Project number: 2021-089
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $292,985.00
Principal Investigator: Veronica Papacosta
Organisation: Seafood Industry Australia (SIA)
Project start/end date: 30 Jan 2022 - 29 Sep 2022
Contact:
FRDC

Need

The need for this project is to activate and engage industry in viable options towards climate resilience by 2030. This includes the need to demonstrate that immediate options exist and are viable and meaningful, while also gaining support for a clear plan to transform the industry and supply chain with support both internally and beyond the sector. The key needs are:

01 | Industry awareness of the problems and solutions around climate change and resilience is below where it needs to be to activate broad transformation. There is little action towards climate resilience (1 player) in comparison to other agricultural sectors.

02 | There will be increasing competition within the protein market to validate and promote sustainable practices and positive contributions to the environment/climate.

03 | Leaders and innovators in the industry are attempting to act in isolation with few resources to support industry and supply chain coordination and acceleration.

04 | Change around the edges that can be achieved by some stakeholders operating alone will not deliver the transformation at a scale or pace that is required to meet growing and broadly felt consumer expectations that indicate demonstrable action on climate change.

05 | There is a surplus of tools, resources and research around climate change and resilience, but to this point, little of that work has been translated into forms fishers find usable and valuable.

06 | There is a need to identify early adopters and innovators in the space to lead new ways operating into the future.

07 | There is an FRDC funded project to undertake a Lifecycle Assessment being concluded early November. This work has been preliminarily identified fuel, transport, and refrigeration as key challenges requiring new solutions/opportunities for industry.

08 | Propulsion and fuel have been identified as key challenges in wild catch fisheries achieving climate resilience and reducing carbon emissions, and will be the focus of this project.

Objectives

1. To understand challenges facing the commercial wild-harvest sector relating to a changing climate
2. To determine opportunities to respond to those challenges, and validate solutions
3. To engage with industry leaders and innovators to explore and validate viable, feasible and scalable options towards climate resilience
4. To demonstrate rapid and practical progress towards climate resilience and elements of SIA’s Our Pledge
5. To build partnerships and relationships with global leaders to enable advancement of prioritised solutions that will enable improved climate resilience

Final report

Authors: Veronica Papacosta Clayton Nelson Tom Cosentino Allen Haroutonian Angus McDonald
Final Report • 2023-12-12 • 8.11 MB
2021-089-DLD.pdf

Summary

This report outlines the impending need for the fishing industry to reduce GHG emissions by 2030. Over 8 months, the project evaluated alternative fuels' potential to cut emissions, recognising challenges in regulatory stimulus and incomplete research. Among numerous options, certain solutions emerged, while others like ammonia and liquid hydrogen faced constraints. The analysis prioritised solutions based on maturity and industry suitability. Economic assessments underscored the significance of fuel prices in shaping viability. The report introduces the "energy transition paradox," emphasising incremental positive steps toward change. Scenarios and roadmaps were crafted, identifying renewable diesel and battery/electric outboards as short-term solutions, while green methanol and emissions capture show promise for the medium term.

Related research

Environment
Blank
Industry