SARDI Food Safety has strong microbiological capability, but limited technical capability in relation to chemical residues and additives, or naturally occurring toxins which require specialist knowledge.
The incumbent is therefore expected to provide additional specialist input to existing projects, including:
1) Market Access Defenders (Prawns) - provide input into risk:benefit assessment in relation to Cadmium in Prawns
2) Market Access for Abalone - Marine Biotoxins - application of analytical skills to laboratory results from the monitoring programme
3) Sulphites in Abalone - provide technical expertise to assist with the risk assessment
4) Provision of technical advice in the area of toxicology/chemistry to SafeFish to assist in resolution of technical trade issues.
The incumbent will be expected to work closely with the AS CRC industry participants to develop a research projects in the area of chemical residues and natural toxins. Given current industry priorities concerning the development of marine conservation parks, initial consideration will be given to the development of a project to 'map' Australia's marine environment with respect to chemical contaminants and this information would then be available for industry use in the 'marine park' debate.
This project has been developed to address the following needs:
• Non- scientific people in the seafood industry need to have concise and clear guidance on how to assess shelf-life and quality of new products and advice on selection of packaging options
• Foodborne pathogens currently considered to be of low risk in seafood products may become a high risk in new product types, these need to be clearly identified within appropriate guidelines so that industry can ensure product safety.
• Current CRC projects have focused on the development of new product types and assessment of product shelf-life. This project will utilise knowledge gained in these projects and increase the uptake of current CRC outputs
• There is a need to reduce costs of unnecessary tests for new products
This project aimed to assist the seafood industry with sound practical advice on the assessments of food safety and quality aspects of new packaged seafood products in a concise and clear format.
Seafood processing and packaging techniques such as modified atmosphere packaging and vacuum packaging have been utilised by the seafood industry to extend product shelf-life, assist in meeting the demand for quality and safe products by consumers and create new market access. However, these techniques can support the growth of certain pathogens that were previously considered to be of low risk. Furthermore, feedback received during discussions with national and local seafood processors suggest the seafood industry has difficulties with assessing food safety and quality attributes of newly developed products.
There is a need for this work at several levels.
Firstly it is imperative that the CRC is accountable for its expenditure and is able to measure any benefits derived against the triple bottom line. This involves collection of data at a macro level and estimating the impact of the CRC reserach on whole industry sectors.
Secondly, at a project level, there is a need to evalaute the impact of projects as they are completed to determine their effectiveness and efficiency. These studies will also provide data for the first need.
Thirdly there will be a need to analyse some project proposals to determine their potential return on investmenst, to assist in the project selection process.
There is a need to investigate to what extent Seafood CRC research outcomes (as a moderating variable) have affected the performance achieved by Seafood CRC industry partners through resource and capability development which enables a business to realise economic value and a sustainable competitive advantage.
Primary drivers for National reporting of the Status of Australian Fish Stocks include:
(1) key finding of the State of the Environment Report 2011 (Report to the Environment Minister by independent expert committee): ‘lack of a nationally integrated approach inhibits effective marine management’
(2) a recommendation of the House of Representatives Inquiry into the Role of Science for Fisheries and Aquaculture (Netting the Benefits Report 2012): ‘producing national status report regularly’
(3) the Australian Fisheries Management Forum (AFMF) national statement of intent (to provide fishing and aquaculture stakeholders with an understanding of management and policy directions that fisheries agencies will work towards over the next few years): Goal 1 of the statement of intent is ‘Australia's fisheries and aquaculture industries are managed, and acknowledged to be ecologically sustainable’; A key focus area is promoting community awareness and understanding of fisheries and aquaculture management and the ecological status of Australia’s fish resources; A key outcome of this goal is the National Status of Australian Fish Stocks Report.
(4) the National Fishing and Aquaculture Strategy 2015–20 (which documents six goals aligned with the food security section of The National Marine Science Plan 2015–2025: Driving the development of Australia’s blue economy): Goal 1 of this strategy is ‘Australia’s fisheries and aquaculture sectors are well managed, and acknowledged to be ecologically sustainable’; The success of this goal will be measured by (i) Improved understanding of community perceptions of the acceptability of fishing and aquaculture in Australia’, and (ii) Increased number of fisheries assessed as environmentally sustainable in the Status of Australian Fish Stocks Reports. This includes reducing the number of stocks assessed as uncertain.
(5) the FRDC RD&E Plan 2015–20: National priority one focuses on ‘Ensuring that Australian fishing and aquaculture products are sustainable and acknowledged to be so’.
At this point in time, it is important to determine if SAFS is meeting is objectives, hence the need for an independent audit.
Annual Reporting
FRDC needs to report the results of its impact assessments in its annual reporting to the Australian Government and other stakeholders. Hence, an impact assessment report based on completed projects is required by 30th June each year for the next five years. The first project assessments will refer to projects completed in the year ending 30th June 2016 and this first draft assessment report is required by 30th June 2017.
Reporting against the FRDC RD&E Plan 2015-2020 and the Evaluation Framework Associated with the SFA
The annual impact assessment reports will enable reporting against the current FRDC RD&E Plan, commencing with projects completed in the years ending 30th June 2016 and extending to those completed in the years ending June 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. The annual assessment reports are likely to be used for populating part of the Evaluation Framework required in the 2019 SFA reporting.
CRRDC Reporting
Economic analysis is required to provide impact assessments from RDC investments across the 15 RDCs. Each RDC is contributing to this effort within a standard set of guidelines and a standard reporting framework. Valuation of these impacts, along with identification of investment expenditure, is required to demonstrate the RDCs contribution to Australian primary industry as well as any environmental and social benefits to Australia.
Consumer research and sales data analysis needs to be acquired and reviewed alongside Love Australian Prawns campaign strategies. The information is required as part of monitoring and evaluation, which is an RD&E activity, as set out in the initial campaign. This information then needs to be reviewed against past LAP outputs and proposed future activities in advance of commissioning work for Year 5. This review could also advise likely fit with a proposed national seafood marketing campaign and the lifespan of the Love Australian Prawns campaign.
LAP contributors are looking to verify their return on investment in LAP. New contributors, such as NSW, Qld and Vic also require this information as they decide to invest.
This proposal also flags activities that the LAP Committee propose meet R,D & E criteria rather than Marketing. These were proposed in September 2016 and LAP interest confirmed following the review of LAP.
Having commissioned Brand Council to review Love Australian Prawns (LAP) strategy and outputs and the University of Sunshine Coast to compare LAP consumer perception and awareness to previous years, the Australian Council of Prawn Fisheries Ltd (ACPF) and the Australian Prawn Farmers’ Association (APFA) have ascertained that LAP is achieving its original objectives. 1 in 5 Australians now recognize the LAP logo: this sort of awareness usually only achieved via TV campaigns. The industry has experienced an average 20% increase in Medium, Med-Large and Large grades between the start of the LAP campaign until the end of 2016 with statements of recognition from the industry that “You would expect some of this demand can be attributed to the Love Australian Prawns campaign."
Implications for relevant stakeholders
The implications of this work are directed at industry as investors in LAP. Industry contributors and LAP need to be aware of;
Recommendations
The following recommendations stem from the implications of the evaluation and monitoring of LAP.
The need to evaluate the economic and social contribution of the Victorian Seafood Industry to Victorian communities has been identified by the VicRAC (formally VicFRAB) as an urgent and high priority. Currently no such data exist, but the need is clear. Firstly, an evaluation is required to inform the Victorian Government of the likely impacts of resource management decisions on coastal communities. Second, an evaluation is necessary to provide information to the Victorian public about the benefits that flow from the professional fishing sector, beyond a total annual value calculated from beach prices.
FRDC also have identified a strong need for a coordinated approach to evaluate the Industry across the States and Territories, so that a national picture of the value of Australian Seafood Industry can be determined.
Recent FRDC-funded research in NSW, led by A/Prof Kate Barclay, to evaluate the social and economic value of coastal professional wild-catch fisheries, has provided a strong basis for developing this national framework, and the methods suitable for addressing the specific needs of the Victorian Industry.
We propose the Victorian social/economic evaluation study consist of a two-stage approach, in order to ensure the most appropriate methods are used, the outputs are relevant, and that the evaluation achieves a high level of industry support and participation.
Stage 1 consists of developing a fully-costed methodology for a Victorian evaluation which also could be scaled up for a national evaluation. This stage would also develop collaborative partnership with, and support from, the Victorian Industry sectors.
Stage 2 would consist of the Evaluation Study itself – data collection, analysis and dissemination – based on the outputs of Stage 1.
Stage 1 would run in January 2017 – March 2017. Stage 2 EOI would be submitted to VicRAC for consideration in March 2017.
This application seeks support for Stage 1.
The FRDC Victorian Research Advisory Committee identified the need for a research project to measure the multiple social and economic contributions of the professional fishing and aquaculture sectors as an urgent and high priority. FRDC and the Human Dimensions Research (HDR) subprogram also identified a strong need for a coordinated approach and framework to evaluate professional fisheries across the States and Territories in Australia.
As such, 2016-263 Social and Economic Evaluation of the Victorian Wild-catch and Aquaculture Industries – STAGE 1 was funded by the VicRAC in early 2017. The purpose of the project was to determine the appropriate approach to take for Victorian fisheries in collaboration with industry. This scoping project had two aims. The first was to develop engagement, collaborative partnerships and support from the Victorian wild-catch and aquaculture industry sectors, for a fully-funded 2-year FRDC project to measure the social and economic contribution of Victorian wild-catch and aquaculture industries to Victorian communities. This culminated in an industry workshop, which informed research design and dissemination, built support, and developed pathways to ensure participation from industry. The second aim was to develop a fully-costed methodology for a full FRDC application for a Victorian ‘contribution study’ to be submitted in 2017 that was appropriate for the Victorian context, in-line with the HDR framework, built on the methodologies used in NSW work FRDC projects 2014-301 and 2015-302, and identified an appropriate and experience team and their roles.
This scoping project was undertaken in partnership by Seafood Industry Victoria (SIV) and University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in 2017.