Determining survival times of blue swimmer crab using conventional live packing techniques
Identifying nursery areas used by inner bay and oceanic snapper stocks in the Shark Bay region, in relation to the effect of prawn trawling on inner bay snapper stocks
Aquatic Animal Health Subprogram: aquatic animal health emergency management training and incident simulation
The South Australian seafood industry is possibly the fastest growth industry in the State having climbed rapidly to a position of the State’s 5th largest export industry with a production value of almost $650 million. The entire seafood industry has doubled in size every two and a half years since 1994 and is expected to break the $2 Billion barrier before 2010. The strongest growth has been recorded in the aquaculture sector of the seafood industry which is now nearing $400 million worth of annual value.
The aquaculture industry is made up of land based and marine based operators. The largest South Australian sectors are all marine-based with tuna, oysters and marine finfish all strongly performing. The relatively new mussel industry is currently in a major expansion phase. The most significant land based industry is abalone.
The aquaculture industry in South Australia has expanded considerably over the past twelve months, however there are little or no available disease emergency management plans or training courses for this industry. With further rapid expansion planned for the marine finfish industry, the tonnages of farmed fish will rise very rapidly over the next eight to ten years. There are currently approximately 3000 tonnes of fish currently in the water (non tuna) and this figure is expected to rise to some 10,000 tonnes by 2010. Research priorities have centred on the reproduction and grow-out of new species and have often overlooked the threat of specific disease(s) until they occur.
It is imperative for the successful management of aquatic animal health issues that an immediate, proactive approach be adopted. A continuing reactive stance towards disease management is hazardous, causing high risk to both the industry and the environment, and greater exposure to negative public sentiment, let alone the potential scale of the economic loss.
The aquaculture industry has made serious attempts to train as many personnel as possible and for the past two years the two principal training providers, the Australian Fisheries Academy and the Spencer Institute of TAFE have been training record numbers of personnel.
Seafood Training SA is the industry’s peak body on all training and development support matters. The organisation is the only seafood body in the State that has representation from all industry sectors and peak bodies as well as relevant Government agencies and undertakes detailed research on industry training needs.
Following a series of discussions with sector bodies last year, it was identified that the industry lacked relevant training in emergency management procedures for aquatic animal health. Whilst basic training in aquatic animal health and emergency procedures forms part of the new Seafood Industry Training Package, a large number of both employers and employees have no formal training or access to materials that meet their specific needs.
There is currently an urgent need to develop a number of structured Aquatic Animal Health Emergency Procedures Manual and accompanying training workshop(s) specifically for the each of the State’s burgeoning aquaculture industry sectors and ensure that all staff from farm hand operatives through to farm managers are conversant with the procedures.
Final report
Aquatic Animal Health Subprogram: crayfish plague disease strategy manual
Keeping Australia free of Crayfish Plague relies on quarantine restrictions recommended by the OIE which prohibits the importation of live crayfish from countries where the disease is either reported or its presence cannot be ruled out. However, in Europe where this strategy is also carried out, attempts to protect native stocks from Crayfish Plague by banning the importation of crayfish have been unsuccessful. Although quarantine protocols have so far excluded the disease agent from Australia, it is vital that an eradication and control strategy is in place in the event of a diagnosis of the disease.
This application seeks to provide the Australian freshwater crayfish industry with an efficient and successful eradication and control strategy for Crayfish Plague that can be immediately applied should a disease incursion occur. The strategy would be based on the experience of other countries affected by the disease, and current and applicable scientific evidence. Detailed knowledge of affected industries, the region and habitat, diagnostic laboratories and current methods is required and the strategy would be developed in consultation with stakeholder groups. The Crayfish Plague disease strategy manual would form part of the AQUAVETPLAN requirements for management of disease incursions as identified by the government under the Emergency Response Management Plan for aquatic diseases.
Final report
Crayfish plague is a serious disease of freshwater crayfish in Europe. The infectious agent, Aphanomyces astaci, is an Oomycete that produces hyphae and zoospores and is similar to a fungus. Studies have shown that Australian freshwater crayfish are susceptible to the disease but the disease has never been diagnosed in Australia.
The production of a crayfish plague disease strategy manual was prioritised for funding as part of the Emergency Management Planning Program of the Federal Budget Initiative 'Building a National Approach to Animal and Plant Health'. The project was administered by the Aquatic Animal Health Subprogram of the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. The manual was developed with extensive consultation with key industry and government groups, including public meetings in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.