Seafood Directions 2017
The Australian Seafood Industry operates in a diverse and dynamic environment and although the volume produced in Australia is small by world standards, the value and quality of our product and sustainability of our practices are globally recognized. For the Seafood Industry to continue to be a world leader in seafood production and quality there must be an opportunity to learn from each other and plan for the future. The role of Seafood Directions is to provide a significant opportunity for fisheries researchers, fisheries managers and others who work in support of the industry, to examine key contemporary and strategic issues and develop blueprints that will ensure a sustainable, profitable and socially resilient seafood industry in Australia. The need for Seafood Directions is indicated by the ongoing support of key stakeholders of the seafood industry, as is evident by the level of industry sponsorship and attendance at the conference.
Final report
In May 2016, The Association Specialists were contracted to manage the biannual National Seafood Industry Conference, Seafood Directions, at the International Convention Centre Sydney.
The event included the following:
- The conference was held across three days (Wednesday 27 September – Friday 29 September 2017).
- The International Convention Centre Sydney was the main venue for the conference.
- The Novotel Darling Harbour and the IBIS Darling Harbour were the main sources of accommodation for the conference.
- The overall conference program consisted of plenary sessions, invited speakers, 2 concurrent sessions, twenty-six abstract presentations and various panel discussions.
- The conference featured two pre-conference activities including an overnight Huon Field Trip and an Economics Masterclass Pre-Conference Workshop.
- The conference also incorporated daily Sydney Fish Market, Behind the Scenes Tours, from Wednesday 27 September - Friday 29 September 2017.
- The Welcome Reception was held in the Exhibition area, in Parkside 1, on Wednesday, 27 September 2017.
- The National Seafood Industry Awards Dinner was held in the Grand Ballroom at the International Convention Centre Sydney on Thursday, 28 September 2017. The dinner attracted nearly 400 attendees.
- The “Power Up” Breakfast was held on Friday, 29 September and was organised by WINSC.
- The trade component was held in the exhibition space, where each catering break was held and fourteen exhibitors showcased their products and services.
- All plenary sessions and one breakout stream (i.e. all sessions in Parkside 2) were Live Streamed internationally to registered delegates.
- The event attracted a total of 355 registrations.
Utilising existing R&D to develop and document sustainability factsheets on key species
Communication and extension have been identified by the Board as a priority activity on which more work is needed. In particular the last three AOP's for FRDC identified two key priorities under Challenge 5: Community and consumer support:
• Educate the community about fisheries and aquaculture management and its contribution to Australia.
• Communicate the benefits of government and industry investment in R&D.
As outlined under ‘Consultation’, the fishing industries have identified development of improved public communication packages based on easily understood information on sustainability of fish and fisheries as a high priority. At present the fishing industries have very little information available in a format that can be used to defend the industries’ status with regard to its long term sustainability and to demonstrate the effectiveness of Australian fisheries management.
Oceanwatch Australia, after identifying the need for the development of basic information on key species in a usable format, undertook a scoping project with co-investigator Professor Bob Kearney. This project provided an excellent template for the information, analyses and outputs required for this FRDC project. Oceanwatch Australia has agreed for the information developed in its study to be used and built on in this FRDC project.
Final report
Seafood CRC: preliminary investigation of internationally recognised Responsible Fisheries Management Certification
Sydney Fish Market, along with the many wholesalers and cooperatives that trade in Australian seafood, is constantly having its product supply eroded due to increasing restrictions on commercial fishing operations. Over the last 10 years the introduction of recreational fishing havens and State and
Commonwealth marine parks, such as the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, has resulted in access to Australian wild caught seafood being constantly under threat. There is a strong belief that this is due to a popular perception that fisheries are not being sustainably managed and therefore require additional
protection.
With the environmental and fisheries management controls in place through the EPBC Act and Commonwealth and State fisheries management legislation, the industry view is that fisheries are well managed and sustainable.
Environmental NGOs’ public campaigns are causing considerable pressure for change in Australia. This has led to extensive negative media coverage about the industry and consequently increased the risk of further closures to fisheries through the erosion of community and political support. This
negative media is also putting businesses along the supply chain like SFM, on the defensive regarding sustainability of the seafood that they sell.
Final report
The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and FAO Guidelines for the Eco-labelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries represent internationally negotiated documents that represent consensus on the criteria for responsibly managed fisheries. These ‘tools’ form the basis of a number of private standards that are used for the certification of fisheries; including Marine Stewardship Council, Alaska FAO Based Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification and Iceland Responsible Fisheries Management Certification.
This project investigated the feasibility of an FAO Based RFM Certification for Australia by testing on two NSW fisheries using the Conformance Criteria Version 1.2 which has been used in Alaska RFM fisheries certification.
The first phase of the project was a general desk top review of the consistency of Australian and Commonwealth fisheries management systems against the Conformance Criteria. As anticipated, the review demonstrated that there were no fundamental reasons why Australian fisheries management could not utilise FAO criteria as a basis for fisheries certification. The next step was to assess whether the Conformance Criteria were applicable at the fishery-level.
Compatibility assessment studies were carried out on two NSW fisheries which displayed varying degrees of complexity (species, gears, locations) in order to test the extremities of the FAO Based Conformance Criteria. The studies centred on testing how suitable both the FAO Based Conformance Criteria and the current accredited assessment procedures were for use for the assessment of Australian State fisheries.