43,097 results
SCRC: The Seafood CRC skills audit and articulation into the National Seafood Industry Training Package
Project number:
2010-779
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure:
$0.00
Principal Investigator:
Mark Oliver
Organisation:
Australian Aquaculture Support Services Pty Ltd
Project start/end date:
15 Dec 2010
-
19 Dec 2013
Contact:
FRDC
A crucial obligation of the Seafood CRCs research program is to utilise a suite of extension methods to ensure that results, outcomes, techniques and skills are disseminated to relevant stakeholders of the Australian seafood industry. To have applicable Seafood CRC research outcomes embedded within the Seafood Industry Training Package there will be a highly effective and long term extension strategy. This approach will enhance the capacity of the Seafood CRC in delivering a skills based legacy to the Australian seafood industry.
If this opportunity was not taken and implemented, there is a real risk of not adequately capturing all of the skill sets developed by research agencies and or industry partners over the life of the Seafood CRC. The final consequences of this could be both economic in terms of commercial production efficiencies and also from a human skills base dimension and when considering this holistically it has the potential to weaken our international standing in the global seafood community.
Final report
ISBN:
978-0-9942147-2-0
Author:
Mark Oliver
Final Report
•
2015-01-01
•
859.84 KB
2010-779-DLD.pdf
Farmed Yellowtail Kingfish (YTK) is considered to be a premium quality fish, ideal for sashimi and sushi, dishes comprised of raw fish. To be acceptable for such delicacies the flesh has to be oily, firm and slightly translucent, with a fine creamy texture and a delicate flavour. The price received, and the reputation of the supplier, are largely dependent on the quality of the product produced. Therefore it is of great interest to optimise the production of high quality fish, especially in the increasingly competitive white fish market.
This project sought to investigate several issues relating to commercial harvest practices for Yellowtail Kingfish, with the aim of modifying any aspect to improve product quality and/or harvesting efficiency.
Estimating the impacts of management changes on bycatch reduction and sustainability of high-risk bycatch species in the Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery
Project number:
2015-014
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure:
$249,986.14
Principal Investigator:
Matthew J. Campbell
Organisation:
Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
Project start/end date:
30 Jun 2015
-
29 Jun 2017
Contact:
FRDC
SPECIES
This project addresses aspects of Priority 8 of the Environment Program as outlined in the FRDC’s 2015 Competitive Round Call for Expressions of Interest. Specifically, the project will measure the improvement in bycatch reduction that has occurred in the Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery and how these reductions have been achieved. Effort has decreased over time and BRDs and TEDs were mandated in the QECOTF in the early 2000’s. These and other management changes have likely led to significant decreases in the amount of bycatch generated by the QECOTF. There is a need, therefore, to quantify this decrease and extend the results to stakeholders. Further, through these results, the trawl industry is better able to demonstrate that its impact on bycatch species has significantly decreased over time, with resultant positive outcomes regarding the ecological impact of the fishery. These results will contribute directly to the assessment of the fishery for the Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report process and World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) approval process.
Despite improvements in bycatch management, the sustainability of trawl bycatch species remains a significant issue for some stakeholders and the community. For example, sharks and rays exhibit low fecundity and, due to their biology, are susceptible to capture by trawls, resulting in concerns regarding their sustainability - the impact of trawling on high risk species including skates and rays was recently highlighted by an Ecological Risk Assessment conducted by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Goals of fisheries management include maintaining ecosystem structure, conserving biodiversity and supporting sustainable fisheries. This applies to both target and bycatch species. To achieve the key management goals for bycatch, it is essential to estimate the fishing-induced mortality of bycatch species, particularly those identified as being at significant risk, and ensure this impact is within the species’ intrinsic capability to withstand. This project will contribute to the sustainability for bycatch species with particular focus on potentially high risk species identified in previous research.
1. Quantify the survival of elasmobranchs (i.e., sharks and rays) that are caught incidentally in Queensland prawn trawl nets and discarded
2. Quantify reductions in bycatch over the last 20-30 years in the Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery and describe how these have come about e.g. fleet reduction, gear technology
3. Assess the risk that trawling poses to the sustainability of high-risk bycatch species, including elasmobranchs, from the Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery
Final report
ISBN:
978 0 7345 0455 5
Author:
Matthew Campbell
Final Report
•
2017-11-30
•
8.34 MB
2015-014-DLD.pdf
Keywords: Discards, elasmobranchs, post-trawl survival, Aptychotrema rostrata, Trygonoptera testacea, turtle excluder device, bycatch reduction device, TEDs, BRDs, ecological risk assessment, ERA
Executive Summary: Researchers from the Queensland Government’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) have assessed aspects of the environmental impacts of Australia’s largest trawl fishery, the Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery (QECOTF). A suite of management measures implemented in 2001 have resulted in a reduction in discards from a peak of 87,175 tonnes in 1997 to 25,271 in 2014, or 71%. This reduction was measured using quantitative methods based on catch, fishing effort and swept area. The risk posed to elasmobranchs from trawling operations south of the Great Barrier Marine Park was also assessed using a quantitative method known as Sustainability Assessment for Fishing Effects (SAFE). Of the 47 species assessed, one, the Piked Spurdog, was found to be at high risk. A further six species were found to be at medium risk, with the remainder at low risk. These findings satisfy environmental constraints placed on the QECOTF by the Federal Government, allowing fishers to access fishing grounds within the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Fishers are also able to continue accessing lucrative overseas markets, increasing the profitability of the fishery.
Seafood CRC: preliminary investigation of internationally recognised Responsible Fisheries Management Certification
Project number:
2012-746
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure:
$263,330.00
Principal Investigator:
Sevaly Sen
Organisation:
Sydney Fish Market Pty Ltd
Project start/end date:
30 Nov 2012
-
31 May 2014
Contact:
FRDC
Sydney Fish Market, along with the many wholesalers and cooperatives that trade in Australian seafood, is constantly having its product supply eroded due to increasing restrictions on commercial fishing operations. Over the last 10 years the introduction of recreational fishing havens and State and
Commonwealth marine parks, such as the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, has resulted in access to Australian wild caught seafood being constantly under threat. There is a strong belief that this is due to a popular perception that fisheries are not being sustainably managed and therefore require additional
protection.
With the environmental and fisheries management controls in place through the EPBC Act and Commonwealth and State fisheries management legislation, the industry view is that fisheries are well managed and sustainable.
Environmental NGOs’ public campaigns are causing considerable pressure for change in Australia. This has led to extensive negative media coverage about the industry and consequently increased the risk of further closures to fisheries through the erosion of community and political support. This
negative media is also putting businesses along the supply chain like SFM, on the defensive regarding sustainability of the seafood that they sell.
1. To evaluate the applicability and benefits of the Global Trust FAO based RFM Performance Criteria in an Australian fisheries management context.
2. To explore options for the development of a certification mark and make recommendations for its appropriate ownership structure, so that this can be used to demonstrate to the public (and other stakeholders) the status of fisheries against this Certification Program
Final report
ISBN:
978-0-9804231-4-3
Author:
Sevaly Sen
Final Report
•
2015-11-01
•
2.25 MB
2012-746-DLD.pdf
The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and FAO Guidelines for the Eco-labelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries represent internationally negotiated documents that represent consensus on the criteria for responsibly managed fisheries. These ‘tools’ form the basis of a number of private standards that are used for the certification of fisheries; including Marine Stewardship Council, Alaska FAO Based Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification and Iceland Responsible Fisheries Management Certification.
This project investigated the feasibility of an FAO Based RFM Certification for Australia by testing on two NSW fisheries using the Conformance Criteria Version 1.2 which has been used in Alaska RFM fisheries certification.
The first phase of the project was a general desk top review of the consistency of Australian and Commonwealth fisheries management systems against the Conformance Criteria. As anticipated, the review demonstrated that there were no fundamental reasons why Australian fisheries management could not utilise FAO criteria as a basis for fisheries certification. The next step was to assess whether the Conformance Criteria were applicable at the fishery-level.
Compatibility assessment studies were carried out on two NSW fisheries which displayed varying degrees of complexity (species, gears, locations) in order to test the extremities of the FAO Based Conformance Criteria. The studies centred on testing how suitable both the FAO Based Conformance Criteria and the current accredited assessment procedures were for use for the assessment of Australian State fisheries.
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