Seafood CRC: prevention of muddy taints in farmed barramundi
Investigating options to improve bycatch reduction in tropical prawn trawl fisheries - a workshop for fishers
Development of a business plan for enhancement of saucer scallops in sub-tropical waters
Evaluating effective quality monitoring methods for the Australian seafood industry
Establishment of Seafood Services Australia stage 1 - extension and advisory services
The effect of barramundi Nodavirus on important freshwater fishes
Stock structure of northern and western Australian Spanish mackerel
Stock assessment review workshop
A number of introductory stock assessment and monitoring programmes funded by FRDC will be completed within the next financial year. Most of this work has been done with little peer review. There is a need for an external and highly competent stock assessment consultant to review present research and assessment procedures used for fisheries in southern Queensland, and to identify the direction of future research and monitoring. It is expected that future monitoring programmes will be resourced through an industry based cost-recovery program. As a result, a narrowing of objectives and species is needed.
There is a need to look closely at the simulation models being developed by scientists for management use in south-east Queensland. For example, the State's only output-controlled fishery is subject to a TAC which is set from sustainable yield estimates derived from models which are rapidly becoming outdated. Several monitoring programmes, experiments and simulation models have been attempted with varying success. This work needs to be exposed to peer review as this fishery moves (probably) to an ITQ management system. These models should be updated and the present status of the resource needs to be examined, particularly in light of the situation in northern NSW as it is a shared resource.
There are a number of data sets on south Queensland fisheries which may be extensive enough to warrant further in-depth assessment. There is a opportunity for this work to be completed at the workshop while the expertise is available.
All the MAC’s are seeking information on the status of major fish resources for which they have management responsibilities. They are becoming increasingly aware of the need for objective and scientifically based assessment work and are slowly becoming aware of the costs and resource requirements associated with assessments. The supply of initial assessment reports from the proposed workshop will reinforce the move towards objective assessment and associated management recommendations.
Fisheries management in Queensland will be based upon Fishery Management Plans. There is a need to incorporate into these Plans much more robust and well-conceived monitoring and assessment strategies and decision rules than is occurring at present.
Stock assessment skills are scarce within south-east Queensland. An intensive workshop of most major species will include the majority of fisheries scientists and technicians within the region. This will expose them to stock assessment methods and their data requirements.
Final report
A three day stock assessment course was presented by Dr Malcolm Haddon of the Australian Maritime College and Dr James Scandol of the Quantitative Training Unit for Fisheries. Techniques such as biomass dynamic and age based modelling were covered.
Thereafter, a Stock Assessment Review Workshop, funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), Department of Primary Industry, Queensland (DPI) and the Queensland Fisheries Management Authority (QFMA), was held in August at the Southern Fisheries Centre, Deception Bay, Queensland. It was convened by stock assessment scientist Ms Cathy Dichmont ofDPI, and facilitated by Dr Malcolm Haddon from the Australian Maritime College (AMC). Commercial fishers, recreational fishers, managers and scientists were all represented at the workshop. It should be noted that the workshop only reviewed, analysed and commented on some of the major fishery resources of southeast Queensland. The resources chosen for review were determined through a series of Resource Priority Workshops held within DPI. Those workshops concluded that the primary southeast Queensland resources are spanner crabs (Ranina ranina), eastern king prawns (Penaeus plebejus), saucer scallops (Amusium japonicum balloti), sea mullet (Mugil cephalops), tailor (Pomatomus saltatrix) and an inshore finfish component of bream (Acanthopagrus spp), whiting (Siliago spp.) (excluding the trawled stout whiting) and dusky flathead (Platycephalus fuscus).
Tactical Research Fund: using industry expertise to build a national standard for grading of live mud crabs
Differing interpretations of grading standards for live mud crabs between fishers and buyers is highly emotive and greatly impacts industry revenue and relationships throughout the supply chain. Live mud crabs are the Sydney Fish Market’s second most valuable product and one of its most problematic, mainly due to grading issues. The urgent need for national grading standards is illustrated by the high level of confusion existing within all industry sectors.
This is compounded by the current environmental conditions that created an oversupply and low mud crab prices at market. Recent floods resulted in old crab with little meat content entering the market in higher than normal proportions, as well as an abundance of newly moulted ‘empty’ crab that are more susceptible to mortality within the supply chain and are lower priced. With newly adopted improved handling practices, harvesters are looking for new markets and experiencing various grading interpretations.
Lack of consumer confidence in purchasing a ‘full' crab impacts industry revenue. Having purchased a crab with poor meat content, consumers are unlikely to purchase again.
There is overwhelming Industry support to develop a universal, objective, agreed and workable standard. To achieve this national standards needs to be developed to ensure all harvesters, buyers and marketers agree on consistent grading standard for live mud crab. Many currently active industry members indicated they are unclear of grading parameters for live mud crab.
With the Qld crab-review in progress, the development of grading standards is timely and will assist the transition to any adjusted management regime.
As the catch of mud crab is a major component of the recreational fishery in many jurisdictions it is important to educate them on how to tell if a crab would be best returned to the water.
Final report
This project lead to a large number of outcomes that provided significant benefit to the Australian live mud crab industry supply chain. These include:
- Agreement on an easy to use, national, industry-driven, grading scheme for live mud crabs (the Australian Industry Live Mud Crab Grading Scheme) and the development of a range of material to extend the scheme widely
- Industry ownership and support for the grading scheme has been evident, with many sectors, individuals and groups taking the scheme on board, including the Sydney Fish Market (SFM) adopting the Australian Live Mud Crab Grading Scheme as part of its grading guidelines.
- Improved revenue return to the supply chain through a reduction in downgraded live mud crab, resulting in maximum price per unit. Even though not formally adopted until December 2012, data indicates up to a $1.40/kg increase in value for properly graded product at the SFM since the forum.
- Supply chain partners have indicated greater consumer satisfaction and less disagreement due to the development of the extension material and easy to use grading scheme. With the formal launch of the scheme on 3rd December 2012, in conjunction with the SFM, the linking with key sector sites and groups, and all of the material going live, it is anticipated that as consumers become better informed in their decision making process when choosing mud crab, there will be elevated consumer confidence to buy premium quality, live mud crab, engendering more frequent purchases.
- The linking of project 2010/302 and this project has seen far greater utilisation of Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) resources along the supply chain. Six trips were undertaken jointly to meet with key people and groups along the supply chain (NT x 2, NSW x 2, Vic x 1, Qld x 1), and the linking of best handling and grading became intertwined. In addition, when work on either project has taken place by the individual project teams, the opportunity to cross reference the projects has allowed the combined knowledge of the projects to be further extended.
- The forum methodology, which focused on providing optimal input from industry, was extremely well supported and can serve as a template for future whole of supply chain meetings.
- The benefits of using professional media/design personnel as part of capturing outcomes from the workshop and developing extension material proved very successful and resulted in production of high quality, client focussed, targeted material.
Keywords: Mud crab, grading scheme, quality, facilitation, extension, industry, supply chain.