Within the Seafood CRC, approximately half the industry participants have committed most of their contribution to the CRC for production-based research and the majority of research provider participants are involved with production research. In total, approximately $3.5 million p.a. has been committed to finfish production or genetic research. While many participants have already committed to projects to address their priorities, the level of collaboration within these projects is modest and, as the majority of projects will conclude within 2-3 years, industry and research participants have expressed a desire to increase collaboration and networking. There is therefore an opportunity to better exploit synergies between industry and research participants to improve delivery of planned outcomes. Within the aquaculture industry, including sectors and companies outside the Seafood CRC, there is a strong need to increase the overall level of technology. In many cases, organisations have difficulty accessing the latest successful technology, particularly in the hatchery sector. This needs to be addressed through better networking and information exchange.
Specific needs are:
• To develop new levels of collaboration and cooperation across aquaculture sectors, disciplines and CRC programs and projects
• To coordinate training and capacity building programs for industry and research participants (including within and outside the CRC)
• To improve efficiency of project initiation and delivery of research outcomes
• To plan and budget activities to achieve target industry outcomes
• To generate investment in strategic research focused CRC outcomes
• Create mechanisms and cooperative research systems which can outlive the CRC
The Aquaculture Innovation Hub was a new initiative from the Seafood CRC and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation to coordinate aquaculture research under the Seafood CRC, facilitate improved communication and assist development of new collaborative projects.
The hub brought together industry participants and research providers and fostered a better understanding of the research challenges faced by industry and the capacity and potential for researchers to address these challenges. The hub arranged face-to-face meetings, established a website and put help people stay in touch through email, teleconferences, text messaging and other forms of communication.
In addition, the hub developed and managed two hatchery networks, one for shellfish and one for marine finfish. The aim of the networks was to help hatcheries access and adopt the latest technology and identify key research, training and education priorities. The networks helped coordinate specific sessions on hatchery technology at the Australasian Aquaculture conferences in 2010 and 2012. Vocational and academic training needs were identified and training workshops, technical exchanges and visits organised.
