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Making the most of the catch: a forum for Industry

Project number: 1992-125.30
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $24,000.00
Principal Investigator: Allan Bremner
Organisation: Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
Project start/end date: 2 Mar 1996 - 16 Jun 1997
Contact:
FRDC

Objectives

1. To provide forum for the sharing of critical information between the Australian seafood industry, government and post-harvest seafood researchers.
2. To demonstrate and promote the applications of recent seafood research in Australia
3. To encourage world's best practice in Australian seafood industry
4. To complement and bring an Asia-Pacific context outlook to the imminent Second World Fisheries Congress to be held 28 July to 2 August (most fish technology conferences traditionally have a Eurocentric or Western focus).

Final report

ISBN: 0 7242 7559 2
Authors: Allan Bremner Craig Davis and Bev Austin
Final Report • 1997-02-18 • 5.90 MB
1992-125.30-DLD.pdf

Summary

The papers published in this book were all presented at the Symposium "Making the Most of the Catch..." held in Brisbane, Australia, 25-27 July 1996.

The contributors came from many countries and from many different institutions. They were selected in an endeavour to present a broad spectrum of information at a range of levels such that there would be topics of vital interest to each of the participants, whether they were involved in research, industry or regulation. The topics also represent many of the issues which are of current and future concern to the Australian industry, whose export markets are mostly in Asia, particularly Japan. Domestic issues were not neglected and presentations concerned aquaculture as well as the capture fisheries.

This Symposium was organised deliberately to immediately precede the Second World Fisheries Congress which was being held in Brisbane to cover regulation, biology, stock assessment and political issues in fisheries. In view of the fact that the world's fishery resources are fully exploited, the theme of "Making the Most of the Catch..." was considered to be highly appropriate to the current situation.

The funding investment in, and conduct of, research and how best to ensure transfer of results and information, and to effect improvements in communication and training added to the theme. The influence that different practices in feeding, harvesting and transportation may have on live and aquacultured species and how these practices can be controlled to result in a better product broadened the theme. The latest in safety issues, the challenges of inspection, HACCP, better techniques for the development of new products and the influence of process variables extended matters. A notable inclusion was in the example of the integration of catch data with complex process information thus creating a nexus of pre- and post-catch information to optimise yields and to plan fishing operations, a concept not yet employed, and probably unheard of, in fisheries management.

The Symposium was solely organised through the Centre for Food Technology, a unit of the Queensland Department of Primary Industries which also organised an international seafood conference in 1991. However, apart from a conference organised by FAQ and held in Melbourne in 1984, "Making the Most of the Catch..." is the first international symposium of Australian origin in the field of seafood technology from which written papers have been submitted and published as a proceedings. The Symposium attracted many of the workers from the major institutions around Australia who have involvement in some aspect of seafood research. Probably more important was the fact that it was attended by many scientists from overseas. That result and these proceedings amount to an injection of intellectual capital into the Australian scene facilitating the forging of personal links between scientists working on a similar problem in different situations. It is not just the exchange of knowledge and the continuing value of the material in the written proceedings, but, it is these ongoing personal links from which new and important contacts are made which provide overwhelming justification for meetings such as this.

Industry

Establishment of Seafood Services Australia stage 1 - extension and advisory services

Project number: 1999-333
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $193,861.00
Principal Investigator: Stephen Thrower
Organisation: Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
Project start/end date: 11 Jul 1999 - 30 Jun 2001
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Demand for assistance from clients in areas such as live transport, modified atmosphere packaging, value adding, market information, etc continues. Requests for information in three new areas have increased. These are:

(i) A search for alternative export markets and domestic outlets for product formerly sent to Asia. In order to assist in this area, Alan Snow has recently competed an export facilitation course through the Australian Institute of Export.

(ii) A need to comply with food safety regulations and quality assurance specifications of customers and ultimately ANZFA. This is expected to increase as a result of the SeaQual initiatives.

(iii) A requirement to support the SeaQual Chooser initiative through supply of suitable material for the SeaQual packs and through an increased volume of requests for customised information packages resulting from the distribution of 35,000 Choosers.

More specifically, industry needs from AUSEAS that we have identified are:

1. Assistance to people who are exploring new ventures, products, and processes. This includes value adding and processing options, market details, and technical information.

2. Information on contacts in markets, government agencies, and other service providers (eg consultants, freight forwarders, equipment providers). AUSEAS needs to maintain a comprehensive list of contacts and to keep information on the capabilities of providers of services to improve coordination across the seafood industry.

3. Customised assistance to companies implementing food safety plans and quality management programs in cooperation with SeaQual initiatives.

4. Trouble shooting when problems occur, usually in the form of telephone advice or short targeted written material.

5. Advice on funding assistance, usually in the areas of product and process development applications to NSC. This can include reviewing applications before and after submission and assessment of reports.

6. Demand for brief targeted information to be provided free of charge through delivery methods such as internet, fax-back, etc.

7 A centralised delivery point for information on seafood related matters acting as a "one stop shop" for the industry.

8 A need to promote the national post-harvest infrastructure services of FRDC. i.e. AUSEAS, NSC, and SeaQual.

Objectives

1. To provide the Australian seafood industry with technical information and advice that is timely, relevant and accurate.
2. To provide fast targeted responses to approaches by industry when problems occur.
3. To maintain an inventory of the sources of funding assistance available for industry development.
4. To develop a comprehensive web page that provides basic free information to industry, the public, and students as well as further access to AUSEAS resources and other post harvest programs.
5. To participate in the development and promotion of Seafood Services Australia.

Final report

ISBN: 0 646 40220
Author: Stephen Thrower
Final Report • 2000-09-15 • 3.54 MB
1999-333-DLD.pdf

Summary

This report covers the activities projects 1996/341 and 1999/333 for the period 1996 to 2000.  In October 1999 AUSEAS along with the National Seafood Centre (NSC) and SeaQual were brought together under the umbrella name of Seafood Services Australia (SSA).

To avoid confusion, for the remainder of this report, the previous name of the service AUSEAS (Australian Seafood Extension and Advisory Service) has been replaced with the new title SSA.

The report begins with a review of current activities including: 

  • industry inquiries and the SSA responses;
  • consultancies;
  • the preparation of the Australian Seafood Industry Directory;
  • the sales of technical literature packages.

A discussion of the available information resources is then followed by promotional activities.  This is followed by a consideration of staffing issues including staff skills development to better service clients’ needs.

Finally, there is a discussion of planned new initiatives including development of a “one-stop shop” Internet site for the post-harvest fisheries sector.  This will allow clients to access a wide range of information held in the SSA databases including:  the bibliography of the technical information available through this service;  sources of assistance for industry development;  and a topical issues discussion line.  A special feature of this will be a series of technical advisory notes.

Keywords: Literature searches; Publications; Information; Advice; Research.

Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 1986-010
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Factors affecting the toxicity of the dinoflagellate, Gambierdiscus toxicus, and the development of ciguatera outbreaks

This project confirmed that the benthic dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus toxicus is an origin of putative ciguatoxin precursors called gambiertoxins. It was recently found in French Polynesia that gambiertoxins could be extracted from biodetritus containing wild G. toxicus and that gambiertoxins were...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
Adoption
PROJECT NUMBER • 1997-300
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Identification of market requirements for future development of the Australian Seafood Catering Manual

This report aims to identify the market requirements for the future development of the Australian Seafood Catering Manual. Although the manual generated extremely positive feedback from industry, only a small proportion of the potential target market was tapped. Consumer research has been conducted...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
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