Development of a national approach to seafood quality (SeaQual Australia)
Final report
SeaQual was established in December 1995, as a joint initiative of the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, the Commonwealth Department of Primary Industries and Energy (now Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Australia) and the Australian Seafood Industry Council. SeaQual was located in the Canberra offices of the Australian Seafood Industry Council and overall strategic direction of the project was provided by a broad industry based Steering Committee.
This report outlines the results achieved in the pursuit of SeaOual's objectives. Originally a four year program, SeaQual achieved all its milestones, and more, in only three years with significantly less resources than anticipated.
Several recommendations are made in relation to the operation of industry-government partnerships and the need to establish and maintain levels of resources and commitment. The need to establish and promote industry development activities early and to clarify expectations of all stakeholders are also identified as critical success factors for future projects.
SeaQual was established with an information and capacity building role, and released several innovative products and publications over the three years.
Project products
Identifying and synthesizing key messages from projects funded by the FRDC Indigenous Reference Group
Inventory and assessment of Australian estuaries
Most of the impacts on estuaries result from the land use pattern of their contributing catchments. Understanding the trend and condition of Australia’s estuaries will do much to provide a report card of the aggregate impact of our land use activities across catchments on the natural environment as well as providing a framework for more strategic estuary management.
Estuaries are the subject of systemic failure – for example, the estuary based oyster industry in NSW and southern Queensland has reduced in value in the last 3 years from $50M to $30M – most of which is related to impacts of land use.
Estuaries are key landscapes for recreational use and commercial use, with many fish and prawn species using estuaries for nursery and sometimes maturation phases of their lifecycles. Estuaries are greatly impacted upon by our growing population – with predictions that the next 5M people in Australia will virtually all live around estuaries.
Given the widespread nature of the problem, there is a need to take a national overview of the state of estuaries and identify mechanisms for restoring their health.