Project funding will provide the PI with additional resources that enable him to focus on achieving the requirements and objectives of his research and PhD completion to a high standard and on-time.
The project funding application covers four key areas:
1. Additional stipend: to provide an adequate living allowance.
2. Travel: attendance of international conferences is a key vehicle to build skills an experience in the international policy and diplomacy fields as well as providing the opportunity to collect valuable research data. These skills and networks will ultimately benefit the Australian fishing and aquaculture community through the sharing of knowledge and networks.
3. Training: Facilitation training has been identified as an opportunity for development
4. Communication and content creation: developing content to assist with promoting and communicating the results of the research.
Having members and advocates of the Australian fishing and aquaculture community informed and skilled in the way international governance agreements are developed and then translated into domestic policy is extremely important, and a current gap in our capability and capacity.
There has been a global push towards reducing fisheries interactions with threatened, endangered, and protected species through fishing gear innovations and adjusting fishing practices. This has been especially apparent in North America, where gear developers have rapidly progressed alternative trap fishing technologies to address North Atlantic Right Whale entanglements and resulting legal fishery closures. In 2018, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution instituted an annual conference, the Ropeless Consortium, to promote novel fishing technologies emerging to address this problem. This conference allows gear developers to connect with industry and facilitate discussions around how their gear can be more widely adapted. Although Australian fisheries face similar whale entanglement issues with Humpback whales and Southern Right whales, representatives from Australian fisheries have yet to attend this conference. This travel bursary would allow representatives from the Australian fishing industry to gain a firsthand understanding of novel gear emerging that could help prevent interactions with whales. Ocean trap and line fishers and industry representatives from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and Tasmania will attend the Ropeless Consortium to gain insights into various ropeless/gear-on-demand technologies that have been developed to mitigate whale entanglements. In total, we envision 5 representatives from Australian fisheries to attend:
- 1 OceanWatch representative, 1 NSW fisheries representative and 2 NSW trap fishers, 1 TSIC representative. Additional potential participants include 1 Tasmanian trap fisher, 1 QSIA representative and 2 Queensland trap fishers, and 1 SIV representative and 2 South Australian trap fishers. (Priority hierarchy for trip attendees is provided as an attachment
Days prior to and following the conference, the group will meet with gear specialists and fishers who have previously trialed new technologies to help foster international relationships and build industry confidence in novel fishing techniques that may prove applicable for Australian fisheries. This trip will build connections between Australian industry and international gear developers and fishers. Although the conference is only one day, we strongly believe that bookending the conference with meetings with gear experts and fishers who have trialed the gear will greatly benefit our industry’s efforts towards reducing whale entanglement around Australia and put us on the forefront of innovative and sustainable fishing advancements. We feel that exposing key fishers directly to new gear options and fishers who have already made the switch may help alleviate resistance to adjusting fishing practices and promote new gear adoption throughout the industry.
-Judging panel
- Social Media Kit (Images and supporting texts for pre and post event)
- Verbal acknowledgement as sponsors on the night
- Short speech about FRDC and award presentation
- Logo & acknowledgement in article in Tasmanian Seafood Industry News
- Banner and marketing material at the awards
- Website listing & link
- Tickets to awards
- Social media recognition
- Advertisment opportunity in Tasmanian Seafood Industry News
- Inclusion in media release
This course, 'The Role of the Chair' is presented by the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and as such is a well recognised and regarded training body. The course itself explores the unique leadership responsibilities, including their relationships with other board members and the CEO that the Chair person's position has. It is a one day course held in Sydney, and requires pre-study and follow up review work.
The course offers a rare opportunity to discreetly discuss leadership and governance issues – including board selection, boardroom processes and CEO succession planning – with fellow chairs and experienced directors.
The benefit to the FRDC and to the industry is the improved skills and capabilities of Kate Brooks, most immediately in her role as Chairperson for the FRDC C&C Steering Committee, but also other Chairperson roles she may step up to such as those with OzFish Unlimited, or the SA Government, as the most immediate possibilities.
A leadership skill gap within the prawn farming industry has been identified at the middle-management and supervisory staff level, specifically regarding the ability to effectively manage a team, build successful workplace culture and work effectively with generational differences. Attaining and retaining staff is a challenge for industry and this challenge is expected to become greater as the industry grows. The development of a positive workplace culture to improve job satisfaction will be important to attract and retain staff into the future. Another issue that this industry faces as it grows is the progression of younger generations into leadership roles that require the supervision of older employees and visa versa where older generations are working longer. This brings a need for supervisory and middle management staff to understand how to work effectively with different generations in the workforce. In response to these industry needs, the APFA has engaged Affectus, a company who focuses on delivering leadership development programs and workshops. Affectus proposes to manage and facilitate a pilot training program for staff of APFA member businesses to address the earlier described leadership skill gaps. This program will host a maximum of 20 people and will include a 2-day training workshop,1-day technical industry workshop, industry networking dinner, online coaching session and a half day online follow-up workshop. The pilot program aims to prepare participants to have a positive impact on the workplace through increased understanding of self, workplace culture, generational differences, communication and conflict resolution. This project addresses a key R&D priority of the FRDC and APFA 2020-2025 Strategic Plans, namely ‘Capability and Capacity’ and ‘Human Capital and Emerging Technologies’, respectively.
The issues facing the fishing industry are unique and complex. In order to meet these challenges, good leaders are needed in all areas of influence. It is vital that these leaders use their leadership and build consensus to bring about change. The ARLF develops leaders who can act individually and collectively, in ethical ways for a stronger rural and regional Australia. The investment to develop leaders at all levels of industry and across al sectors, and improve communication between them is critical for a successful and productive industry into the future. Developing individual leadership capacity, in turn will lead to communities and the broader industry being able to meet future challenges and opportunities.
Core capabilities required and developed within the ARLP include: governance, influence, critical thinking, leading through complexity and ethical considerations. These are capabilities that underpin industry leadership and it is through these core capabilities that the industry will be able to respond to current and future needs. Relationships, and the ability of participants to relate to one another and build other relationships, underpin all learning developments.
As an ARLP sponsor, FRDC will be promoted across multiple platforms at multiple stages of the programs. Including:
- during recruitment to seek suitable candidates
- official announcement of the cohort
- in the duration of the program via social media and written reports
- on the arlf website
- on media and collateral at graduation ceremony and comms coverage
Presentation of study results in a plenary session - having the opportunity to present in a plenary session provides the opportunity to communicate research results to a highly relevant cohort of colleagues who are also active researchers in the field of aquatic noise. Directly communicating the results will raise the profile of the project, ensuring wider attention and citation of FRDC funded research. We are also hoping to develop collaborative efforts with these colleagues to extend the findings of the FRDC funded project into additional projects in the future to value-add to the already conducted research. Attendance at the conference will also provide Ryan with insight into the current state of research from other experts, potentially leading to innovative research avenues in the future.