19 results
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-091
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Assessment of national-scale tracking of commercially important fish species

In this FRDC project, a team from Integrated Marine Observing System Animal Tracking Facility (IMOS ATF), in coordination with state and federal agencies and the Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Providers Network (RPN) met. They systematically reconfigured the IMOS ATF national network to...
ORGANISATION:
Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS)
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2019-213
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Tackle Box - Fishing at home during Covid 19

This project examined the impact of Covid-19 on recreational fishing using a citizen science approach. The Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF) teamed up with Infofish Australia Pty Ltd to use recaptures of tagged fish in Queensland and fishing competitions around Australia in novel...
ORGANISATION:
Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF)

Responsible fisheries and aquaculture - Activating a comprehensive Ecological, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting data system to uplift sustainability and traceability

Project number: 2023-024
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $500,000.00
Principal Investigator: Alistair Hobday
Organisation: CSIRO Environment
Project start/end date: 31 Jul 2023 - 29 Jul 2025
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Verification of fishing and aquaculture sustainability credentials is essential to increase consumer confidence, market access and community benefit. Sector performance currently centres on monitoring fish stocks & economic benefits. However, markets increasingly require traceable evidence of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) indicators such as provenance, safety, diversity, animal welfare, carbon, biodiversity to inform decisions. To meet this need, this project activates CSIROs Healthcheck ESG Fishing & Aquaculture data system by engaging industry, managers & researchers to identify data gaps and prioritise/collect essential indicators to allow more comprehensive ESG reporting. Data will be compatible and interoperable with existing catalogues/exchanges, for publishing to recognised sustainability frameworks (e.g. Status of Australian Fish Stocks, WhichFish, National Fisheries Plan, UN SDGs). Community surveys will allow adaptive prioritisation of future data/reporting needs.

Objectives

1. Activate an existing ESG data system (Healthcheck) with complementary ESG frameworks (Status of Australian Fish Stocks, Whichfish, Our Pledge, National Fisheries Plan, UN SDGs) and promote data use to increase traceability & sustainability of wild harvest fisheries, aquaculture operations and fish stocks (hereafter, F&A)
2. Increase the number of F&A reporting against ESG frameworks from 20 to 100 stocks (over 90 percent seafood value)
3. Address F&A priority data gaps
4. Increase data access & traceability through use of data exchanges
5. Use feasibility tested data to populate existing/emerging sustainability frameworks (e.g. Status of Australian Fish Stocks, National Fisheries Plan reporting, carbon & nature-based financial disclosure frameworks) and use verified sustainability credentials to demonstrate best practice (e.g. SIAs ‘Our Pledge’, Marine Stewardship Certification)
6. Be interoperable with related frameworks e.g. Australian Agricultural Sustainability Framework, ‘Know & Show your Carbon Footprint’ (funded by Agricultural Innovation Australia)
7. Understand community sustainability sentiment to inform future data gap prioritisation and build confidence
Industry

Investigating drivers of environmental change in Pipe Clay Lagoon

Project number: 2023-176
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $38,400.00
Principal Investigator: Carryn Manicom
Organisation: Marine Solutions Tasmania Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 15 Sep 2024 - 29 Jun 2025
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Coastal lagoon systems in Tasmania form a fundamental part of coastal ecosystems. Healthy lagoons support local biodiversity, and play a key role in nutrient cycling and flood protection. They provide opportunities for sustainable aquaculture, fishing and tourism, while also being appreciated for their recreational amenity and cultural values. Sustainable management of coastal lagoons is essential to environmental and socioeconomic development.

There is limited information about the ecosystem drivers that are influencing the changes being observed in Pipe Clay Lagoon, leading to knowledge gaps in decision making tools and monitoring strategies required to identify and mitigate these changes. The proposed application is a multifaceted approach to investigate the environmental drivers of change in Pipe Clay Lagoon. The findings can then be used to provide valuable guidance for the management and conservation of other coastal lagoons in Tasmania facing similar challenges, providing a model for proactive monitoring and ongoing sustainability.

The FRDC has a responsibility to ensure that research is undertaken to assist in the management of fisheries and aquaculture resources for ongoing sustainability. The changes being experienced in Pipe Clay Lagoon will have implications on the availability and suitability of the lagoon as a sustainable aquaculture site. The planned approach and objectives of the application align with the FRDC’s R&D Plan for 2020-2025 through:

- Building people's capacity and capability
- Ensuring that resulting knowledge and innovation is adopted for impact through awareness of the needs of the ‘adopter’, local context and effective networking
- Continual improvement and collaboration of industry and community to deliver competitive advantage, healthier ecosystems and community support
- Provision of foundational information

Equally and importantly the application aligns with the NRM Strategy for Southern Tasmania 2030 for Pipe Clay Lagoon and similar systems in that wetland health is improved for socio-economically important systems by working with key partners and encouraging investment in monitoring, land and water management practices and on-ground works.
The enthusiasm of those engaged in the stakeholder consultation process was a strong indication of the need, interest and urgency of the application.

Objectives

1. Characterise and quantify environmental changes in Pipe Clay Lagoon, providing an evidence base for anecdotal observations of change.
2. Understand the drivers and interactions behind observed environmental changes in Pipe Clay Lagoon.
3. Identify management mechanisms to safeguard the values of Pipe Clay Lagoon and other Tasmanian coastal lagoons, including sustainability of the aquaculture industry.
4. Capacity building and increased marine literacy within community and industry to help observe and report change.
5. The applicant would welcome feedback and suggestions from FRDC and/or key beneficiaries for additional objectives.
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2015-024
PROJECT STATUS:
CURRENT

Managing ecosystem interactions across differing environments: building flexibility and risk assurance into environmental management strategies

Summary The overarching aim of this research was to provide an improved understanding of the environmental interactions of Atlantic Salmon farming and to provide recommendations to both government and industry on monitoring and management strategies that are appropriate to the level of risk...
ORGANISATION:
University of Tasmania (UTAS)