'If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else' - Future proofing the Australian Mud Crab Industry through improved strategic direction

Project number: 2018-177
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $101,563.00
Principal Investigator: Chris E. Calogeras
Organisation: C-AID Consultants
Project start/end date: 28 Feb 2020 - 28 Jan 2021
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Rac Wa
Rac Vic
Rac Qld
Rac Nt
Rac Nsw
SPECIES
Mud Crabs

Need

Australian mud crab fisheries are managed across four jurisdictions (WA, NT, Qld, NSW) with Industry having little cross-jurisdictional connectivity, and agencies appearing to generally operate in isolation, even though it is a national market.

Industry is undergoing significant structural and management changes. This project is critical for the Australian industry's future as it navigates these changes and seeks to optimise outcomes.

This projects genesis came when mud crab leaders from key jurisdictions caught up by phone, discussing the status of individual fisheries. It was apparent that as a product going into a national market there were many common issues to resolve. Although high-quality work is undertaken across jurisdictions; from an industry perspective R&D, monitoring and management approaches didn’t appear coordinated enough, with no national marketing plan.

It became clear that, although a $48+M/annum national market, connectivity is poor and improved outcomes can be achieved through a collaborative approach across jurisdictions. It was agreed, this approach may provide whole of industry benefits via a strategic workshop that includes licensees/quota holders, fishers, supply chain partners and agencies to increase knowledge, foster sustainable economic, environmental and social benefits.

Initial areas identified included:

• Data - Elogs, VMS, Industry science
• Research – uncoordinated nationally, modelling consistency, ecological impacts
• Succession – a plan allow entry for new people in a more structured environment, NT Indigenous involvement etc
• Quota Transition/structural changes – e.g. ownership structures, impacts, opportunities, issue, improved holding/storage to optimise product value
• Regulations – possible harmonisation/code development etc
• Biosecurity
• Product identification
• Community support/licence
• Markets and logistic opportunities
• National RD&E priorities.

There has been unanimous support across jurisdictions for this project (see attachment).

The industry doesn’t have logistical coordination at this time to coordinate this, or resources to carry it out, and would rely on FRDC funds and significant industry and agency in-kind.

Objectives

1. Share experiences and understandings to identify issues and opportunities for collaborative approaches across the industry and agencies
2. Build industry cohesion and capacity through development of a national industry plan and communication network.

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-9871427-8-8
Author: Dr Chris Calogeras and Dr Rik Buckworth
Final Report • 26.15 MB
2018-177-DLD.pdf

Summary

BACKGROUND
Australian mud crab fisheries extend from northern Western Australia (WA) across the Northern Territory (NT) and Queensland (Qld) through to northern New South Wales (NSW) and are managed across the four jurisdictions. The product from each jurisdiction is sold into a larger common market valued at around $50M/annum1, mainly within Australia, but also into a number of international markets.
This project’s genesis came when mud crab Industry leaders from key jurisdictions caught up by phone, discussing the status of individual jurisdiction’s fisheries. To them it became apparent that they were catching the same species, Scylla serrata and S. olivacea, (which are called mud crabs), and were all supplying the same markets, and therefore there were many common issues to resolve.
It was noted there was no formal cross-jurisdictional connectivity and it was felt that there could be improved outcomes achieved through a collaborative approach across jurisdictions. This was particularly so as, after a number of years of relative status quo in the Australian fisheries, recent years had seen significant structural and management changes that will lead/have led to operational changes in the fishery landscape. 
 
A national workshop was considered the optimal mechanism to bring Industry, and importantly, Agencies, together, to develop a common purpose. Through an approach where participants learn from each other and build relationships, Industry leaders believed that a coordinated approach to building the Industry’s future would lead to improved outcomes from an operational, economic, ecological, social and regulatory perspective. Each major Industry group and relevant Agency in Australia was contacted and provided unanimous support for this approach.
 
Like many projects that were planned for this period (2020) the impacts and uncertainty caused by COVID restrictions led to significant delays, and the project value was questioned due to the time from its genesis to its potential completion. This view was tested with Industry and Agency participants who unanimously supported the holding of a face-to-face workshop to address the project’s objectives. As such, the workshop was deferred from 2020 until it was eventually held in late 2022.
 
KEY FINDINGS
It was apparent that there is considerable opportunity to improve the future for the Australian mud crab industry on several fronts. Foremost among these is to develop a coordinated direction based on the National Plan, developed as the workshop summary (Attachment 3), to address the seven key investment areas identified. This will require communication within and between sectors.
A major recommendation was to form a Working Group which will have interim responsibility for progressing the National Plan, and to gauge the appetite to move to a more formalised arrangement for the Industry to coordinate its activities nationally. What was also clear was that a process where diverse participants learn from each other and build relationships can support a coordinated approach to building the Industry’s future from an operational, economic, social and regulatory perspective. It was noted that in the short term
a standalone Industry approach would most likely fail, and that Agency involvement in the process was a critical component of generating agreed, sustainable and positive outcomes.
In addition, it is clear that many of the key areas that require investment are not solely the remit of the Australian mud crab industry. A process to ensure that sectoral and regional needs can be amalgamated and coordinated to undertake high level and nationally focussed Research and Development (R&D) could lead to positive outcomes for many fisheries around Australia, particularly if there were a two way feedback process to share information (positive and negative) of new R&D and practices (i.e. impacts of climate, better understanding of ecological, weather and climate processes, capacity and capability, communications etc).
 
Final Report • 8.92 MB
2018-177 Workshop Summary (National Plan).pdf
Final Report • 786.33 KB
2018-177 Pre Workshop Survey.pdf

Project products

Magazine • 2023-10-26
Final Report • 26.15 MB
2018-177-DLD.pdf

Summary

BACKGROUND
Australian mud crab fisheries extend from northern Western Australia (WA) across the Northern Territory (NT) and Queensland (Qld) through to northern New South Wales (NSW) and are managed across the four jurisdictions. The product from each jurisdiction is sold into a larger common market valued at around $50M/annum1, mainly within Australia, but also into a number of international markets.
This project’s genesis came when mud crab Industry leaders from key jurisdictions caught up by phone, discussing the status of individual jurisdiction’s fisheries. To them it became apparent that they were catching the same species, Scylla serrata and S. olivacea, (which are called mud crabs), and were all supplying the same markets, and therefore there were many common issues to resolve.
It was noted there was no formal cross-jurisdictional connectivity and it was felt that there could be improved outcomes achieved through a collaborative approach across jurisdictions. This was particularly so as, after a number of years of relative status quo in the Australian fisheries, recent years had seen significant structural and management changes that will lead/have led to operational changes in the fishery landscape. 
 
A national workshop was considered the optimal mechanism to bring Industry, and importantly, Agencies, together, to develop a common purpose. Through an approach where participants learn from each other and build relationships, Industry leaders believed that a coordinated approach to building the Industry’s future would lead to improved outcomes from an operational, economic, ecological, social and regulatory perspective. Each major Industry group and relevant Agency in Australia was contacted and provided unanimous support for this approach.
 
Like many projects that were planned for this period (2020) the impacts and uncertainty caused by COVID restrictions led to significant delays, and the project value was questioned due to the time from its genesis to its potential completion. This view was tested with Industry and Agency participants who unanimously supported the holding of a face-to-face workshop to address the project’s objectives. As such, the workshop was deferred from 2020 until it was eventually held in late 2022.
 
KEY FINDINGS
It was apparent that there is considerable opportunity to improve the future for the Australian mud crab industry on several fronts. Foremost among these is to develop a coordinated direction based on the National Plan, developed as the workshop summary (Attachment 3), to address the seven key investment areas identified. This will require communication within and between sectors.
A major recommendation was to form a Working Group which will have interim responsibility for progressing the National Plan, and to gauge the appetite to move to a more formalised arrangement for the Industry to coordinate its activities nationally. What was also clear was that a process where diverse participants learn from each other and build relationships can support a coordinated approach to building the Industry’s future from an operational, economic, social and regulatory perspective. It was noted that in the short term
a standalone Industry approach would most likely fail, and that Agency involvement in the process was a critical component of generating agreed, sustainable and positive outcomes.
In addition, it is clear that many of the key areas that require investment are not solely the remit of the Australian mud crab industry. A process to ensure that sectoral and regional needs can be amalgamated and coordinated to undertake high level and nationally focussed Research and Development (R&D) could lead to positive outcomes for many fisheries around Australia, particularly if there were a two way feedback process to share information (positive and negative) of new R&D and practices (i.e. impacts of climate, better understanding of ecological, weather and climate processes, capacity and capability, communications etc).
 
Final Report • 8.92 MB
2018-177 Workshop Summary (National Plan).pdf
Final Report • 786.33 KB
2018-177 Pre Workshop Survey.pdf
Magazine • 2023-10-26
Final Report • 26.15 MB
2018-177-DLD.pdf

Summary

BACKGROUND
Australian mud crab fisheries extend from northern Western Australia (WA) across the Northern Territory (NT) and Queensland (Qld) through to northern New South Wales (NSW) and are managed across the four jurisdictions. The product from each jurisdiction is sold into a larger common market valued at around $50M/annum1, mainly within Australia, but also into a number of international markets.
This project’s genesis came when mud crab Industry leaders from key jurisdictions caught up by phone, discussing the status of individual jurisdiction’s fisheries. To them it became apparent that they were catching the same species, Scylla serrata and S. olivacea, (which are called mud crabs), and were all supplying the same markets, and therefore there were many common issues to resolve.
It was noted there was no formal cross-jurisdictional connectivity and it was felt that there could be improved outcomes achieved through a collaborative approach across jurisdictions. This was particularly so as, after a number of years of relative status quo in the Australian fisheries, recent years had seen significant structural and management changes that will lead/have led to operational changes in the fishery landscape. 
 
A national workshop was considered the optimal mechanism to bring Industry, and importantly, Agencies, together, to develop a common purpose. Through an approach where participants learn from each other and build relationships, Industry leaders believed that a coordinated approach to building the Industry’s future would lead to improved outcomes from an operational, economic, ecological, social and regulatory perspective. Each major Industry group and relevant Agency in Australia was contacted and provided unanimous support for this approach.
 
Like many projects that were planned for this period (2020) the impacts and uncertainty caused by COVID restrictions led to significant delays, and the project value was questioned due to the time from its genesis to its potential completion. This view was tested with Industry and Agency participants who unanimously supported the holding of a face-to-face workshop to address the project’s objectives. As such, the workshop was deferred from 2020 until it was eventually held in late 2022.
 
KEY FINDINGS
It was apparent that there is considerable opportunity to improve the future for the Australian mud crab industry on several fronts. Foremost among these is to develop a coordinated direction based on the National Plan, developed as the workshop summary (Attachment 3), to address the seven key investment areas identified. This will require communication within and between sectors.
A major recommendation was to form a Working Group which will have interim responsibility for progressing the National Plan, and to gauge the appetite to move to a more formalised arrangement for the Industry to coordinate its activities nationally. What was also clear was that a process where diverse participants learn from each other and build relationships can support a coordinated approach to building the Industry’s future from an operational, economic, social and regulatory perspective. It was noted that in the short term
a standalone Industry approach would most likely fail, and that Agency involvement in the process was a critical component of generating agreed, sustainable and positive outcomes.
In addition, it is clear that many of the key areas that require investment are not solely the remit of the Australian mud crab industry. A process to ensure that sectoral and regional needs can be amalgamated and coordinated to undertake high level and nationally focussed Research and Development (R&D) could lead to positive outcomes for many fisheries around Australia, particularly if there were a two way feedback process to share information (positive and negative) of new R&D and practices (i.e. impacts of climate, better understanding of ecological, weather and climate processes, capacity and capability, communications etc).
 
Final Report • 8.92 MB
2018-177 Workshop Summary (National Plan).pdf
Final Report • 786.33 KB
2018-177 Pre Workshop Survey.pdf
Magazine • 2023-10-26

Related research

All research
research
Blank
PROJECT NUMBER • 2022-138
PROJECT STATUS:
CURRENT

Developing a Kimberley Aboriginal Mud Crab Fishery

1. Determine the biology and distribution of mud crab species (Scylla serrata and S. olivacea) in King Sound and Cambridge Gulf areas of the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) WA
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2022-010
PROJECT STATUS:
CURRENT

Assessment of the interactive effects of climate change, floods and discard stress on the commercially important Mud Crab (Scylla serrata) and Blue Swimmer Crab (Portunus armatus) - postgraduate

1. Provide the opportunity for a post-graduate research student to work with industry and managers, gain exposure to stakeholder’s perspectives on the issue and undertake high-quality research that results in the production of scientific outputs.
ORGANISATION:
Southern Cross University (SCU) National Marine Science Centre
Environment

Fishing for change: A social marketing approach to reduce the recreational harvest of Snapper and Pearl Perch in Queensland

Project number: 2019-078
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $342,500.00
Principal Investigator: Sophie Clayton
Organisation: Currie Communications
Project start/end date: 31 Jan 2020 - 31 Jan 2022
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Sustainability
Social Science
Social Science
Recreational Fishing
Rac Qld
SPECIES
Snapper
Pearl Perches

Need

Snapper and pearl perch are depleted in Queensland and further reduction in fishing pressure is needed to rebuild stocks back to target levels. The Queensland Government announced actions to improve stocks on 1 Sep 2019 , which followed the announcement that they would also introduce Fishing Aggregation Devices (FADs). Given previous regulatory approaches have been unsuccessful in improving stocks of both species, it is proposed that regulatory changes, complemented by the implementation of action mapping and social marketing, may be more effective.

Social marketing delivers innovative solutions that people value and that support desired outcomes. It draws on behavioural science and a psychology-based understanding of how and why people behave, what motivates them to change and what prevents behaviour change. Work in Australia has documented the use of behavioural incentives to encourage voluntary compliance of recreational fishers as well as testing social norms as a tool to encourage compliance within an experimental recreational fishery setting. This work sets a foundation to apply the approach to Queensland recreational fishing.

The Queensland Government’s announcement that it will invest $1 million in FADs offers an opportunity to change recreational harvesting behaviour. FADs can attract pelagic species increasing the diversity of fish species recreational anglers can target and therefore could shift fishing effort away from more vulnerable demersal species (e.g. snapper and pearl perch).

This project will use a social marketing approach that initially focuses on understanding if and how recreational fishers can be motivated and moved to use FADs as a strategy to reduce snapper and pearl perch fishing. This project will also consider a full range of strategies and behaviours and their relative potential to help reduce snapper and pearl perch recreational harvests.

A key challenge in addressing the issue is the numerous and diverse stakeholders with an interest in recreational fishing – many with conflicting agendas. Approaches that engage a broad cross-section of stakeholders together can identify priorities for action and generate solutions to achieve the outcomes sought.

Objectives

1. Engage with stakeholders to develop a shared sense of responsibility, capture knowledge and identify potential solutions.
2. Develop and test a behaviour change program targeted at recreational fishers that aims to reduce the recreational harvest of snapper and pearl perch in Queensland.
3. Identify the most effective behaviour change interventions that could be further rolled out in Queensland or in other states or to target other fish.
4. Share knowledge and ownership of a behaviour change approach with key stakeholders.

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-646-85521-9
Authors: Sophie Clayton Mark Paterson Mietta Adams Sharyn Rundle-Thiele Carina Roemer Samuel Williams Chad Lunow Danielle Jones Mary Mackay
Final Report • 2022-07-18 • 2.44 MB
2019-078-DLD.pdf

Summary

The ‘Fishing for Change’ project used a social marketing approach that engaged stakeholders to codesign, implement and evaluate solutions to voluntarily change people’s recreational fishing behaviour.
Final Report • 2022-07-18 • 2.44 MB
2019-078-DLD.pdf

Summary

The ‘Fishing for Change’ project used a social marketing approach that engaged stakeholders to codesign, implement and evaluate solutions to voluntarily change people’s recreational fishing behaviour.
Final Report • 2022-07-18 • 2.44 MB
2019-078-DLD.pdf

Summary

The ‘Fishing for Change’ project used a social marketing approach that engaged stakeholders to codesign, implement and evaluate solutions to voluntarily change people’s recreational fishing behaviour.