60 results

Optimising the efficiency of enforcement in commercial fisheries

Project number: 1998-156
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $233,474.54
Principal Investigator: John McKinlay
Organisation: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) WA
Project start/end date: 20 Jun 1998 - 29 Jun 2004
:

Need

The cost of enforcement in most fisheries is substantial. There has been little research on the effectiveness of enforcement measures or the investigation of alternate enforcement strategies. An understanding of the fisher’s perception of the enforcement program, particularly the perceived level of inspections, and how they will respond to changes in enforcement is required to more effectively and efficiently maintain compliance with the regulations.

Similarly the relationship between the extent of enforcement effort and the level of compliance is not understood for most fisheries. If the rate of compliance is not overly sensitive to the amount or type of enforcement it may be possible to reduce some elements of the enforcement effort and cost while maintaining an acceptable level of compliance. On the other hand if the rate of compliance is highly sensitive to the amount of enforcement effort it will be possible to determine the amount of effort required to obtain the required level of compliance.

The true nature and extent of non-compliance is required to better direct enforcement effort. Spatial and temporal patterns of non-compliance need to be investigated. A better understanding of the motivation for non-compliance, whether the incentive is financial or otherwise, will be gained by comparing expected gains against the likely penalties and probability of detection. This will enable the effectiveness of penalties as a deterrent to be assessed. This information is needed in a form that will enable managers responsible for enforcement activities to explore the effect of the location, timing and type of enforcement activity on the level of compliance.

Objectives

1. Estimate the level of non-compliance in the Western Australian rock lobster industry.
2. Determine factors such as seasonal, regional and factory, which may affect the level of non-compliance in order to better target the timing of enforcement effort.
3. Develop relationships between enforcement and compliance with the regulations to enable an assessment of increasing or decreasing the level of enforcement on the level of compliance.
4. Determine the reasons and motivations for the non-compliance of commercial fishers with the regulations in terms of the expected gains versus the probability of detection.
5. Ascertain the perceptions of the fishing regulations and enforcement measures including the perceived probability of detection for commercial fishers.
6. Ascertain whether commercial fishers are aware of the full extent and frequency of inspections.

Final report

ISBN: 1 877098 13 2
Author: John McKinlay
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-137
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Understanding the Markets for Western Rock Lobster (Phase 1 Market Intelligence)

This report outlines work completed by the Western Rock Lobster (WRL) Council. Data has been gathered from a number of sources (across several general categories of market information (e.g. production, trade, prices, economic activity) to create a comprehensive and continuously updated...
ORGANISATION:
Western Rock Lobster Council Inc (WRLC)
People
PROJECT NUMBER • 2013-748.20
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Seafood CRC: addressing roadblocks to the adoption of economics in fisheries policy (2013/748.20 Communal)

This project has led to the development of three journal articles examining how the use of economic analyses and stock enhancement can lead to improved economic outcomes in Australian wild-capture commercial fisheries. The Seafood Cooperative Research Centre (Seafood CRC) Future Harvest (FH)...
ORGANISATION:
University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2014-004
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Mitigation measures to reduce entanglements of migrating whales with commercial fishing gear

This project provided a robust assessment that gear modifications introduced into the WCRLMF and octopus fisheries have reduced the number of reported entanglements. The management arrangements around the implementation of these modifications are appropriate in light on the new spatial and temporal...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) WA
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2016-260
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Assess causes and implications of anomalous low lobster catch rates in the shallow water areas near the centre of the Western Rock Lobster fishery

Current and former West Coast Rock Lobster Managed Fishery (WCRLMF) fishers have anecdotally observed a trend of low catch rates since the 1990’s in the near-shore shallow water areas (<8 m) near the centre of the fishery (Dongara-Leeman). Since the atypically low puerulus counts of...
ORGANISATION:
University of Western Australia (UWA)
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2009-019
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Evaluating the potential use of change-in-ratio and index removal techniques for determining harvest rates and efficiency increases in the Western Rock Lobster Fishery

This project developed and explored methodology intended to enable the production of more reliable estimates of fishing efficiency increases and harvest rate, such that these estimates might be available for use by fisheries scientists, thereby improving the quality of the management decisions...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) WA

Rock Lobster Post Harvest Subprogram: optimising water quality in rock lobster post-harvest processes

Project number: 2000-252
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $136,226.00
Principal Investigator: Stephen Battaglene
Organisation: University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Project start/end date: 29 Dec 2000 - 8 May 2006
:

Need

There are concerns that poor water quality may be having an affect on the health of post-capture rock lobsters. This project addresses this in three ways:

1. Determining the optimal level of ammonia in holding and transport systems. This will contribute to the understanding of optimal system design.

2. Understanding the mechanism of ammonia toxicity. This will enable industry to develop methods to counteract the harmful effects.

3. Providing information to the rock lobster industry in the appropriate form to ensure uptake of the results of research on optimising water quality, specifically in the area of oxygen and ammonia.

Objectives

1. Production of a manual on optimising the provision of oxygen during rock lobster post-harvest processes
2. Determine the median lethal concentration (LC-50) of ammonia to adult southern and western rock lobsters (stressed and unstressed).
3. Determine the physiological consequences of exposing lobsters to sub-lethal ammonia concentrations, and the consequences of further exposing lobsters to acute post-harvest stressors.
4. Production of a manual on ammonia problems during rock lobster post-harvest processes

Final report

ISBN: 1-86295-065-2
Authors: Stephen Battaglene Jennifer Cobcroft Mark Powell and Bradley Crear
Final Report • 2005-01-04 • 859.67 KB
2000-252-DLD.pdf

Summary

Rock lobsters can be exposed to poor water quality during all stages of handling and holding prior to going to market. Poor water quality reduces the time a lobster can be held alive and how many animals can be held in a system and thus may reduce profit. The quality of water can be assessed using many different measurements, with two of the most important being oxygen and ammonia (a form of nitrogen). An earlier FRDC funded study investigated oxygen and how it influenced the holding of rock lobsters. However, prior to the current study there was very limited understanding of the harmful effects of ammonia to rock lobsters. Ammonia can accumulate in holding and transport facilities via natural release of ammonia from lobsters, and from the bacterial decomposition of faeces, excess feed, and dead animals. Ammonia can be harmful to crustaceans in small amounts (or low concentrations) and even fatal if concentrations get too high. The toxicity of ammonia to aquatic animals becomes greater when other factors such as low dissolved oxygen, low salinity, and/or low pH (acidity of the water) also interact. In liquids, total ammonia comprises un-ionised ammonia (NH3), which is the more toxic component, and ionised ammonia (NH4 +; ammonium) in equilibrium. Lobsters can become stressed (having a higher demand upon their biological systems) during holding and handling but it is uncertain what effect this stress has on the ability of lobsters to tolerate ammonia. This project provided a better understanding of the effect of ammonia and other water quality measurements, on the health of stressed and unstressed lobsters.

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

Project number: 1998-354
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $309,017.64
Principal Investigator: Brian Paterson
Organisation: Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
Project start/end date: 21 Jun 1998 - 24 Jun 2004
:

Need

Questions often asked that can not be answered presently by the literature include:
- When should prawns be cooked in relation to time from harvest?
- Does this have an effect on visual appearance of the cooked prawn, eg. white head etc.?
- Is there a quality and yield difference in cooking in fresh vs salt water?
- Are cooking systems which currently use boiling followed by immersion in cold water the best option. Would a lower temperature cook for a longer period improve the process?
- What is the most effective compromise between sensory acceptability and optimal recovery?

Because prawns vary substantially in size and morphology, and the cooking equipment used by industry varies in power and capacity, at present, it is impossible to determine a time based standard that will optimise yield and quality and still remain broadly applicable.

Less powerful cookers will take much longer to return to the boil than high powered units. Thus the point of returning to the boil is a somewhat arbitrary starting point as slower cookers will expose prawns to cooking temperatures for much longer periods if using a standard time.

The industry needs a simple device which will tell processors when prawns and other crustacea are cooked. This device will measure the internal temperature during the cooking of prawns and will possibly use a cumulative cooking index or formula to determine when the prawns are appropriately cooked. This device would be based on research which determines the time / temperature relationship for enzyme deactivation as the basis for cooking calculations, and would be effective regardless of the type of cooker or maximum temperature during cooking.

Objectives

1. To develop a device which will determine endpoint of cooking for crustacea by: a) developing a durable sensor for measuring the thermal centre of the crustacea. b) determining crustacean protease deactivation temperature curves.
2. To confirm that the endpoint for cooking is determined by protease deactivation by: a) confirmation trials of several species, sizes and cooking rates. b) determining the effects on possible melanosis development, sensory and textural quality and yields against a chosen reference such as farmed prawns.
3. Evaluate alternate cooking, processing and handling conditions for prawns.
4. Build 10 prototypes of the device for industry to trial.
5. Extend results to industry through workshops, publications and the media.
6. OPTIONAL: To further develop the cooking endpoint device for two other crustacean species with methods subject to the out-comes of the first two objectives.
7. Extend the results to industry through workshops, publications and the media.

Final report

ISBN: 0 7345 0269 9
Author: Steven Slattery & Brian Paterson
Final Report • 2004-03-19 • 585.99 KB
1998-354-DLD.pdf

Summary

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 cooking meter relies upon the fact that enzymes that discolour and soften the flesh of cooked prawns are a major cause of quality loss. Ideally, cooking should destroy these enzymes, but experience shows there is typically not enough control over the cooking step on vessels and in processing factories to bring this about. Simple methods of timing cooking do not take account of the complex factors that can influence the rate of product heating such as size and quantity of prawns, cooker efficiency etc.  This results in variable quality product, which can exhibit mushiness and discoloration including black-spot (melanosis) and autolysis. 

This problem has been solved by developing a meter (Objective 1) that actually monitors the heat put into a prawn in the cooker and signals the end-point of cooking when the product is cooked enough to destroy the target enzymes, without the over-cooking that might otherwise cause toughness and weight loss. The progress of the cook is tracked by fitting a prawn typical of the batch into a robust clip, also developed in this project.  The clip places a temperature sensor in the thermal centre of the tail of the prawn. The cooking end-point used by the meter is calculated from the thermal destruction rates of the enzymes that are achieved at particular temperatures. These were determined in in vitro experiments using extracts from several prawn species.

The use of the meter was tested in a number of confirmatory trials (Objective 2) where the prototype of the meter was used to successfully cook prawns of several species and size, and was, as long as the cooker approached boiling temperatures, independent of the performance of various kinds of prawn cookers used.  

The meter was used to monitor a number of alternative cooking techniques (Objective 3). Of these, most interest was in sub-boiling or simmering of prawns. However, after cooking trials, this practice cannot be recommended. It fails to reach the threshold temperatures necessary to denature the enzymes that cause softening, discoloration and black spot. The underlying algorithm in the meter requires the prawns to warm significantly above the temperatures reached by simmering. Perhaps a higher sub-boil temperature can be used, as the final temperature, even in boiling prawns, is typically in the order of 90-95oC. Industry interest in steam tunnels was considered in passing by the project team, but trials were not undertaken.  There appears to be no reason why this technology would not be suitable.

After the meter validation trials, ten prototype meters were manufactured and tested by industry with favourable results (Objective 4).  These tests used a number of species under commercial conditions with cooperation of processors of both farmed and wild prawns in Queensland and Western Australia. Important feedback was obtained on the design features needed in a commercial model of the meter.  

Dissemination of the results to companies participating in the trials was rapid. In addition, two workshops were held for prawn farmers in south and north Queensland (Objective 5). A workshop manual and training video have been prepared.  The successful development of the prawn cooking meter has also been widely promoted in trade magazines and general media. Negotiations are in progress with a company wishing to manufacture and market the meters. 

The cooking meter was tested on four other types of crustaceans (Objective 6) namely yabbies, redclaw, western rock lobsters and sand crabs.  Suitable algorithms have been developed for all four species.  Its use proved relatively straightforward for freshwater crayfish, which are of similar size and morphology to prawns, and the same self-centering clip could be used. However, further work is required to develop a practical temperature sensor clip for use with rock lobsters and crabs.

Keywords: processing, cooking. prawn, shrimp, lobster, crustaceans, crayfish, redclaw, temperature; enzyme de-activation, spoilage, meter, monitor.

Feasibility study for the use of biofuel for the western rocklobster industry

Project number: 2007-241
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $70,000.00
Principal Investigator: William Ryan
Organisation: Kondinin Group
Project start/end date: 30 Oct 2007 - 31 Jul 2008
:

Need

The Western Rock Lobster Industry is facing cost and return challenges. Catch predictions are low for the next three years. With best estimate for the 2007/2008 season being only 9900 tonnes. Currency exchange rates are moving against exporters. Fuel prices have risen sharply and forward projections in the medium and longer term suggest continuing increases. Greenhouse gas abatement is becoming central to government planning and future policies and could impact severely on industries where fuel is a major part of their cost profile. Currently fuel represents approximately 20% of the opperating costs of the fishing business. Governments may mandate fuel emission limits, or require that they be offset through credit arrangements and they may mandate biofuel use levels in transport fuels.
Biofuels have the potential to play a part in relieving cost, emission and fuel source pressures in the future. The Western Rock Lobster Industry needs to understand the opportunities biofuels offer it. There is much general and often misleading information available on biofuels. There is a need to examine the potential for biofuels in a dispassionate and objective way, specifically in relation to the Western Rock Lobster Industry so that the industry can take informed decisions about the possible role biofuels might have in the future of the industry.
Fishermen, processing works and others need to be well informed about biofuel, especially biodiesel production technologies and use. Also they need to be in a position to approach government, financiers and others with a detailed business case when wishing to capitalise on biofuel opportunities.

Objectives

1. Analysis of fuel use by the Western Rock Lobster Industry including distribution infrastructure and logistics .
2. Analysis of biofuel production possibilities for the Western Rock Lobster Industry including sources of raw materials, byproduct opportunities, and logistics of manufacture, storage and distribution.
3. Technical and economic advantages and disadvantages of biofuels for the industry including appropriate fuel standards and engine warranty issues .
4. Potential business cases, possible business structures and sources of capital for the development of a biofuel industry serving the Western Rock Lobster Industry
Final Report • 2010-05-21 • 196.52 KB
2007-241-DLD.pdf

Summary

Rapidly rising fuel costs are of great concern to the Western Australian Rock Lobster Industry.  Fuel costs have risen about 40% in the past three years and now represent approximately 30% of operating costs for boat owners. Fuel is the next largest cost after labour.  Fuel prices are expected to continue to rise and there are no nearby technologies available to replace diesel – or biodiesel- in marine engines.
The Western Rock Lobster Council sought to examine a number of avenues to keep the industry profitable, and, recognizing the developments in biofuels in recent years and given the existence of agricultural industries nearby to the lobster boat anchorages, decided to seek an analysis of the potential for biofuels for the WA rock lobster industry. 
The WRLC sought the assistance of The Kondinin Group, which has wide experience in analysis of rural and regionally based industries and are leaders in communication of technology changes to industry, to examine the potential for biofuels
Kondinin and the WRLC recognized that several business models needed to be investigated ranging from single boat owners making their own biodiesel, to consortia of several boatowners meeting the fuel demands of the group, to large regional manufacturing facilities meeting the fuel requirements of the whole industry. The project also examined within and between season supply and demand issues for fuel and raw material supplies as they affected the viability of a biofuels business.
 
The analysis of fuel use by the western rock lobster industry.

There was estimated to be 485 boats operating in the fishery in 2008.  Each boat has an average fuel consumption of about 62,200 litres per annum.  This equates to an annual fuel usage by the industry of 30.16 million litres,
The boats operate out of 16 ports from Kalbarri in the north to Augusta in the south.
 
Baileys Marine Fuels (Scott Bailey) is a major modern marine fuel distributor with facilities around Australia. Baileys are estimated to service 75-80 % of the western rock lobster fishing fleet. The balance of fuel is supplied by other significant operators such as the Two Rocks Marina facility and the Comen Ltd/Jurien Boatlifters facilities at Jurien and Cervantes. Several smaller suppliers meet needs at the minor anchorages.
Biofuel production possibilities for the Western Rock Lobster Industry including sources of raw materials, byproduct opportunities and logistics of manufacture, storage and distribution.
Biofuel is a generic term generally used to define biodiesel and bioethanol. Western Australian lobster boats are universally powered by diesel engines and therefore biodiesel was the only product considered in this project.
 
Biodiesel can be made from a range of oils and fats sourced from both plants and animals.  The major raw materials available in Western Australia include Canola, mustard, tallow, used cooking oil and palm oil.  The manufacturing process is quite simple and involves reacting the oil with methanol and a catalyst to produce biodiesel and glycerol.  The extraction of oil from seeds such as canola results in the production of canola meal that is used as a feedstock by the livestock industry.
Biodiesel production can be carried out at scales from a single operator making fuel to meet the fuel needs of a lobster boat, to a local cooperative meeting the needs of several boat owners, to a large regional production plant providing fuel for the whole industry.
To meet the needs of a single boat would require feedstock of about 160 tonne of canola per annum to produce 60,000 litres of biodiesel along with about 96 tonnes of canola meal.  It is estimated that the capital cost for this level of production would be between $30,000 and $70,000.  This increases to $400,000 to $600,000 for a 10 boat consortium and to $16 to $24 million for an industrial plant sufficient to meet the needs of the whole industry.
Canola, the most likely raw material, is produced in the agricultural areas immediately adjacent to the coastal ports used by the rock lobster industry and therefore minimises the transport costs.
 
Technical and economic advantages and disadvantages for biofuel for the industry including appropriate fuel standards and engine warranty issues.

There are no technical disadvantages in the use of biodiesel compared to mineral diesel. Overall biodiesel provides large reductions in tailpipe emissions of total hydrocarbons (HC), Carbon monoxide and particulate matter. There is a slight rise in the undesirable green house gas nitrous oxides.  Biodiesel is also considered to be more biodegradable than mineral diesel and therefore would be less harmful on the marine environment in the event of a fuel spill.
 
Biodiesel is only economic to produce if the cost of production is equal or less than the price of mineral diesel.  The price of mineral diesel in Western Australia benchmarks against Singapore  ‘Gasoil 50 ppm Sulfur diesel’
The three main components impacting on the economics of biodiesel production are the price of canola (or other raw material), the price of canola meal and the Gasoil 50 price all of which vary over time.  A canola price of $600 per tonne and a meal price of $400 per tonne equates to a biodiesel price of about 170 c/l.
For biodiesel to compete with mineral diesel it must conform with the Australian fuel standards.  This is generally easily achieved particularly in the larger industrial plants.
One of the restrictions on the use of biodiesel is risk that it will void the manufacturers warranty on the engine. While some engine manufacturers are changing their attitudes towards biodiesel and their engine warranties it is essential that boatowners fully understand the implications of using biodiesel in their particular engine prior to doing so.
 
Potential business cases, possible business structures and sources of capital for the development of a biofuel industry serving the Western Rock Lobster Industry.

The business case for the production of biodiesel is based on the capital investment required, the technical feasibility of the process and the ongoing cost of production of biodiesel.  The capital investment required for different sized plants is well understood and there is a lot of information available on it.  The production process is also well understood and very feasible at a range of plant sizes.  The third component, the cost of production, will remain the major factor determining the business case and will continue to depend on the relative differences in prices of the raw materials and how they relate to the ongoing price of mineral diesel.  In the period of this project, December 2007 to November 2008 there has been great variation in the price of all three components with a period where biodiesel could compete to a period where it was very uncompetitive.  Continued large movements in the prices of these components will make it extremely difficult to invest in biodiesel production with any degree of certainty.
This project provides a detailed framework that will enable the western rock lobster industry to continually assess the feasibility of substituting biodiesel for mineral diesel into the future.

Project products

Study • 2008-01-01 • 1.78 MB
2007-241-STUDY.pdf

Summary

In 2007, in response to increasing fuel prices the industry representatives requested that the Western Rock Lobster Council investigate the use of biodiesel in the rock lobster industry.

The WRLC commissioned the national independent farming group the Kondinin Group to investigate the feasibility of using biodiesel in the lobster industry.  Kondinin Group was selected as it undertakes similar research on behalf of its members on a wide range of topics.

With financial support from FRDC, this project has now been completed.  This report provides a thorough and comprehensive review of all aspects of the use of biodiesel in our industry, presented in a very clear and simple format.

Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2008-910
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

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)
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