10 results
People

National Recreational Fishing Forum Series (2025-2029)

Project number: 2024-048
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $300,000.00
Principal Investigator: Cassie Price
Organisation: Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF)
Project start/end date: 27 Mar 2025 - 31 Aug 2029
Contact:
FRDC

Need

ARFF proposes to run a 1-day National Recreational Fishing Forum on Tuesday 22nd July 2025. With the set up and additional meetings around recreational fishing to be held on Wed 23rd, the AFTA Trade Show held on Thurs 24th, Fri 25th and Saturday 26th. Allowing participants to travel to the event on Monday 21st and home on Sunday 27th (if not prior). Followed by Annual events in the two years following.

Target Audience/s – Leaders in recreational fishing sector, future leaders of recreational fishing sector, key leaders of other fishing sectors (commercial wild and indigenous), decision makers in governments/departments relevant to recreational fishing. We expect between 150-300 participants.

ARFF will engage a conference organising agency (preferred proposal attached) on the Gold Coast, and set up a forum organising committee from their broader membership. Together they will;
- Determine the logistics of the location and set up, and alignment with AFTA events
- Set up online information and registration
- Promote broadly to recreational fishing groups, peak bodies and recreational fishers
- Determine a program, themes/topics and call for speakers
- Run the event smoothly including all pre event and post event logistics

FRDC will have the opportunity to receive,
- A place on the organising committee
- A mutually agreed number of complimentary registrations
- Any signage provided by FRDC for the forum on stage or at strategic meeting places in the forum break-out/gathering areas
- Logo on all materials, both hard copy and digital including conference website
- Ability to promote the event

People

Capability and Capacity: Innovation bursaries and conference sponsorship

Project number: 2023-106
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $184,730.10
Principal Investigator: Sally Roberts
Organisation: Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC)
Project start/end date: 11 Jan 2024 - 29 Apr 2026
Contact:
FRDC

Need

This project provides opportunities to be exposed to innovation, build and develop capability and capacity, connect with innovation networks and generate new contacts. These opportunities will demonstrate benefits of being in innovation space for new entrants from fishing and aquaculture through encourage and enabling participation. The project aims to stimulate collaboration and increase the visibility of "getting into innovation", potentially increasing ideas to feed into future investment lanes and possibly more adoption. This includes exposing fresh minds to spark novel ideas who are unaware of opportunities and/or may experience barriers to participate.

The skills and capabilities required to intervene in complex systems need to be developed to capitalise on new systems and processes. This includes mechanisms to engage stakeholders to focus, priorities and invest in capability and capacity development locally and nationally. EvokeAg is a flagship event, focused on showcasing and stimulating innovation through connecting people with each other and to knowledge, information and

$75,000 sponsorship (includes exhibition stand and furniture, printing and 5 x 2024 tickets (2025 & 2026 details tbc) over 3 years
$110,000 bursaries ($6k - conference and side event tickets, flights, accommodation, travel incidentals) - allows for 18 full bursaries over 3 years OR a mixed level of support (e.g. partial bursary, alternative innovation event)

Objectives

1. Support up to 16 people to attend EvokeAg (or similar) during the project
2. Enable global, local, connection and collaboration across innovation and emerging sectors
3. Increase FRDC's visibility of providing capability and capacity development enabling innovation
People
People

Post graduate support for novel governance for a changing ocean

Project number: 2023-031
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $89,532.00
Principal Investigator: Andrew Sullivan
Organisation: University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Project start/end date: 31 Aug 2023 - 30 Dec 2026
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Project funding will provide the PI with additional resources that enable him to focus on achieving the requirements and objectives of his research and PhD completion to a high standard and on-time.

The project funding application covers four key areas:

1. Additional stipend: to provide an adequate living allowance.
2. Travel: attendance of international conferences is a key vehicle to build skills an experience in the international policy and diplomacy fields as well as providing the opportunity to collect valuable research data. These skills and networks will ultimately benefit the Australian fishing and aquaculture community through the sharing of knowledge and networks.
3. Training: Facilitation training has been identified as an opportunity for development
4. Communication and content creation: developing content to assist with promoting and communicating the results of the research.

Having members and advocates of the Australian fishing and aquaculture community informed and skilled in the way international governance agreements are developed and then translated into domestic policy is extremely important, and a current gap in our capability and capacity.

Objectives

1. Research and describe the genesis of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy as novel multilateral governance intervention.
2. Research and describe the operation, function and objectives of the High level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy.
3. Critically analyse Australia's progress in meeting its commitments as a founding member of High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy.
4. Successful completion and fulfilment of the requirements of the PhD.

Economic Impact assessment of FRDC's annual RD&E investments: a three year procurement

Project number: 2023-160
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $517,225.00
Principal Investigator: Susan Madden
Organisation: GHD Pty Ltd Sydney
Project start/end date: 14 Apr 2024 - 2 Jul 2026
Contact:
FRDC

Need

It is becoming increasingly important for Rural RDCs to continually monitor and evaluate the returns from RD&E investment, as government and industry require greater transparency and accountability of RD&E funds.

In addition to FRDC’s Statutory Funding Agreement requirements for valuing return on investment and use in its Annual Reports, impact assessments of FRDC’s RD&E investments are needed to inform:
– Future investment decisions
– CRRDC’s overall performance review of impact generated by RDCs
– Levy payers and government of the performance of investments.

GHD understands that the project will comprise two key components:
– An economic impact assessment of up to 20 research projects for the three-year period FY23/24, 24/25, and 25/26
– An individual and aggregated report of all assessed projects at the completion of assessments.

GHD notes that within this period the first five assessments for FY23/24 are required by June 2024 with the remainder of the projects, i.e. 10, due in September 2024. These assessments are required to be consistent with the CRRDC Guidelines for Impact Assessments. FRDC RD&E projects are to be assessed annually to meet Statutory Funding Agreement (SFA) requirements for valuing return on investment for use in FRDC’s Annual Reports and performance of FRDC’s investments.
In conducting the impact assessment project it will be important to note that one of FRDC’s key responsibilities is to ensure that research to assist management of fisheries and aquaculture resources is being undertaken to maintain ongoing sustainability. While the primary focus of these benefit-cost analyses over time has been economic impact, with references to environmental and social implications where appropriate, FRDC is increasingly interested in understanding the impact of R&D investments on environmental, social, and economic aspects more holistically.

Objectives

1. To inform FRDC's delivery of R&D Plans and future investment decisions
2. To provide information on the return of FRDC’s RD&E investment that can be used in FRDC’s annual reporting to the Australian Commonwealth
3. To contribute to populating the Evaluation Framework for FRDC reporting to DAFF under the current SFA agreement
4. To provide FRDC input to the overall performance assessment of the RDCs being compiled by CRRDC

Trans Tasman Rock Lobster Industry Congress - Locking in the Future: 2023-2031

Project number: 2022-109
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $150,000.00
Principal Investigator: Tom T. Cosentino
Organisation: Southern Rocklobster Ltd (SRL)
Project start/end date: 7 Feb 2023 - 30 Dec 2033
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Australian and New Zealand Rock Lobster is a high value product that has strong recognition in their local and export markets. There is significant capital investment across the combined jurisdictions of the Trans-Tasman lobster fisheries. As with most other wild caught fisheries and seafood sectors Trans-Tasman lobster fisheries face similar challenges in regards to, sustainability, threats to / competition for the resource and resource access, product quality and food safety, implications from aquaculture production and applying and taking advantage of new and emerging technologies. In addition to these common industry issues, lobster fisheries produce a product that is predominantly for live export which adds further challenges such as barriers to trade and trade agreements, complex supply chains and understanding the ‘what and where’ of new market opportunities.

Well organised and educational forums such as Trans-Tasman Rock Lobster Congresses enable a sharing of information and a collaborative approach to addressing challenges and sharing successes. Since first being held in 1999 the biennial Rock Lobster conferences have become the pre-eminent forum for the respective Trans-Tasman lobster industries to consider and address the many challenges across the supply chain. There is never a shortage of key issues and topics to address and bring together in a common theme to deliver a successful Trans-Tasman Industry Congress that has the support of all the key industry bodies and wider stakeholders.

The history of successful Trans-Tasman Industry Congresses, speaks for itself.
Trans-Tasman Congresses have well established support of all the key industry bodies and wider stakeholder interests with all lobster producing jurisdictions having now hosted an event. This history combined with the experience, existing contacts, establishing themes, producing engaging programmes, having informative exhibitions, attracting quality keynote speakers - both local and international, continuing sponsorship from service providers and the ability to attract the general support of industry ensure there is a pool of support and knowledge to deliver successful congresses

Initial Contributions (2023):
• Total combined initial contributions will be to a maximum of $30,000.00.
• Request a cash contribution from the NZRLIC.
• Request a contribution from the Eastern Rock Lobster Industry.
• Contribution from the SRL IPA.
• Contribution from the WRL IPA.

Proposed Governance Arrangements:
• The Managing Entity (ME) i.e. the industry body responsible for administering the congress in a particular year, will be responsible for holding and managing the ‘kitty’ of funds.
• ‘Surplus’ funds will be used to fund the administration, hosting and attendance of any planning meetings conducted in the ‘interim year’, this process will be managed by the ME responsible for hosting the most recent (past) Trans Tasman Congress.
• PI & Co-Investigators will discuss and confirm the amount required for future initial contributions.