This event is the pre-immanent International Fishing Technology engagement event sanctioned and supported by the FAO. It is held every 2 years and provides an opportunity for International information exchange and collaboration on fishing technology. The event will increase the profile of Australia and collaboration opportunities with the Internatinal community. It will also provide an opportunity to achieve domestic collaboration and information exchange that we will create at fringe sessions designed by the project steering committee.

The meeting will be held in Cairns, Queensland, in June 2026. Cairns is an attractive destination for international visitors, given its proximity to the reef and hinterland. It also has a reasonably fishing fleet, comprising prawn trawlers, tuna longliners, reef fishing vessels, and more.

The meeting typically extends over 5 business days, with the possibility of additional workshops being delivered prior to the meeting The meeting is typically dominated by plenary sessions with presentations delivered by delegates, topic group meetings focusing on specific topics of interest, plus a morning is dedicated to WGFTFB business meeting and updates. A study/sightseeing trip is included and generally extends over half a day. The 2024 meeting agenda was as follows:

Sunday: Welcome reception (evening)
Monday: Welcoming session, Housekeeping, Plenary session, Poster session
Tuesday: Plenary sessions, Study/sightseeing trip
Wednesday: Plenary session, Topic group meetings, Meeting dinner
Thursday: Plenary sessions, Focus session (brief presentations on ‘intelligent’ fishing such as AI)
Friday: WGFTFB business, Plenary sessions

The WGFTFB Chairs are responsible for meeting planning and allocation of time to each activity. In 2026, they will allocate time to topics of interest to developing countries, consistent with the mandate of FAO, for example, anchored FADs. This could either be incorporated into the Plenary session or the focus session. FRDC will be expected to contribute to meeting planning, particularly logistics, but can also make suggestions regarding inclusion of relevant presentations by Australian fishing technologists and researchers.

A Steering committee will be established for this sponsorship including Steve Eayrs and Kylie Dunstan and Jon Lansley on behalf of the FAO to ensure that the event is managed and designed to meet international obligations and achieve national benefit.

The FAO will require FRDC to agree to a Memorandum of Responsibilities (MoR). This document will spell out the FRDC role and responsibilities, including funding. Typically, the MoR requires the host institution to be responsible for identification/selection and payment of the following:

• Meeting venue for approximately 100 delegates including AV requirements for 5 days
• Two breakout rooms including AV requirements
• Lunch and refreshments for coffee breaks at the meeting venue for 5 days
• A welcome reception on the evening prior to the meeting or on the first evening
• A meeting dinner
• A half day study/sightseeing tour for delegates
• A delegate's kit (meeting bag, notepad, pens, etc.)
• Two meeting banners
• A group photo in front of the banners

FRDC would additionally contribute staff involvement through the Sterring committee and project manage a provider to conference manage issues such as travel, visa services and airport transfers. FRDC can seek financial and other support from third parties in association with the meeting.

FAO will provide cash contribution of an additional USD 20,000 to FRDC through a Letter of Agreement (LOA). These funds will be used to fund involvement from participants in developing countries and can include an amount to cover FRDC administration costs up to 10%.

The proposal addresses the key needs specified in FRDC investment opportunity on GoC KTF in an integrated manner, in consultation and collaboration with industry, by a team of people highly experienced in the science and logistical challenges of working in the GoC. The ‘Needs’ in the FRDC Call for R&D Investment Opportunities were (1) stock structure, including spatial and temporal connectivity between regions (i.e., movement and reproductive connectivity), (2) quantify life history information at regional scales relevant to stock assessment, and (3) factors influencing variation in the relationship between catch rate and population abundance.

The proposal addresses these knowledge gaps, which continue to bring uncertainty to the GoC KTF assessment and management. Further details are included in the Methods section.

It is critical that the inputs to the stock assessment, such as the spatial structure of the model, standardised catch rates, and life history parameters (e.g., temporal and spatial variation in growth rates, proportion mature-at-age, proportion mature-at-length) are representative of GoC stocks. Independent review of the latest KTF stock assessment (Campbell et al. 2024) concurs with this statement. Past research has included GoC samples of varying levels of spatial representativeness (Garrett et al. 1997; Welch et al. 2010; Newman et al. 2010; Moore et al. 2011; Moore et al. 2017) primarily due to due to logistical challenges. Despite the past research, there remains spatial and temporal uncertainty in how KTF populations function in this large tropical region, which has highly variable patterns in wet season rainfall and flood - the primary drivers of nutrient input to coastal GoC ecosystems.

Macroalgae farms can be used to remove excess nitrogen, phosphate, and trace minerals from coastal marine waters. Genera such as Asparagopsis have been highlighted through previous research as efficient biofilters of wastewater from salmon farms, in the context of Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (IMTA). Despite recent interest in Asparagopsis-derived products and the promise shown by IMTA, macroalgae cultivation is still a minor industry in Australia, with its bioremediation potential relatively untested.

Our project will use utilize previous research on the physiology of Asparagopsis and other valuable native macroalgaes genera (including Macrocystis, Ecklonia, Lessonia, Porphyra and Ulva) within an established model of macroalgae growth, to assess the bioremediation potential of these genera across a broad range of environmental conditions. The model will be calibrated and validated using data from previous field trials involving targeted species where possible. We will construct scenarios that assess how farm arrangement influences nutrient remediation efficacy, providing valuable insights for optimizing cultivation strategies including cultivation depth, harvesting frequency and seasonality, and the possibility of multiple partial harvests. We will also test the robustness of key results to changes and uncertainties in species’ parameterisation.

We will then apply the model within a wide range of environmental conditions representative of different growing regions in coastal Australian waters. This approach will allow us to identify and address challenges specific to bioremediation across different states and macroalgae genera, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the feasibility and implications of this innovative and low-impact approach to nutrient remediation. This research will not only inform practical cultivation strategies but also provide knowledge of environmental impacts and tools for future regulations and research.

Furthermore, the project serves as a catalyst for interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange, engaging stakeholders from scientific, industrial, and regulatory domains. By disseminating findings and facilitating dialogue, we aim to inform policy decisions, and empower stakeholders with the knowledge needed to best support innovation in this field.

This project seeks to improve process efficiencies in inoculum production systems in hatcheries and mass culture grow out systems in land-based seaweed aquaculture facilities through selection of light sources with the appropriate spectral qualities and intensities as well as efficient carbon delivery and mixing systems. Laboratory scale optimisation trials on tetrasporophytes of A. armata and A. taxiformis will be validated under scaled-up industrial scale systems. The project proposes to trial various commercially available light sources as well as carbon delivery systems that the industry could adopt.