Project number: 2002-236
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $261,534.00
Principal Investigator: John Carragher
Organisation: SARDI Food Safety and Innovation
Project start/end date: 29 Jun 2002 - 1 Aug 2006
Contact:
FRDC
SPECIES

Need

Two factories that process pilchards for bait and human consumption have recently been established in Port Lincoln, however a large proportion of the current harvest is still used to feed caged tuna (Ward et al. 2000; Davidson et al. 2000).

Over the last two years, considerable progress has been made towards the development of a manufactured feed for tuna mariculture. Skretting Australia has obtained successful outcomes from a pilot scale commercial trial. Research is increasingly focussing on matters relating to refinement (improved acceptance, better conversion rates) rather than on the identification of suitable feeds (S. Clarke, SARDI, pers. comm.). Over the next 2-3 years it is expected that the commercial use of artificial diets will increase, with a concomitant decrease in the use of fresh/frozen pilchards. The Tuna Industry has recently discussed bringing a pelleting plant on line in Port Lincoln in 2004/05. Such developments will result in a contraction of the market for South Australian pilchards and may impede further development of the industry.

Future development of the South Australian pilchard industry must involve increased utilisation of inter-state and inter-national markets for recreational bait and human consumption (Ward et al. 2000; Davidson et al. 2000).

As South Australian pilchard fishing grounds are often located 12-24 hours steaming away from local ports (cf 2- 3 hours in WA), the quantity and quality of product supplied to processing factories and markets for bait and human consumption will be largely determined by nature and quality of the at-sea post-harvest handling procedures (Ward et al. 2000; Davidson et al. 2000).

This project will occur in three phases:

Phase 1 (a) An audit of the SA pilchard fleet to assess current practices, quantify on-board processing gear, determine the capacity for improving the latter and assess onshore facilities capacity to process pilchards.
(b) An assessment of the marketing issues as they relate to the capacity of the Industry to develop new processes/products.

Phase 2 Once these are completed, the following will be carried out to optimise the handling procedures used in the South Australian pilchard fishery:
(a) An investigation of the biological and ecological factors that affect the rates of deterioration in pilchard quality in the immediate post-harvest period (i.e. net to processing factory); and
(b) Development of options for alternative handling procedures that optimise pilchard quality and economic return.

To achieve these objectives, information is needed on spatial and temporal variation in the biochemical composition of South Australian pilchards, especially with regard to the lipid:protein ratio and the free fatty acid content. These components are useful indicators of fish condition and the deterioration rate in fish quality during post-harvest handling (Fitz-Gerald and Bremner, 1994, NSC project 6). Knowledge of the taxonomic composition and biochemical characteristics of the gut contents of the South Australian pilchard is needed as these factors have been shown to affect the rates of deterioration of planktivorous pelagic fishes in the immediate post-harvest period (Stenstrom, 1965, Goldberg and Raa, 1980, Dr Bjordal Asmund, Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, pers. comm..; Mr Ian Wells, Seafood Services Australia, unpub. data).

Phase 3
A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the various processing options will have to be undertaken to assess the potential benefit of any changes in gear/practices. In order to do this a financial survey of licence holders, including measures of financial performance for the “average licence holder” will have to be carried out, and measures of economic performance of the fishery derived (i.e. gross value of production (GVP), economic rent, etc). This will be used to develop a model of the fishery linking biological and management parameters (CPUE, days fished, etc.) with the economic characteristics of the fishery. The model will be used to derive a baseline scenario, reflecting existing operator and fisheries management practices which will then be compared with scenarios reflecting the various processing options developed during the study.

Objectives

1. To assess current on-board and on-shore processing practices and equipment used by the SA pilchard fleet and to determine the capacity for improvement.
2. To assess marketing issues as they relate to the capacity of the industry to develop new processes/products
3. To investigate biological and ecological factors that affect rates of deterioration in pilchard quality in the immediate post-harvest period.
4. To examine and compare the effects of at-sea post-harvest handling procedures on the rates of deterioration in pilchard quality.
5. To develop options for alternative handling procedures that optimise pilchard quality and economic return
6. To undertake a Cost-Benefit analysis of the various processing options including any changes in gear requirements and fisheries management requirements.

Final report

ISBN: 0-7308-5348-9
Author: John Carragher

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