2 results

Abalone Industry Development: local assessment and management by industry

Project number: 2005-024
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $525,531.00
Principal Investigator: Robert W. Day
Organisation: University of Melbourne
Project start/end date: 29 Jun 2005 - 29 Jul 2009
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Marine Park
Food Web
Fisheries Management
Ecosystem
Climate Change
SPECIES
Blacklip Abalone
Greenlip Abalone

Need

There is abundant scientific evidence that micro-management of abalone fisheries is needed (see B2) and state management plans, R&D priorities, etc. (e.g. NSW FMP, Newman & Smith 2001, Victoria’s ENRIC 2002) and FRDC’s Needs Review (MacArthur Agribusness 1999) recognize this. State financial resources are - and under cost recovery in each state will remain - insufficient to support assessment and management of individual reef-stocks. This project proposes the alternative: to empower industry stakeholders with assessment tools and processes for collaboration to achieve management outcomes. Collaboration between industry and management agencies, and tools to monitor and evaluate the industry management process are also needed. This project also addresses national R&D priorities for people development to create an innovative industry culture and for “collective industry strategic thinking and cohesion” (Needs Review)

Empowerment of industry will also address the strategic priority for more participatory co-management of the resource (e.g. SA 2002-7 R&D plan) and inclusive ownership of management decisions. Industry participation is a priority in most states (e.g. Newman & Smith 2001). Industry associations have committed to addressing reef-stock management (see B2), but we must underpin industry initiatives with the required biological information, modeling and collaboration tools, so reef-scale assessment and management processes can be accepted by state and federal management agencies as a secure basis for sustainable management, in accordance with the provisions of the EPBC Act 1999. FRDC’s Needs Review identified the “lack of spatial methodologies and modeling tools” as a substantial risk to the industry. We can build on extensive previous research (see B2) to progressively understand and model the relationship between fishing and reef-stock production. This will encourage future integration of state zonal management processes with the industry reef-scale process.

This addresses FRDC Program 1, Strategies 1, 6, 7, 9; Program 3, Strategies 1, 2; and the FRDC concern for “end-user” involvement.

Objectives

1. Develop, evaluate and document the Reef Assessment approach in Victoria, South Australia and NSW.
2. Test and validate the biological assumptions underlying the Reef Assessment Workshops.
3. Establish base-line (Year 0) measurements that provide a basis for predictions, and will provide the basis for a powerful long term (10-20 year) study of the level of parental breeding stock required to optimize long term production
4. Specify an Internet site template that provides industry with a facility for timely access to information and an avenue for feedback that reduces the delay between observations of reef-scale events and required adjustments in management strategy.
5. Build a simulation framework based on selected reef stocks, which will facilitate consistency in the synthesis and analysis of the performance of individual reefs
6. Facilitate, develop and document local scale co-management by industry organizations through collaborative workshop processes.
7. Develop and test a training syllabus for abalone divers, covering abalone biology and stock dynamics, the use of indicators, and how they relate to stock assessment.

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-646-53174-8
Author: Rob Day
Final Report • 2010-10-17 • 1.20 MB
2005-024-DLD.pdf

Abalone Aquaculture Subprogram: investigating the immunology of stressed abalone (Haliotis species)

Project number: 2004-233
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $61,950.00
Principal Investigator: Robert W. Day
Organisation: University of Melbourne
Project start/end date: 29 Jun 2005 - 1 Dec 2009
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Profitability
Physiology
Migration
Husbandry
Economic
SPECIES
Blacklip Abalone
Greenlip Abalone

Need

Disease is a significant issue for abalone aquaculture: significant mortalities result in substantial financial setbacks on some farms (Fleming, 2003). In South Australia, mass mortalities due to summer high temperatures are of serious concern. In all Australian farms some mortalities result during handling and transportation. Health is identified as a strategic research area required to develop a profitable industry in the Abalone Aquaculture Subprogram Strategic Plan. Particular needs identified were to “increase and apply knowledge of programs to survey the health status of stock on farms” and to “increase and apply knowledge of stress, its effect on production performance and strategies to minimise stress during production”. This project will contribute directly towards these aims, first by establishing normal ranges for many immunological parameters in abalone. This will allow future health monitoring programs to use these parameters. Second, we will assess the value of adding immunological parameters to the histological assessment used in the South African abalone monitoring program. Third, we will determine how stressors, nominated by farm managers as occurring in normal abalone farm processes affect the immune system. This should lead to specific recommendations for minimizing stress or maximizing health under stressful conditions.

This research will pave the way to improve health and productivity in Australian abalone aquaculture. By trialing various physiological and immunological assays we can find the most efficient and reliable set of parameters for future studies. We will also establish the natural variation in these, and thus provide the controls needed when investigating any aspect of abalone husbandry. Another goal of the FRDC subprogram strategic plan is “To improve the profitability of production”, through increased growth and survivorship. By testing the effects of genetics, environmental requirements, husbandry and nutrition on abalone immunity, we should be able to make recommendations for maximizing survivorship and productivity. Currently husbandry practices are monitored via mortality and poor growth. These are very crude measures of problems on the farm, and occur well after the event, which prevents any proactive response.

Reference:
Fleming, A. 2003. Final report of FRDC project no. 2000/200: Abalone Aquaculture Subprogram: Facilitation, administration and promotion. Appendix 1 in Proceedings of the 10th Annual Abalone Aquaculture Workshop, 19-21st November, 2003, Port Lincoln, Australia. Fleming, A.E. (Editor). Abalone Aquaculture Subprogram, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra, Australia.

Objectives

1. Establish the normal range of variation in abalone hemolymph immunological parameters
including hemocyte counts, phagocytic ability, migratory activity, serum antibacterial activity, agglutination, intracellular and extracellular reactive oxygen species (superoxide anion production), lysozyme activity, and prophenoloxidase activity, as well as serum biochemistry tests which have been very effective in assessing health in other species
including levels of protein, glucose, iron, calcium, potassium, LDH, HCO3, sodium and chloride.
2. Determine the effects of a series of controlled stresses monitoring the immunologic and histologic changes. The stresses will include
temperature changes, anaesthetics of different concentrations, mechanical stress and time out of water.
3. Establish a list of repeatable laboratory tests on abalone hemolymph and see if these clinical pathology indices correlate with the development of histologic changes which have already been observed (Mouton's work).

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-646-52921-9
Author: Rob Day
Final Report • 2010-08-17 • 780.71 KB
2004-233-DLD.pdf
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