2 results

FRDC resource: Australian Fish Names Standard (AS 5300)

Project number: 2015-210
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $316,094.00
Principal Investigator: Alan J. Snow
Organisation: Alan Snow Konsulting
Project start/end date: 30 Sep 2015 - 30 Sep 2018
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Stakeholder
Marketing
Consumer
Community
Audit

Need

Public and consumer confidence is vital to the wellbeing of Australia’s seafood industry.

Standard fish names remove confusion, strengthen consumer confidence, create market efficiency, underpin effective fisheries monitoring and improve management of food safety.

Use of standard fish names achieves outcomes that are consistent with the aims of industry and governments:
1 Improved monitoring and stock assessment enhances the sustainability of fisheries resources.
2 Increased efficiency in seafood marketing improves consumer confidence and industry
profitability.
3 Improved accuracy in trade descriptions enables consumers to make more informed choices
when purchasing seafood and reduces the potential for misleading and deceptive conduct.
4 More efficient management of seafood related public health incidents and food safety through
improved labelling and species identification reduces public health risk.

The FNC has been set the challenge to
• Improve the marketability of a species while being consistent with the fish naming protocols
• Review the naming protocols to achieve names that increase the economic benefit of Australian seafood
• Engage more with industry top develop innovative fish names
• Improve the linkages between species sustainability and fish names
• Striving to have further uptake of fish names and to mainstream fish names
• All key documents and the AFNS must be in harmony

Within the next decade: the AFNS must
• Be all inclusive
• Meet needs of fisheries managers
• Meet the needs of retailers
• Must be world’s best practice
• A national benchmark for sustainability will be developed

Significant changes have been made to the structure and direction of the FNC to accept a more marketing based focus, and the procedures that drive the FNC to achieve greater efficiencies.

This project will continue to capitalize on this investment

Objectives

1. Ensure FRDC is re accredited by the Accreditation Board of Standards Development Organisations as a Standards Development Organisation through participation in audits and improved standards development policies and procedures.
2. Continually improve the content of the Australian Fish Names Standard AS 5300 and underlying procedures to meet market, regulator and stakeholder needs and expectations.
3. Continue to promote the usage and uptake of Australian Standard Fish Names to the broader seafood industry and government through strategic submissions and presentations to government in consultation with FRDC
4. Develop and implement an alternative funding mechanism for the administration of the Australian Fish Names Standard min consultation with FRDC
5. Provide an advisory service to all stakeholders on matters related to the content of the AFNS and its usage.
6. Provide services to the Fish Names Committee through administration of the committee and meetings of the committee.

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-9808007-7-7
Author: Alan J Snow
Final Report • 2019-06-01 • 1.48 MB
2015-210-DLD.pdf

Summary

• Standards Australia audits have all been successful and FRDC operating procedures have been incorporated into the FNC operating procedures.
• Steps have been taken by the FNC to ensure that the approved names in the Australian Fish Names Standard are in harmony with the names used in reporting on the Status of Australian Fish Stocks (SAFS).
• There have been 8 FNC meetings held during the life of this project which has resulted in 100 agreed species names being added to the AFNS.
• The membership of the FNC has been further expanded to ensure a broader representation of stakeholder interests are being met.
• Stakeholder updates are now regularly prepared for distribution to affected stakeholders.
• A Stakeholder Consultation survey was undertaken in November 2018 which had a very high response and showed a high level of confidence in the FNC and its fish names processes.
• Further discussions and strategies developed by the FNC at the Fish Names Workshop held on 26 August 2016 are being held to continually improve the operating procedures of the FNC.
• The Australian Fish Names Standard is now recognised and accepted by all sectors of the Australian seafood industry.
• FRDC as an accredited SDO now has a bigger role in assisting to disseminate information through its vast number of contacts. This further facilitates processes such as public consultation and dissemination of results of final approval of applications.

FRDC Resource: Development and ongoing maintenance of Australian Fish Names Standard 2019-2020

Project number: 2018-006
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $207,551.00
Principal Investigator: Alan J. Snow
Organisation: Alan Snow Konsulting
Project start/end date: 30 Jun 2019 - 29 Sep 2020
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Values &Amp; Ethics
Sustainability
Stock Assessment
Policy
Marketing

Need

All Australian Standards developed by FRDC will demonstrate a net benefit and therefore have an overall positive impact on Australia’s seafood industry. This means that all FRDC developed Australian Standards must provide a value or benefit that exceeds the costs to the seafood industry with associated action plans to implement continuous improvement to ensure this is met.

Public, consumer and stakeholder confidence is vital to the well-being of Australia’s seafood industry.

Australian Standards are not legal documents. However, when a government references a standard in legislation, it becomes mandatory. An Australian Standard does have status and is recognised as being a credible document. Usage of the names included in the Australian Fish Names Standard is not mandated in Australia but is listed in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code - Standard 2.2.3 - Fish and Fish Products as an advisory note (see https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2011C00569)

Standard fish names removes confusion, strengthens consumer confidence, creates market efficiencies and consistency, underpins effective fisheries monitoring and improves management of food fraud / food safety.

The use of standard fish names achieves outcomes that are consistent with the aims of industry and governments:
1 Improved monitoring and stock assessment enhances the sustainability of fisheries resources.
2 Increased consistency and efficiency in seafood marketing to improve consumer confidence and industry profitability.
3 Improved accuracy and consistency in trade descriptions enables consumers to make more informed choices when purchasing seafood and reduces the potential for misleading and deceptive conduct.
4 More efficient management of seafood related public health incidents and food safety through improved labelling and species identification reduces public health risk.

Within the next decade, the AFNS must:
• Be all inclusive including increased stakeholder awareness
• Improve the AFNS database to ensure all data is current
• Meet stakeholder expectation
• Be world’s best practice
• Be a national benchmark for sustainability
• Be part of an ongoing continuous improvement processes
• Be a transparent process to create trust

Objectives

1. Ensure FRDC maintains accreditation as a Standards Development Organisation through audits from the Standards Development Advisory Committee
2. Continue to promote and provide advice on the content and uptake of Australian Fish Names Standard and other FRDC developed standards to the broader seafood industry and government through strategic submissions and presentations to government in consultation with FRDC
3. Evaluate and implement the recommendations from the draft “Report on Stakeholder Consultation about the Australian Fish Names Standard and the Associated Processes” conducted in 2018 to ensure the AFNS continues to meet stakeholder needs and expectations
4. Continually improve the content and relevance of the Australian Fish Names Standard AS 5300 and underlying procedures to meet market, regulator and stakeholder needs and expectations.

Report

ISBN: 978-0-6450899-1-2
Author: Alan J Snow
Report • 2021-06-21 • 1.83 MB
2018-006-DLD.pdf

Summary

This project focuses on the ongoing development and maintenance of the Australian Fish Names Standard. Initiated by Seafood Services Australia in 1999, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) took carriage of the development of the Fish Names Standard in 2013. Initial accreditation of FRDC by Standards Australia was conducted on 11 September 2013; intellectual property of the Australian Fish Names Standard was formally transferred on 11 October 2013; and the first FRDC Fish Names Committee (FNC) was held on 12th November 2013.

This work builds on the following FRDC funded projects:
• 2012-209, “Develop and promote the Australian Fish Names Standard (AS-5300) and ensurereaccreditation as a Standards Development Organisation [Michelle Christoe, SSA Executive Officer–novated to
  (2012-209.40) Alan Snow Konsulting].
• FRDC 2012-209.40, “Develop and promote the Australian Fish Names Standard (AS-5300) andensure reaccreditation as a Standards Development Organisation” [Alan Snow Konsulting]
• FRDC 2015-210, “FRDC resource: Australian Fish Names Standard (AS-5300)” [Alan Snow Konsulting].

The operating procedures of the Fish Names Committee have continued to improve, and proposed amendments have been evaluated in a highly rigorous and professional manner.

The list of approved names in the Australian Fish Names Standard has continued to expand to meet stakeholder needs through harmonising with the Status of Australian Fish Stocks (SAFS) reports and the addition of commercially important invertebrate species.

It has been twenty years since the Fish Names process commenced through Seafood Services Australia (SSA). As such, it is an opportunity to consider what has been achieved in twenty years and what is still to be achieved.
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