Published: 29 June 2021 Updated: 12 December 2023
Table of contents

Overview

Workplace fatalities and injuries in fishing and aquaculture make it one of the most dangerous occupations in Australia.

Established in 2018, FRDC’s National RD&E Seafood Industry Safety Initiative partnership builds on and broadens previous FRDC investment in this area by addressing research gaps in Australian fishing and aquaculture workplace health and safety.

FRDC works with industry, community, regulatory and research partners to achieve positive cultural change in the safety of the Australian fishing and aquaculture. The Strategic Plan and Terms of Reference developed by members of the initiative to guide its activities can be found below:

Research management

National RD&E Seafood Industry Safety Initiative membership comprises national industry leaders and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

Key contacts:

Marine safety

FRDC’s Seafood National RD&E Seafood Industry Safety Initiative Strategic Plan commits research funding to four key areas:

  1. Education: the development of electronic learning tools to facilitate an improved culture of safety awareness, including knowledge of general workplace safety requirements under workplace health and safety legislation and Australian Maritime Safety Authority legislation.
  2. Adoption of a new ‘safety focused’ culture within the industry: for example, through the promotion of ‘marine safety champions’ or the development of capabilities to ensure that safety regulations are adopted.
  3. Behaviour, understanding and influencing: for example, to understand the inhibitors and motivators for behaviour change in relation to industry safety.
  4. Coordination and communication: to ensure all FRDC marine safety projects are linked and collaborate effectively, and will establish a process for collecting and reporting statistics on marine safety and welfare.

Key resources

Key publications

Related projects