4,571 results
PROJECT NUMBER
•
2018-086
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED
Assessment of the capability of Shrimp MultiPath White Spot virus tests: A multiplexed screening platform for pathogen diagnostics in prawns
This report summarises the development and performance assessment of novel PCR based assays to monitor and detect the microsporidian Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) in Penaeid shrimp samples using a cost-effective and high-throughput approach.
The original Project objective was to...
ORGANISATION:
Genics Pty Ltd
PROJECT NUMBER
•
2017-023
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED
ESD risk assessment for under-utilised species to facilitate structural reform of South Australia's commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery
South Australia’s Marine Scalefish Fishery (MSF) is facing a number of complex issues that are affecting business profitability and stock sustainability. One particular issue relates to the long-term reliance of the fishery on the three primary finfish species of King George Whiting, Snapper...
ORGANISATION:
SARDI Food Safety and Innovation
PROJECT NUMBER
•
2019-078
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED
Fishing for change: A social marketing approach to reduce the recreational harvest of Snapper and Pearl Perch in Queensland
The ‘Fishing for Change’ project used a social marketing approach that engaged stakeholders to codesign, implement and evaluate solutions to voluntarily change people’s recreational fishing behaviour.
ORGANISATION:
Currie Communications
SPECIES
Identifying population connectivity of shark bycatch species in NT waters
Project number:
2020-036
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure:
$66,430.00
Principal Investigator:
Sam Banks
Organisation:
Charles Darwin University (CDU)
Project start/end date:
3 Dec 2020
-
9 Dec 2021
Contact:
FRDC
This project is needed for three main reasons:
1. It directly addresses a NT RAC priority in the 2019 call for funding applications relating to improving sustainable yield estimates to inform stock assessment programs for undefined target species and protected species in the Offshore Net and Line Fishery. The project will support sustainable fishing practices for important commercial fisheries in the NT and the development of new commercial opportunities within these fisheries: The impacts of fishery activities on these species, either through bycatch or targeted harvest, are difficult to assess in the absence of information on population connectivity and stock structure.
2. The project will develop capacity for fisheries research and monitoring in NT waters. Genetics methods are widely applied to fisheries research and monitoring and training of an early career fisheries scientist in the application and interpretation of genetic data will be a key outcome of this project.
3. The project will provide key information to support the transition of these species from bycatch to a harvested byproduct species, including an evaluation of leading-edge genetic techniques in fisheries assessment and monitoring.
1. To develop population connectivity model for Whitecheek and Milk Shark
2. To develop capacity for research and monitoring of shark species within the Northern Territory
3. To evaluate the utility of genetic techniques in fisheries monitoring
Final report
ISBN:
978-1-922684-78-3 (Print), 978-1-922684-79-0 (Web)
Authors:
Sam Banks
Amy Kirke
Fernanda Alves
Grant Johnson and David Crook
Final Report
•
2024-10-01
•
1.08 MB
2020-036-DLD.pdf
Charles Darwin University and the Northern Territory (NT) Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade (DITT) Fisheries Division used genetic data to investigate the population structure of two small tropical shark species (Milk Shark [Rhizoprionodon acutus] and Australian Blackspot Shark [Carcharhinus coatesi]), which are caught as bycatch from commercial fisheries in the NT.
The aim of this study was to gain information on the genetic stock structure to inform the future management of these two species in the NT. This project was conducted in parallel with a PhD project investigating the biology and ecology of both species for applications to fisheries management. There is motivation by the NT Government to develop these two shark species into a commercial product. This project used genetic analysis to understand the patterns of connectivity of populations of these two shark species in NT waters and adjacent regions, including northern Western Australia and Papua New Guinea.
These two shark species that are captured as bycatch in the NT Demersal Fishery have the potential to be developed into a byproduct to add value to that fishery. A sustainable commercial harvest of these two species could greatly reduce the waste from fisheries, where they are currently abundant and caught in relatively large numbers. We address current knowledge gaps in biological information about populations of R. acutus and C. coatesi to inform the potential development of a byproduct fishery for these two species in the NT.
Genetic data from R. acutus and C. coatesi strongly suggest that each species exists as a single, highly connected population in the NT. Genetic differentiation among the sampling locations for each species was low, and genetic clustering analyses provided strong support for a single population of each species in the region. Sharks of both species captured within a single location (within 50 km of one another) were more genetically related than those further apart; however, this does not constitute evidence for multiple, spatially discrete populations of either species in NT waters. Preliminary applications of effective population size estimators were used, but further work is needed to determine if these can be used to indicate trends in abundance.
The immediate implications of our research are for fisheries scientists and managers. Our results indicate that these two shark species can be monitored and managed in the NT under the assumption that each species occurs as a single population in this region. Parasite and vertebral chemistry data collected as part of a PhD project conducted in parallel with this project suggest that, for C. coatesi, individuals may be resident within certain regions (eastern versus western NT waters) but the genetic data collected here suggest that, on a generational timescale, both species occur as highly-connected populations across in the NT region.
Our research has potential implications for commercial fishers, particularly from the NT Demersal Fishery. The information from our research will flow through to the industry by contributing to the information required to develop a byproduct fishery for the two species, by utilising bycatch and increasing economic return.
A market research-driven and co-management approach to developing an industry strategy for the SA Charter Boat Fishery
Project number:
2018-154
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure:
$32,840.00
Principal Investigator:
Julian Morison
Organisation:
BDO EconSearch
Project start/end date:
10 Jan 2019
-
29 Jun 2019
Contact:
FRDC
Industry has highlighted a need to address this declining trend through accessing new opportunities.
While the fishery is a commercial operation offering a recreational fishing platform, it is not explicitly accounted for in the process of assessing recreational or commercial fishery performance.
The need to better understand the needs and wants of the fishery’s client group (recreational fishers) and the capacity of the charter fleet to meet this demand is critical to addressing the continued decline in participation and fishery profitability.
Addressing the reasons for the ongoing decline is important if the industry is to improve its economic performance. The fishery has capacity within its resource shares for growth for a wide range of species including key species such as Snapper and King George whiting.
Notwithstanding this, there is also a need to explore and develop broader experiences for clients on charter operations other than fishing.
Evidence that the project has industry ownership and this application is strongly supported can be found in the attached letter of support from the Surveyed Charter Boat Owners & Operators Association of South Australia (SCBOOASA).
1. Conduct a target analysis on clients who have taken a fishing charter in each area incorporating satisfaction levels, total expenditure levels and suggestions for improvements and new experiences.
2. Quantify the economic impact of the industry to different regions based on client expenditure levels
3. Identify client characteristics and attitudes to help enable the industry to understand what is important to their existing clients, boost satisfaction levels, reach more clients and expand the market
4. Assess the current capacity, willingness and desire of the charter boat fishery to meet existing and projected demand, both qualitative and quantitative.
Final report
ISBN:
978-0-646-81132-1
Author:
Action Market Research
Hudson Howells
BDO EconSearch
Final Report
•
2019-10-30
•
3.75 MB
2018-154-DLD.pdf
This project investigated the South Australian Charter Boat Fishery by conducting analyses to identify potential actions for growth to counter the declining level of activity and profitability in the industry.
The SA Charter industry has shown declining in trends in economic returns and participation, highlighted a need to address these declines through accessing new opportunities. To do this a targeted analysis was conducted on potential, current and lapsed Charter Boat clients incorporating satisfaction levels, total expenditure levels and suggestions for improvements and new experiences.
Seafood CRC: innovation in traceability for the Australian seafood industry” Austral Fisheries/Northern Prawn fishery case study
Project number:
2012-702
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure:
$75,323.77
Principal Investigator:
Janet Howieson
Organisation:
Curtin University
Project start/end date:
31 May 2012
-
29 Mar 2014
Contact:
FRDC
SPECIES
Austral fisheries have identified the need for establishing the efficacy and efficiency of establishing an electronic traceability system for their seafood products. An ideal system would also provide real time monitoring of temperature and location from point of harvest to retail sale and enable electronic access at purchase by the supermarket customer to provide product information.
The advantages would include
1. Unequivocal identification of lots and batches to vastly improve the tracking and accounting for prawns through the various stages of handling and dispatch through transport and retail sale.
2. Facilitation of certainty and location of product streams, ensuring logical movement of consignments in correct order to meet appropriate market requirements, confidence in stock control, and elimination of transcription and readability errors with consequent efficiencies and reductions in manpower.
3. Faster and more cost effectively identify product of concern at retail by boat or date of harvest. Reduction in product loss for both the producer and end-user and simplification of recalls are expected outcomes.
4. As more fisheries are moving to MSC so chain of custody certification is a critical part of gaining accreditation and this will facilitate that process. It would also assist in meeting ever increasing legislative and/or market standards for traceability in both domestic and export markets.
5. The ability to monitor time, temperature and location of individual cartons from harvest to retail sale would enable identification/validation of cool chain issues through the chain, possibly resulting in an improvement in product quality.
6. The ability for the consumer to, at purchase, access information on the source of their purchase, along with photos, recipes, and other information, will assist to build value in the Australia Fisheries brand. Such transparency and easy access to information may also have wider implications in improving the community perceptions of seafood.
1. Identify, establish and evaluate an innovative, electronic traceability system for Austral seafood products
2. Characterize the choices, issues and opportunities around implementation of innovative traceability systems for Australian seafood
Final report
ISBN:
978-0-9925568-1-5
Authors:
Janet Howieson
Barbara Bell
David Carter
Lesley Leyland
Dr Allan Bremner
Ewan Colquhoun
Final Report
•
2015-03-01
•
1.36 MB
2012-702-DLD.pdf
Austral fisheries have identified the need for establishing the efficacy and efficiency of establishing an electronic traceability system for their seafood products. An ideal system would also provide real time monitoring of temperature and location from point of harvest to retail sale and enable electronic access at purchase by the supermarket customer to provide product information.
As reported in the 2007 CRC report ‘Review of Traceability and Product Sensor Technologies relevant to the Seafood Industry’ two major factors compel the need for food traceability; consumer safety and brand protection. These factors are relevant to two separate stakeholders in seafood supply chains, the consumer and the primary producers. In regards to consumer safety consumers need to be assured of the safety of a product, of its origins, that it was made by approved procedures, that it consists of appropriate ingredients and that the food is true to label. The general increase in interest in the environment, climate change, animal welfare, sustainability, organic production and ecology means that there is growing public awareness about the source of seafood and whether it meets these requirements. From the producer’s point of view the prime concern must be protection of their brand because the loss of consumer and buyer confidence in their product can result in far reaching consequences.
In Australia’s seafood industry, paper traceability systems are the norm in most of the catching and harvesting sectors, despite the fact that the catch sector uses many sophisticated electronic instruments and devices in their operations and that electronic communications and computer use are wide spread on board, dockside and in processors. Whilst paper based systems can work, they are inherently inefficient and offer no scope for improvement. There is now a whole suite of non-paper based traceability systems that could be applicable to the Australian seafood industry. However a case study is required to identify the most relevant technologies, and implement and evaluate the traceability system, hence enabling informed decision making around costs and benefits by other sectors of the industry.
Therefore, this project aimed to:
- Identify, establish and evaluate an innovative, electronic traceability system for Austral seafood products
- Characterise the choices, issues and opportunities around implementation of innovative traceability systems for Australian seafood
Monitoring and mitigating interactions between small pelagic fisheries and dolphins: literature review and analysis of fishery data
Project number:
2020-049
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure:
$60,000.00
Principal Investigator:
Roger J. Kirkwood
Organisation:
University of Adelaide
Project start/end date:
30 Jun 2020
-
16 Dec 2020
Contact:
FRDC
SPECIES
To meet community expectations, address legislative obligations and fulfil specifications of the Wildlife CoP, the SASF needs to take all reasonable steps to prevent interactions with dolphins.
A comprehensive review of methods used to mitigate interactions with dolphins in purse-seine fisheries worldwide needs to be conducted to ensure that future strategies developed for the SASF are consistent with world's best practice. The review is critical because demonstrating that strategies for mitigating interactions with dolpins are consistent with world's best practice is a specific requirement of the Commonwealth Environment Protection
and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
A structured data collection program needs to be established to obtain robust scientific information from industry trials of acoustic deterrants coducted in 2020. This analysis is needed to identify devices that may work and could tests in experimental trails.
1. Undertake a comprehensive literature review of methods used to monitor and mitigate interactions between small pelagic fisheries and dolphins
2. Analyse data from industry trials to identify acoustic devices and deployment strategies that mitigate interactions with dolphins
Final report
ISBN:
978-1-876007-44-7
Authors:
Tim M. Ward
India Attwood-Henderson and Roger Kirkwood
Final Report
•
616.96 KB
2020-049-DLD.pdf
This review compares approaches taken to monitor and mitigate common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) interactions with the South Australian Sardine Fishery (SASF) with those taken for protected species interactions with other fisheries for small pelagic species, including Australia’s Commonwealth Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF). The review informs ongoing refinement of approaches in the SASF to reduce encirclement and mortality rates of Common Dolphins and supports the SASF’s commitment to a “continuous process of review and improvement”. Ongoing refinement is a key element of the fishery’s Code of Practice (CoP) for mitigating interactions with wildlife (SASIA 2021).
This study was also needed to ensure that approaches taken in the SASF are “reviewed with consideration to international standards for mitigating interactions with marine mammals” (Commonwealth of Australia 2016), which is a requirement of the accreditation of the management regime for the SASF under Part 13 of the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Validating a defensible and robust method for data collection, species composition and reporting the harvest of protected coral species from the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area
Project number:
2016-051
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure:
$24,000.00
Principal Investigator:
Ryan J. Donnelly
Organisation:
Pro-vision Reef Inc
Project start/end date:
30 Sep 2016
-
29 Apr 2017
Contact:
FRDC
The Queensland Coral Fishery (QCF) operates within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. It operates under quota within a Total Allowable Catch (TAC). Catch is recorded in two categories. “Specialty Coral” and “Other Coral”. Specialty Coral quota constrains the collection of CITES corals to sustainable levels.
Globally regarded as one of the best managed coral fisheries, social acceptability of wild-harvest aquarium fisheries constantly challenges the existence of the QCF. This challenge is partway met by ensuring catch reporting in the QCF sets global standards for accuracy and transparency. Major reforms introduced to catch reporting in 2016 for the QCF raise these standards further. The reporting reforms will underpin assessments of ecological risk and environmental performance, the CITES non-detriment finding, and to maintain national and international market access.
The new measures now require the reporting of total actual weights for CITES corals, however it does not account for the weight of substrate attached to the actual coral when collected, which is typically removed after landing. Industry successfully advocated that trimmed substrate should not be allocated to Specialty Coral quota and that 25% of the weight should be allocated to Other Coral. This allows the true value and accurate weight of Specialty Coral quota to be realized and the total weight accounted for in the TAC. However the 25% figure is based solely on industry experience and requires independent validation. To ensure reporting is both accurate and has potential application to other fisheries, validating the quantum of trimmed substrate is critical. This project will provide this validation.
It is important that the proportion of trimmed substrate is validated through an independent scientific study for the following reasons:
• Continued social acceptance of the QCF.
• Fisheries Queensland, and the Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Energy require that the trimmed substrate proportion is based on independent scientific data.
• The proportion must be fairly applied to all QCF collectors for quota equity purposes (ie. it represents the current fishery and is not unfairly biased to any individual or region).
1. Determine a statistically robust sample size
2. Determine the geographical pattern of port unloads in the Queensland Coral Fishery from the most recently completed quota year
3. Determine the proportion of samples to be undertaken in various ports such that the sample is representative of collection in the fishery
4. Determine the trimmed substrate percentage of the total weight of the Specialty Coral component of the unload, as it was reported to Fisheries Queensland
5. Determine the average percentage across all samples
6. Submit final report by 30 April 2017
Final report
ISBN:
978-0-646-97821-5
Author:
Morgan S Pratchett
Final Report
•
2017-05-30
•
1.15 MB
2016-051-DLD.pdf
Keywords: Queensland Coral Fishery (QCF), Specialty Coral, Scleractinia, offcut concession, coral weight
Executive Summary: Catch reporting in the Queensland Coral Fishery (QCF) has recently undergone reforms to increase data resolution and accuracy for improved management of the fishery. Importantly, this study seeks to rigorously estimate that amount of non-living substrate that is removed from corals. Industry successfully advocated that trimmed substrate should not be allocated to Specialty Coral quota and that 25.0% of the weight should be allocated to Other Coral. This allows the true value and accurate weight of Specialty Coral quota to be realized and the total weight accounted for in the TAC. However the 25.0% figure is based solely on industry experience and requires independent validation.
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