623 results

Tactical Research Fund: using industry expertise to build a national standard for grading of live mud crabs

Project number: 2011-225
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $65,620.00
Principal Investigator: Chris E. Calogeras
Organisation: C-AID Consultants
Project start/end date: 21 Sep 2011 - 31 Oct 2012
:
TAGS
Workshop
Wild Catch
Waste
Survey
Supply Chain

Need

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.

Objectives

1. To identify key industry representatives from the live mud crab supply chain across key states and territories to attend a forum
2. The forum to develop a universal, industry-driven, Australian grading standard for live mud crabs
3. Extend the agreed standard to all sectors
4. Evaluate adoption of standards
5. Production of professional media extension capturing outcomes from the workshop

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-9871427-2-6
Author: Chris Calogeras
Final Report • 5.10 MB
2011-225-DLD.pdf

Summary

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.

Project products

Fact Sheet • 1.52 MB
NT Code of Practice for the Mud Crab Fishery.pdf

Summary

The Northern Territory mud crab fishery is harvested and managed sustainably. In the interests of the stock, the industry and the wider community, the NT Mud Crab Licensee Committee fully supports continued management for the production of sustainable, quality Australian seafood.

In 2002 the NT mud crab fishery was assessed by the Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Heritage as being ecologically sustainable for export, under Australian Government guidelines based on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. In 2007 the mud crab fishery was reassessed under the guidelines and accepted for further export approval.

Fact Sheet • 116.77 KB
Fact Sheet for Recovery Procedure.pdf

Summary

The Queensland Government has developed best practice guidelines for the handling and storage of live mud crabs from harvest to table. These guidelines were developed as a way to reduce the stress levels of muddies, decrease mortality after harvest and to increase the eating quality of the catch. 

This fact sheet provides information on a recovery step for live mud crabs. Mud crabs stored for more than five days are more likely to die. If they survive, these crabs are liable to be poor eating quality.  A recovery step can reduce mortalities and loss of quality by eliminating the crabs waste and toxins. 

Fact Sheet • 118.69 KB
Fact Sheet for Harvesters.pdf

Summary

The Queensland Government has developed best practice guidelines for the handling and storage of mud crabs from harvest to table. These guidelines were developed as a way to reduce the stress levels of muddies, decrease mortality after harvest and to increase the eating quality of the catch. 

This fact sheet provides key information on the handling, sorting and storage of live mud crabs for harvesters before transport. 

Fact Sheet • 339.73 KB
Fact Sheet for Consumers.pdf

Summary

The Queensland Government has developed best practice guidelines for the handling and storage of mud crabs from harvest to table. These guidelines were developed as a way to reduce the stress levels of muddies, decrease mortality after harvest and to increase the eating quality of the catch. 

This fact sheet provides information for consumers on choosing a live mud crab, preparing and cooking it for the table.

Fact Sheet • 181.99 KB
Fact Sheet for Meat Fullness.pdf

Summary

The Queensland Government, in conjunction with the National Mud Crab Industry Reference Group has developed guidelines for grading live mud crabs based on shell hardness and other signs of shell age. However, to provide greater certainty on whether the crab will be full of meat when cooked, a simple method of sampling the live mud crab’s blood can be used.

This fact sheet gives instructions on how to test a live crab’s blood for cooked meat yield.

Guide • 1.01 MB
Guide to Using the Australian Industry Live Mud Crab Grading Scheme.pdf

Summary

This booklet provides a step by step guide to assist you in making decisions about how to grade your live mud crabs in line with the Australian Industry Live Mud Crab Grading Scheme. It is designed to accompany and assist you when using the grading scheme flow chart.

The scheme was developed under a Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) project (2011-225) which brought together industry representatives from throughout the supply chain and across Australia.  This group, the National Mud Crab Industry Reference Group (NMCIRG), developed these industry-driven, objective and mutually-agreed Australian minimum standards for a national grading scheme for live mud crabs to provide a consistent grading process across the nation and supply chain.

Fact Sheet • 115.21 KB
Fact Sheet for Transport Recommendations.pdf

Summary

The Queensland Government has developed best practice guidelines for the handling and storage of mud crabs from harvest to table. These guidelines were developed as a way to reduce the stress levels of muddies, decrease mortality after harvest and to increase the eating quality of the catch. 

This fact sheet provides key information on packing and transporting live mud crabs to wholesalers, distributors and retailers.

Fact Sheet • 300.10 KB
Fact Sheet for Retailers.pdf

Summary

The Queensland Government with funding assistance from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation has developed best practice guidelines for the handling and storage of mud crabs, from harvest to table. These guidelines aim to help reduce the stress levels of crabs, decrease mortality after harvest and increase eating quality.

This fact sheet provides information on sorting and storage of live mud crab for retailers.

Fact Sheet • 85.46 KB
Fact Sheet For Tanking Recommendations.pdf

Summary

The Queensland Government has developed best practice guidelines for the handling and storage of mud crabs from harvest to table. These guidelines were developed as a way to reduce the stress levels of muddies, decrease mortality after harvest and to increase the eating quality of the catch. 

This fact sheet provides key information on holding live mud crabs in aquariums or tanks. 

Guide • 4.55 MB
Live Mud Crab Grading Scheme - Web.pdf

Summary

With the support of FRDC a forum was held to develop a national system to ensure catchers, buyers and marketers had a consistent, workable grading system for the entire industry - from trap to plate. The forum, "Using Industry Expertise to Build a National System for Grading of Live Mud Crabs" brought together people from throughout the supply chain and from across Australia to develop this industry-driven, objective and mutually-agreed Australian minimum standards for a national grading system for live mud crabs.

The decision chart developed by the group provides all people throughout the supply chain with an easy to use guide to the Australian Grading Scheme for live mud crabs.

Adoption
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PROJECT STATUS:
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Love Australian Prawns evaluation using consumer research, sales data and market insights

Having commissioned Brand Council to review Love Australian Prawns (LAP) strategy and outputs and the University of Sunshine Coast to compare LAP consumer perception and awareness to previous years, the Australian Council of Prawn Fisheries Ltd (ACPF) and the Australian Prawn Farmers’...
ORGANISATION:
Australian Council of Prawn Fisheries Ltd (ACPF)
TAGS
Media
SPECIES
Royal Red Prawn
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2014-242
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Commercialising the production of Cobia in Australia

This project is a collaboration between the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) and the Cobia aquaculture sector, predominantly Pacific Reef Fisheries (PRF). It was undertaken to consolidate the aquaculture in Australia of Cobia, a species offering considerable potential as a...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
TAGS
Toxin
SPECIES
Cobia
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 1998-354
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Electronic cooking end point determination and the effectiveness of alternative cooking methods for Crustacea

A prawn cooking meter and self-centring thermocouple clip has been successfully developed for monitoring the cooking of prawns. This cooking meter provides a much needed control tool for ensuring reliable and consistent quality required of modern quality assurance programs. The design of the prawn...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
TAGS
Animal Health
SPECIES
Western Rock Lobster
Industry

Population dynamics and management of spanner crabs in southern Queensland

Project number: 1995-022
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $262,552.00
Principal Investigator: Ian Brown
Organisation: Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
Project start/end date: 18 Dec 1995 - 30 Jun 2000
:
TAGS
Yield
Wild Catch
Sustainability
Population Dynamics
Mortality

Objectives

1. To estimate the size of the south Queensland spanner crab stock.
2. Determine the appropriateness of existing spawning closure arrangements.
3. To determine whether catch size-distribution can be used to estimate population age-structure and growth rates.
4. To evaluate the impact of post-discard mortality amongst sub-legal crabs on yields, and promote the development (by industry) of less damaging apparatus.

Final report

Authors: Ian Brown John Kirkwood Shane Gaddes Cathy Dichmont & Jenny Ovenden
Final Report • 1999-09-01 • 13.01 MB
1995-022-DLD.pdf

Summary

Spanner crabs (Ranina ranina) represent a valuable resource to southern Queensland and northern NSW. The fishery became established in the late 1970s, and as a result of an almost exponential increase in fishing effort between 1992 and 1995 an output-controlled limited entry management arrangement was introduced. During that period catches increased from about 800 to over 3,000 t, as the fishery expanded northwards to previously unexploited grounds, and a profitable live-export market was developed in south-east Asia.
The Queensland fleet comprises some 240 vessels specifically licenced to take spanner crabs in Managed Area A, which is subject to a Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC), currently set at 2600 t. Another 310 vessels are licenced to fish only in Managed Area B (north of the main fishing grounds) where the TACC does not apply. At present the TACC is competitive, but in the near future an Individual Transferrable Quota (ITQ) system is to be introduced.
Trends in commercial fisheries catch-effort statistics indicate that the spanner crab stock in southern Queensland is currently being harvested at a sustainable level. However several questions remain with respect to the application of the commercial logbook data, possibly the most important of which is how well commercial catch-per-unit-effoti represents stock abundance. The spatial distribution of spanner crabs is patchy, and the fishery operates such that patches are located, targeted and fished down. This can potentially lead to a situation of hyperstability, where the stock is actually declining despite catch rates remaining constant. This highlights the expected value of the fishery-independent monitoring programme currently being planned by QDPI with (in the case of the spanner crab fishery) a significant level of cost-recovery from industry.
Previous attempts to estimate growth rate of spanner crabs resulted in little consensus, due in part to inadequate sample sizes (length-based methods) and uncertainty surrounding the effects of tagging on growth (tag-recapture methods). Our initial objective was to determine whether the length-based methods would work if the samples were very large.
 
Variability in the size-structure of even very large samples of adult crabs was so great that we could place little confidence in growth estimates obtained from this type of data. Because of this, we negotiated a change in research direction with FRDC, focussing on two alternative approaches to the question of growth rates. The first was to investigate growth in pre-recruits. The second was to quantify the likely effect of tagging on moulting and growth, and to determine the extent of growth rate differences between NSW and Queensland.
Very small spanner crabs are not taken by baited tangle nets, regardless of mesh size, so a different sampling arrangement was required. A two-track channel dredge was successful in capturing intact megalopae and early juvenile stages, which provided length frequency data of considerable value to estimating pre-recruit growth. However because of its small size only very limited samples were able to be collected. To increase the sampling volume we developed a substantially larger, hydraulically­assisted dredge. This device has been field-tested on several occasions, but it has not yet been developed and used to full effect.
Laboratory experiments demonstrated that tagging had an adverse effect on weight increase and survival of spanner crabs, suggesting that growth rate estimates based on mark-recapture techniques may be biased. Of the several different types tested, anchor tags were superior in terms of ease of application and visibility. Recognising that the results may be biased, we released 4,804 tagged crabs at sites throughout the fishing grounds, to determine whether growth of spanner crabs in Queensland waters is significantly different from that in NSW, reported in a previous study. Fourteen of the 221 crabs recaptured in 1998 had moulted, with growth male growth increments being greater than those offemales (X = 11.86 and 7.40 mm respectively). Recapture rates were significantly higher for males than females, and were also significantly greater for larger individuals of each sex. This suggests that tag mortality was greater in the smaller size-classes. Recaptured crabs had moved distances ranging from O to 45 km since release, but showed no tendency to move in any particular direction.
Our length-based assessment model has not yet been successful in producing useful estimates of the relevant stock performance indicators for use by management. This was due to the lack of contrast in the CPUE data, the relatively short data time-series, the extreme spatial and temporal variability in population size-structure and sex-ratio as represented in commercial catches and research samples, and the absence of definitive growth data.
Mitochondrial DNA analysis indicated that the east-coast spanner crab fishery comprises a single unit stock, and there thus appears to be no biological justification for separate management arrangements in different geographic areas.
 
Analysis of reproductive chronology indicates that the timing of the existing spawning closure is appropriate for minimising mortality amongst egg-bearing female spanner crabs across the entire fishery, and we recommend that the closure be retained in legislation.
 
Exploratory surveys for spanner crabs conducted in two areas outside the current fishing grounds did not reveal any significant quantity of crabs, although small numbers were captured at two sites amongst the Swain Reefs. From the available information it seems unlikely that there are any major unexploited populations of spanner crabs remaining in Queensland waters.
We have demonstrated that limb damage to undersized discarded spanner crabs has a major effect on their survival under natural conditions. Poor handling practices in the fishery result in considerable mortality amongst discarded small crabs, highlighting the need for continuing fisher education and ongoing investigation of alternative catching apparatus.
 
The two major issues for further research into the spanner crab fishery are (i) deriving a robust estimate of the species' growth rate, (ii) investigating the source of the extreme variability in size­frequency and sex-ratios in population samples.
Adoption
PROJECT NUMBER • 1999-340
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Seafood Directions '99 - the inaugural biennial national seafood industry conference

While the Australian Seafood Industry is valued in excess of $2bn, there has never been a national seafood conference in Australia. During 1998, the Australian Seafood Industry Council (ASIC) recognised that a conference would provide opportunities for industry to showcase its advances in recent...
ORGANISATION:
Seafood Council (SA) Ltd
TAGS
Training
Industry
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 1998-221
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Impoundment stocking strategies for eastern and northern Australia

Fish stocking is a valuable and widely used fisheries management tool. If managed well, a fish stocking program can improve the status of declining or threatened fish stocks, restore species diversity to a degraded waterway, and even create a fishery where there was none before. The positive image...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
TAGS
Stock Assessment
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2008-910
PROJECT STATUS:
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Seafood CRC: automation of western rocklobster processing

Automation of processing is widespread in many food production industries. Currently, labour costs in the Western Rocklobster industry are high and availability of labour is extremely poor. This is especially problematic given the processing of Western Rocklobsters is a highly manual process....
ORGANISATION:
Western Australian Fishing Industry Council Inc (WAFIC)
TAGS
Stakeholder
SPECIES
Western Rock Lobster
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