15 results
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2021-019
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Future proofing the northern Australia aquaculture industry need for skilled staff to 2050

The aquaculture industry in Northern Australia (NA) is undergoing a period of unprecedented growth, precipitating an increasing demand for skilled staff. To facilitate this growth, the industry requires an increasing stream of suitably skilled and qualified entrants to the industry workforce. Prior...
ORGANISATION:
James Cook University (JCU)

Adapt or Fail: Risk management and business resilience in Queensland commercial fisheries

Project number: 2013-210
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $350,000.00
Principal Investigator: Andrew & Renae Tobin
Organisation: James Cook University (JCU)
Project start/end date: 30 Jun 2013 - 13 Aug 2015
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Change is inevitable, whether it be management, environmental, or economic change. Improving how industries cope with and adapt to change becomes increasingly important as rates and cumulative impacts of change escalate. Some commercial fishing operators are better able to cope with, and adapt to change than others. In part this is due to the inherent capabilities of some individuals to cope with change, learn, plan, and manage risk – elements we can measure through resilience frameworks (Marshall and Marshall, 2007). Other differences relate to access to adaptation options, which may rely on factors such as business structure, diversity of operation, access to information and financial capacity. We do not yet know the specific role such factors play in improving adaption options and hence resilience.

What we do know is that more resilient operators are better able to cope with change and adapt to it, and that these operators are less likely to seek compensation when change occurs (Sutton and Tobin 2012). Given these findings, it is vital that we identify factors that improve access to and uptake of adaption options, and that factors constraining uptake of these options are identified. We need to develop appropriate communication tools that relate to the nature of risks faced by fishing operations depending on their current behaviour and business structure, options for change, and access to / uptake of information. We also need to assess possible management options which could reduce some constraints on adaptation and hence increase resilience.

This proposal meets QFRAB priority #2 (business models in relation to resilience), and FRDC’s “Resilient and supportive communities” Strategic Challenge.

Objectives

1. Document the current diversity and develop typologies of business models and operation types employed across all commercial fisheries on Queensland's east coast
2. Explore the current adaptation options for different business model types regarding risks associated with economic, management and environmental changes
3. Document the common constraints affecting uptake of adaptation options between and across business model types
4. Provide information tools regarding adaptation options for different business model types to fishers and managers, to enable the improvement of adaptive capacity and hence resilience

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-6485037-2-9
Authors: Tobin R.C. Nicotra B. Innes J. Ellis N. Tobin A.J. Kung J. and Perez E.
Final Report • 2019-07-19 • 4.03 MB
2013-210-DLD.pdf

Summary

This study sought to explore how different types of fishing businesses adapted to different types of change within Queensland’s east coast fisheries. The project team first sought to classify fishing businesses into ‘types’, exploring the industry structure in a new and innovative way, given the diversity of business capacity and mobility, and the overlap between fishery types on Queensland’s east coast. Through surveys of just over 200 fishing businesses, they then explored what types of change and challenges different business types were exposed to and / or constrained by, whether businesses were able to successfully adapt to these changes or challenges, and if there were any specific driving characteristics that improved the likelihood of success. The aim was to identify common challenges and constraints, and ideally to lead to recommendations of what different fishing business types could do to adapt their business in the face of ongoing environmental, economic and management change.

Project products

Brochure • 2019-07-19 • 3.54 MB
2013-210-brochure.pdf

Summary

Change in the commercial fishing industry is inevitable, ongoing and it builds up over time. Change can be gradual or rapid, and can relate to management, economic, or environmental change. We know from previous research that individual fishers have different abilities to adapt to all sorts of change. In part, this relates to a fisher’s own capacity to cope with uncertainty and risk, but also to how individuals structure and operate within their business, and whether they can identify and benefit from opportunities.

Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-169
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Assessing the nutritional value of Australian Barramundi

Farmed Australian barramundi (Lates calcarifer) is a reasonably well-recognised fish product in the Australian marketplace, however, its nutritional value and health benefits compared to other animal protein and seafoods is not quantified and widely known by consumers. This study assessed the...
ORGANISATION:
James Cook University (JCU)
SPECIES
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-170
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Real time monitoring of water quality and mechanisation of pond management to boost productivity and increase profit

Maintenance of adequate levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) are critical for the health and production of aquaculture species. In barramundi (Lates calcarifer) pond aquaculture the use of 24 hr/7 day mechanical aeration via paddlewheels represents a significant energy cost to companies,...
ORGANISATION:
James Cook University (JCU)
SPECIES
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