Indigenous fishing subprogram: mapping livelihood values of Indigenous customary fishing
Indigenous fishing subprogram: Business Nous - Indigenous business development opportunities and impediments in the fishing and seafood industry
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.
Environment Social Governance (ESG) framework plan for fisheries and aquaculture
The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) is seeking support to plan and develop an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework for fisheries and aquaculture to address the requirements of several stakeholders (government, investor, consumers) and be a leader addressing key current and emerging ESG trends and expectations. The ESG Framework would cover all fisheries and aquaculture sectors (Indigenous, commercial, wild catch, and recreational).
The proposal sets our suggested approach to developing an ESG framework development plan for Australian fisheries and aquaculture. It includes our proposed methodology, budget and work plan, as well as information on our team and experience.
The overarching objectives of this engagement are as follows:
- Identify the unifying purpose of an ESG framework for Australian fisheries and aquaculture, the drivers that will shape it and the intended audience.
- Review relevant frameworks, standards and agreements to identify existing requirements and best practice related to ESG for Australian fisheries and aquaculture.
- Provide options for how the Australian fisheries and aquaculture sector could design and structure an ESG framework aligned to existing frameworks and systems, and reflecting monitoring and evaluation aspirations and the unique needs of fisheries and aquaculture.
- Prepare an ESG framework development plan which clearly outlines and prioritises the steps that need to be taken to establish and build a mature framework for Australian fisheries and aquaculture.
Please refer to the attached file (Our Recommended Approach Section, pages 14 - 22) for our detailed approach based on our understanding of your needs (P0710649 Fisheries and aquaculture ESG Framework_V2_STC).
Indigenous Fishing Subprogram: Improving the recognition and integration of traditional owner customary fishing and ecological knowledge in the management of Victoria’s fisheries
Capability and Capacity: Navigating leadership pathways in fishing and aquaculture
In a 2019 review of FRDC’s investment in people development, it was noted that significant variability exists across the industry in terms of leadership capability and capacity with most of FRDC investment focused on mid to higher levels of leadership (Lovett). While this past review is comprehensive, it is now 5 years old and pre-dates the ‘black swan’ event of COVID-19 that saw widespread disruptions to the economy, supply chains, and workforce, and has had consequences for leadership capacity and capability needs.
This project will review the current leadership development ecosystem, mapping relevant leadership programs, and identify potential opportunities for a diverse range of industry participants who will benefit from developing leadership capability and skills. Furthermore, acknowledging that leadership capability is not necessarily tied to formal positions of leadership, this project aims to identify different entry points for individual leadership development to ensure accessibility of opportunities. Any potential gaps in accessibility and potential new pathways will be identified. It is imperative that a lack of knowledge of learning and training opportunities to develop non-technical skills or low confidence levels to engage due to unclear entry pathways is not a barrier to any willing participant seeking to enhance their strengths and pursue an interest in making greater contributions that align with industry leadership capacity needs.
Our project combines a review of modern leadership definitions, theories, frameworks and practices, and through stakeholder engagement seeks to identify how these meet the context specific leadership challenges for the wild catch and aquaculture industries. Qualitative and quantitative research will be used to map and evaluate the current leadership development ecosystem for the wild catch and aquaculture sectors, identifying current pathways, recruitment processes, target outcomes, and the value and variety of alumni. Gaps in leadership capacity and capability will be identified and areas for potential changes investigated. Recommendations for improving return on investment in the existing leadership ecosystem will be made, including continuing development or improved integration of post program leaders into the industry. The current project has been designed to provide the breadth and depth of information that leads to practical implications for further industry engagement in leadership capacity and capability development.