Disseminating existing bycatch reduction and fuel efficiency technologies throughout Australia's prawn fisheries

Project number: 2017-065
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $197,900.00
Principal Investigator: Steve J. Kennelly
Organisation: IC Independent Consulting Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 30 Sep 2017 - 29 Nov 2018
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Stakeholder
Rac Wa
Rac Vic
Rac Sa
Rac Nsw
SPECIES
Blue Swimmer Crab
Royal Red Prawn
Giant Scarlet Prawn
Red Prawn
Black Tiger Prawn

Need

Despite decades developing more selective fishing gears, bycatch and discarding remain major fisheries issues throughout the world with demersal prawn trawling still considered one of the least selective fishing methods. In addition to large quantities of bycatch, demersal trawling can also disturb benthic habitats, upon which prawns and associated ecosystems depend. Not only can such disturbances affect these systems, they also contribute to the high energy needs of trawlers, reducing their fuel efficiency. Issues of bycatch and fuel efficiency are now becoming uppermost in the concerns of many stakeholders including: prawn trawl operators (who wish to reduce running costs and discard handling), environmental groups (who are concerned about ecosystem disturbance and energy use), eco-labelling agencies (whose requirements focus on bycatch and habitat impacts), and the general public (who dictate the social licence to operate for such fisheries). These issues have therefore attracted the attention of many governments and international agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)—who first coined the term Low Impact Fuel Efficient gears (LIFE) for methods that reduce bycatch whilst improving fuel efficiency. For several decades Australia’s gear technologists have been developing solutions to such issues, the end-result of which is detailed information on a broad array of technologies that can ameliorate them. It has been decided that the next phase in progressing solutions throughout Australia is to disseminate the available information to as many prawn fishers, net makers, jurisdictional scientists and managers as possible via a series of port visits and workshops. At these workshops, specific bycatch and efficiency issues for each fishery will also be identified and potential solution(s) developed, together with a timeframe for examination and an appropriate work team.

Objectives

1. Review ACPF’s risk/gap matrix and undertake a preliminary analysis of the types of technologies that would be beneficial for discussion/testing in each fishery
2. Identify the best locations and times for individual port visits in WA, Qld, NT, SA, VIC and NSW
3. Do the port visits at which: (i) the latest information on bycatch reduction and fuel efficiency technologies will be presented
and (ii) particular issue(s) identified for each fishery will be discussed and various technological solutions will be outlined and considered
4. During and after these workshops, document a process for trials of appropriate technologies that arise
5. Identify any other gaps (technological, administrative, etc) that may arise during the workshops
6. Provide a final report which describes the outcomes from each workshop and consequent actions for trials in each fishery

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-9924930-8-0
Author: Steven J Kennelly
Final Report • 2019-05-01 • 1.55 MB
2017-065-DLD.pdf

Summary

Prawn trawling is among the world's least selective fishing methods, the unintended consequence being large quantities of bycatch. It is also a method that can disturb benthic habitats and use large quantities of fuel—a significant running cost for many fisheries. Issues of bycatch and fuel efficiency are of significant concern to many stakeholders including prawn trawl operators, environmental groups, eco-labelling agencies and the general public.
For several decades, Australian gear technologists have been developing solutions to bycatch issues in prawn-trawl fisheries and, most recently, significant work has also occurred in designing prawn trawls that are more fuel efficient, reduce bycatch and/or have reduced benthic impacts (FRDC project 2011/010). The end-result of all this work is detailed information on a broad array of technologies that can ameliorate such problems. It was decided by the FRDC and ACPF that the next phase in progressing such solutions throughout Australia was to disseminate the available information to as many prawn fishers, net makers, jurisdictional scientists and managers as possible. Following an initial workshop of representatives from various fisheries around Australia (FRDC 2016/057), it was decided to extend the information to as many individual fisheries as possible so that they can be considered, trialled, modified, etc. to achieve optimal performance in each situation. The workshop therefore recommended the organisation of a “Prawn trawl roadshow”, using the expertise of Australia’s fishing gear technologists to explain and discuss these concepts with fishers in each fishery. The intention was that then, local fishers and jurisdictions would consider the various options and adopt them for trial/use in their own fisheries, leaning on the expertise of relevant gear technologists.
Following an initial examination of a risk/gap matrix developed by ACPF, a series of 12 workshops were held at some of the key prawn-trawl ports in Australia. These were in Darwin, Cairns, Townsville, Hervey Bay, Brisbane, Carnarvon, Yamba, Coffs Harbour, Newcastle, Adelaide, Port Lincoln and Lakes Entrance. At each, the PI and a fishing gear technologist gave presentations that summarized the information currently available on how to reduce bycatch, habitat-impacts and fuel use that have been developed in Australia and other countries, as well as recent work being done in Europe due to the implementation of its Discard Ban. During these workshops and subsequent discussions at wharves, on boats, etc., various priority issues and potential solutions were identified for future examination.
The project resulted in a very significant increase in the number of stakeholders (particularly trawl skippers and crews) being made aware of the latest ways that bycatch and habitat impacts can be reduced while concomitantly increasing fuel efficiency. One-hundred-and-forty-six people participated in the workshops and/or on boats, at wharves, etc. (comprising120 fishers, 18 executive officers/facilitators, five fisheries managers, two scientists and one representative from Oceanwatch). As a result, this extension project has been able to reach a significant proportion of the total number of prawn trawl stakeholders in the country. In addition, the material presented has been made available as a stand-alone presentation with associated videos (at http://australianwildprawns.com.au/) so that anyone else interested in this work can obtain the information disseminated.
The workshops were successful in identifying the specific (and varied) issues each fleet has with bycatch and habitat-impact reduction and fuel-efficiency. Many of these issues and future work are specific to each fishery and should therefore form the focus of future industry and or scientifically based work in each. However, there were several issues that were common to more than one fishery and sometimes several. These more generic issues included:
  • More streamlined permit-approval processes for fishers to trial modifications;
  • A system where fishers could be trained in the use of, and get access to, FRDC’s Notus
    portable acoustic net measurement sensors and load cells;
  • Examine the utility of LED lights and other anterior modifications to elicit behavioural
    responses and reduce bycatch;
  • Test the recently developed fisheyes (Kon’s and the FishX 70) against the square mesh
    panel to reduce bycatch of small fish;
  • Check and assess knot orientation to reduce bycatches and improve fuel efficiency;
  • Designing retroactive modifications to otter boards that facilitate variations from approx.
    350 when deploying to the critical 200 when fishing to reduce drag and fuel consumption;
  • Examine anterior modifications to reduce sawfish bycatch including electromagnetic
    stimuli and/or LED lights;
  • Using round/oval TEDs instead of rectangular TEDs; and
  • Examine soft brush ground gear to reduce benthic impacts and drag.
 
The net result of all this work is a concrete set of agreed issues and potential solutions for each fleet that can be used by fishers, scientists, managers and funding agencies to conduct formal trials of modifications to deal with such issues in their prawn-trawl fleets. Fleet-wide reductions in bycatch, habitat impacts and drag will eventually produce low impact, fuel efficient (LIFE) Australian prawn-trawl fisheries over the next few years

Related research

All research
research
Industry
Adoption
Environment

The evaluation of two species, Cobia and Giant Grouper, as alternative species to farm in the WSSV affected areas of South East Queensland.

Project number: 2017-103
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $158,000.00
Principal Investigator: Brad Cherrie
Organisation: Rocky Point Aquaculture Company Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 19 Sep 2017 - 29 Jun 2018
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Rac Qld
Marketing
Disease
Consumer
Aquaculture
SPECIES
Cobia

Need

There is a need to investigate alternative commercial aquaculture opportunities for prawn farms exposed to the risk of WSSV. A study tour of other Cobia and Giant Grouper farming countries is required to investigate possible alternative farming techniques for these two species. Both of these species are currently farmed in various tropical regions of South East Asia. Giant Grouper are grown in ponds, cages and indoor recirculating systems while the Cobia are farmed in cages in Taiwan and Japan. Farming techniques already available and new methods sourced from the study tour of South East Asia will need to be trialled in the sub tropical environment of South East Queensland for both species. Due to seasonal conditions there is a need to confirm performance of Cobia and Grouper in onshore systems during Winter to allow assessment of potential for growth to market size and in outdoor ponds during summer when this is allowed by government.

Objectives

1. Study tour of South East Asia to determine alternative farming methods for Cobia and Giant Grouper and investigate optimum market parameters.
2. Determine which method of grow out culture, indoor, pond or cage culture produces the optimum fish for the market.

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-656-82111-5
Authors: Brad Cherrie Serena Zipf Richard Knuckey Peter Lee Trevor Borchert David Nixon
Final Report • 2020-07-01 • 5.31 MB
2017-103-DLD.pdf

Summary

In 2016/17, the Rocky Point Prawn Farm, along with other farms in the Logan River region of south-east Queensland, was severely affected by a white spot disease outbreak caused by the exotic white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). Measures enforced to eradicate WSSV resulted in a complete loss of stock and a ban on prawn production within the Logan River and wider Moreton Bay area until May 2018. As a result, Rocky Point Prawn Farms (RPPF) elected to investigate the feasibility of finfish aquaculture as an alternative to prawn farming. The current project was undertaken to assess the potential of two finfish species, Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) and Giant Grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) as alternative aquaculture candidates for the Rocky Point Prawn Farm and potentially other aquaculture enterprises. The study was developed and led by RPPF with assistance from The Company One (TCO) and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), with staff from the Bribie Island Research Centre (BIRC) and ran from March 2017 until June 2018. In the study, the commercial performance of each species was assessed when cultured in both indoor tank systems and outdoors in cages. Culture facilities at two of RPPF’s production sites included a former prawn hatchery building which housed the indoor tank-based production, and an outdoor landlocked saline lake which contained cages. Cobia fingerlings were produced at BIRC and Giant Grouper fingerlings were supplied by TCO hatchery in Cairns. All fingerlings were initially grown in indoor tanks under controlled temperature conditions and later some were transferred to outdoor cages to assess their performance in both winter and spring/summer. Fish were fed once or twice per day and water quality data was collected daily. Weight and health checks were conducted monthly and any mortalities were removed from tanks or cages daily. The data were used to calculate key production parameters of feed conversion ratio, growth rate and survival throughout the production cycle. Both species were grown to harvest and sold into the domestic market. The production and market information generated by this project provided a framework to evaluate the relative costs and benefits of the two species within the range of production methods and strategies available to RPPF, and guidance towards future investment and optimising production in the future.