectives

1. Identify five programs or initiatives (at least two short term and at least two longer term) to promote and increase participation and employment of Indigenous people in NT fishing and seafood industries.
2. Directly involve decision makers in the communities and related fisheries in the conduct of the project through their participation in the development of the programs and initiatives.

Integrating indigenous fishing: extending adoption pathways to policy and management

Project number: 2019-168
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $33,000.00
Principal Investigator: Peter H. O'Brien
Organisation: Peter O'Brien Consulting
Project start/end date: 28 Feb 2020 - 18 Feb 2021
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Research
Policy
Management
Indigenous
Funding &Amp; Investment

Need

THE NEED

The FRDC IRG has invested in a number of research projects to advance Indigenous rights, interests, opportunities and engagement in Australia's fisheries. However, fisheries management agencies across the jurisdictions appear to have struggled to engage with or make effective use of these outputs and to make progress with Indigenous fishing interests.

IRG is seeking to commission a project to assist in dealing with this issue. The project is intended to establish effective means for Indigenous fishing R&D outputs to deliver policy and management outcomes. To do this, the project will engage with agencies to understand: their information needs; current progress, impediments and opportunities in integrating Indigenous fishing R&D outputs into their policies and management; and develop a template that can be used by all future PIs to frame IRG research outputs in a form useful to agencies.

There is also an identified need to build Indigenous leadership capacity to shape fisheries policy and management at the highest level. This project involves an Indigenous collaborator and a focus on their development through participation and professional executive coaching. The Indigenous collaborator, will also bring cultural advice and insight to the project.

In terms of IRG priorities, this project has the potential to contribute to:

Establishing the primacy of first nations in the fisheries areas
Acknowledgement of Indigenous Cultural Practices
Self-determination of Indigenous rights to use and manage cultural assets and resources
Economic development opportunities arising from Indigenous peoples cultural assets and associated rights
Capacity building opportunities for Indigenous people are enhanced.

MEASURING SUCCESS

Success for the project can be measured by:

Development through participation of an Indigenous collaborator and increased cultural awareness in wider participants
Usefulness of a report identifying agency priorities, opportunities and impediments to incorporating Indigenous R&D outputs in policy and management
Indigenous R&D outputs being more readily adopted in policy and management
Usefulness of a template to ensure ongoing adoption and engagement of IRG outputs

Objectives

1. Document the impediments and opportunities for Indigenous engagement and adoption of IRG project outputs across fisheries management jurisdictions in Australia.
2. Identify the priorities for Indigenous fishing in jurisdictions with a focus on the 5 IRG RD&E priorities.
3. Develop a report synthesizing the impediments, opportunities and priorities for Indigenous fishing engagement and adoption to guide future IRG investment.
4. Develop a template for future IRG projects that will ensure engagement and adoption are maximized.
5. Provide professional development and capacity building for an Indigenous collaborator and grow cultural awareness in wider participants.
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