A Model Quality Assurance Program For Red Spot Whiting Based On The Clarence River Fisheremen's Co-operative Facilities
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$30,000.00
Summary
Objectives: 1. Produce a market study in conjunction with pivate sector companies to isolate the markets and segments of these markets interested in red spot whiting 2. Develop a strategy to achieve implementation of a QA program by the Co-operative 3. Use personnel involved in the implementation of this strategy as a facilitator for TAFE's curriculum design
Assessment Of The Sensitivity Of Australia’s Aquatic Animal Disease Surveillance System Using Scenario Tree Modelling
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$224,000.00
Summary
The sensitivity of an overall passive surveillance system is difficult to determine due to variability in factors such as disease characteristics, passive surveillance stakeholders and the likelihood that disease events will be reported and investigated. The WOAH Aquatic Animal Health Code also stipulates the primary evidence for historical freedom is passive surveillant information generated by a country’s early detection system that needs to be sufficiently sensitive.
Scenario tree m ....The sensitivity of an overall passive surveillance system is difficult to determine due to variability in factors such as disease characteristics, passive surveillance stakeholders and the likelihood that disease events will be reported and investigated. The WOAH Aquatic Animal Health Code also stipulates the primary evidence for historical freedom is passive surveillant information generated by a country’s early detection system that needs to be sufficiently sensitive.
Scenario tree modelling (STM) can be used to overcome those challenges. STM uses quantitative statistical methods to estimate the sensitivity of various components of the surveillance system (e.g. presentation of disease signs, disease recognition and reporting). These estimates can then be used to identify critical points in the system to which interventions can be targeted to improve the system. STM can be applied to any aquatic disease/industry of interest and there are some successful examples for terrestrial diseases/industries, both in Australia and overseas.
Two aquatic animal disease agents of trade and biosecurity significance, WSSV and megalocytiviruses, will be evaluated as case studies. These diseases are subject to import biosecurity measures and have significant production impacts, as they severely affect farmed and wild aquatic animal species that are valued by many stakeholders (e.g. aquaculture, capture fisheries, recreational fisheries and conservation groups). A sound STM assessment of each case study will support our early detection system through a quantitative evaluation of the speed of the detection, and improve our emergency disease response strategy by determining areas in our passive surveillance that, once strengthened, will provide a greater return on future investment.
As mentioned above, increasing the sensitivity of Australia’s passive surveillance is a national priority. This project is identified in AQUAPLAN 2022-2017 as Activity 3.3. The outcomes of this project are also used for other AQUAPLAN activities, National surveillance strategy (Activity 3.1) and Sector-specific surveillance plans (Activity 3.2). The data produced from this project will provide recommendations for various interventions to improve the overall performance of the passive surveillance system for the participating industries.
More broadly, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation R&D Plan 2020-2025 identified building capability and capacity for biosecurity as a priority. In alignment with the R&D plan, successful outcomes of this project will improve understanding of disease transmission pathways which will enhance biosecurity practices. It will improve allocation of biosecurity resources (by identifying the most effective and cost-efficient way of investing resources in surveillance to get the best return), minimise biosecurity threats (by enhancing passive surveillance to accelerate an early detection) and improve market access for associated industry producers (by providing quantitative information on their passive surveillance sensitivity as a market access negotiation tool).
Objectives: 1. Quantitatively evaluate the sensitivity of Australia’s passive surveillance system for white spot disease 2. Quantitatively evaluate the sensitivity of Australia’s passive surveillance system for megalocytiviruses Read moreRead less
Aquatic Animal Health Subprogram: Development Of A Laboratory Model For Infectious Challenge Of Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea Gigas) With Ostreid Herpesvirus Type-1
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$134,990.00
Summary
The need for further information to assist with the response to OsHV-1 is universally acknowledged by the aquaculture industry broadly, government agencies charged with biosecurity and aquatic animal health scientists in Australia and internationally. Access to a standardised, reproducible and transferable laboratory infection model is critical to ongoing research efforts. Such a model provides a precise method of testing the effect of factors which are suspected to influence the outcome of ....The need for further information to assist with the response to OsHV-1 is universally acknowledged by the aquaculture industry broadly, government agencies charged with biosecurity and aquatic animal health scientists in Australia and internationally. Access to a standardised, reproducible and transferable laboratory infection model is critical to ongoing research efforts. Such a model provides a precise method of testing the effect of factors which are suspected to influence the outcome of an infectious challenge with OsHV-1 on Pacific oysters. The most promising factor for enabling continuation of Pacific oyster production despite the threat of OsHV-1 infection is the identification of genetic variation in susceptibility to POMS. The demand for efficient progress in selective breeding programmes requires a laboratory infection model which is suitable for screening large numbers of candidate families and provides results which can be reliably interpreted.
Objectives: 1. Production and long-term storage of large quantities of a standard OsHV-1 inoculum 2. Evaluation of methods to provide a standard, measured OsHV-1 infection challenge 3. Definition of the outcomes of infectious challenge including mortality, development of histopathological lesions and quantities of OsHV-1 present in tissues 4. Determination of the dose-response under standardised challenge conditions, including variation due to the age of the oysters 5. Determination of the repeatability, reproducibility and transferability of the standard infection challenge 6. Assessment of the susceptibility of flat oysters (spat and adult) to OsHV-1 infection. Read moreRead less
NCCP: Essential Studies On Cyprinid Herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) Prior To Release Of The Virus In Australian Waters
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$406,564.50
Summary
Studies underpinning the further development of an epidemiological model As the modelling work has progressed, the modelling team has determined that understanding transmission is a critical factor in the further development of the model. This will be addressed by two projects: (1) The relative amounts of virus in the skin and mucus of infected fish vs shed virus in the water (2) The relative importance of direct versus indirect transmission of CyHV-3 between fish
Studies underpinning the further development of an epidemiological model As the modelling work has progressed, the modelling team has determined that understanding transmission is a critical factor in the further development of the model. This will be addressed by two projects: (1) The relative amounts of virus in the skin and mucus of infected fish vs shed virus in the water (2) The relative importance of direct versus indirect transmission of CyHV-3 between fish
Objectives: 1. Determine the most important form of transmission of CyHV-3 between carp. Read moreRead less
Disease, particularly Perkinsus disease, is seen as the fourth major risk to the sustainability of the abalone fishery in SA (SA Fisheries & Aquaculture Five Year Research and Development Strategy). Perkinsus disease causes ongoing losses to the industry, losses that are expected to increase with global warming unless some action is taken to curb the disease. This project will explore one approach that may be feasible to control Perkinsus and thus reduce its impact on the industry.
A ....Disease, particularly Perkinsus disease, is seen as the fourth major risk to the sustainability of the abalone fishery in SA (SA Fisheries & Aquaculture Five Year Research and Development Strategy). Perkinsus disease causes ongoing losses to the industry, losses that are expected to increase with global warming unless some action is taken to curb the disease. This project will explore one approach that may be feasible to control Perkinsus and thus reduce its impact on the industry.
A recent project in California (Culver and Kuris, in press) successfully eradicated a species of mudworm from abalone by removal of the most susceptible shell (N. Bax, CSIRO, pers. com.) Objectives: 1. To determine the extent and nature of Perkinsus infection around Taylor Island, identification of possible reservoir hosts, the production of an epidemiological model, and recommendations on appropriate management methods. Read moreRead less
Aquatic Animal Health Subprogram: Edwardsiella Ictaluri Survey In Wild Catfish Populations
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$84,536.00
Summary
This application is developed following the first detection of the bacterium, Edwardsiella ictaluri, in Australian native catfish species. This bacterium is known to cause significant economic losses in aquaculture catfish industries in the USA and south-east Asia. The bacterium is listed in the reportable aquatic disease lists in Australia and regionally in OIE/NACA (Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-pacific). Previous bacterial detections in Australia have been sporadic and limited to imp ....This application is developed following the first detection of the bacterium, Edwardsiella ictaluri, in Australian native catfish species. This bacterium is known to cause significant economic losses in aquaculture catfish industries in the USA and south-east Asia. The bacterium is listed in the reportable aquatic disease lists in Australia and regionally in OIE/NACA (Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-pacific). Previous bacterial detections in Australia have been sporadic and limited to imported exotic aquarium fish species. The susceptibility of Australian native fish species to the bacterial infection was unknown prior to 2010, and Biosecurity Australia’s last Import Risk Analysis in 1999 on live ornamental finfish did not consider the bacterium would have significant impact on native Australian species. However, it is now established that Australian native catfish species are susceptible to the bacterial infection. It is desirable to conduct a well-designed targeted survey to look for the bacterium in wild fish populations, and to provide evidence to support Australian’s wild fish populations are free from the disease. Objectives: 1. 1. Design a targeted survey for Edwardsiella ictaluri in wild catfish in rivers in northern Australia to establish disease freedom with 95% confidence at prevalence less than 5% 2. 2. Conduct an active survey of wild catfish populations in river systems in northern Australia for the presence of Edwardsiella ictaluri by appropriate lab tests Read moreRead less
NCCP: Review Of Carp Control Via Commercial Exploitation
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$36,863.00
Summary
The National Carp Control Plan (NCCP) is presently considering strategies that will effect widespread control of a dominant invasive freshwater fish, the Carp (Cyprinus carpio). Carp have a significant negative impact on social, environmental and economic ($500 million per year) outcomes in aspects of water quality, amenity and biodiversity. Carp dominate the Murray–Darling Basin, making up 80-90 per cent of the fish biomass in places. In Australia, the use of a biological control agent, the na ....The National Carp Control Plan (NCCP) is presently considering strategies that will effect widespread control of a dominant invasive freshwater fish, the Carp (Cyprinus carpio). Carp have a significant negative impact on social, environmental and economic ($500 million per year) outcomes in aspects of water quality, amenity and biodiversity. Carp dominate the Murray–Darling Basin, making up 80-90 per cent of the fish biomass in places. In Australia, the use of a biological control agent, the naturally occurring carp herpesvirus, could significantly reduce the number of carp in our freshwater systems [1-3]. The NCCP will map out the best approach to manage the required work safely with a key step towards the potential strategic release of carp herpesvirus being community consultation.
One common theme amongst community comments about carp control is “Can we fish them all out through overfishing?” Proponents cite examples of over-exploited commercial fisheries worldwide that have collapsed. This reaction is particularly prevalent amongst the commercial fishing sector of the community [4]. Similar arguments are made against investment in many ‘technologies’ for many vertebrate pest-control strategies; particularly where the pest-animals have a value in an exploitative industry or where effective alternatives are lacking. Other fish-examples include Asian carp species in the Mississippi Basin (Visser 2017), Lionfish in the Caribbean (Downey 2017) and Aripaima or Paiche invading Bolivia (Snyder 2017). Existing studies of the feasibility of Carp control by removal are few in Australia [5, 6] particularly in peer reviewed literature [7]. There is a clear need for peer-reviewed evaluation (including a plain-speech, magazine article version) of the potential for commercial, or subsidised, fishery exploitation to effectively control carp populations in Australia. The proposed research will inform the community consultation process about the potential for deliberate overfishing to complement or to be an effective alternative to virus release.
Objectives: 1. Review literature on control of vertebrate pests through commercial exploitation (with emphasis on pest-fish) 2. Use CarpSim software to explore the limits of critical factors identified in the literature review, with respect to control of Carp in Australia through commercial exploitation 3. Summarise findings of review (1) and modelling (2) in lay persons terms, in a magazine article, to answer questions such as "Can we just fish them all out with commercial fishing?" 4. Prepare and submit a research article based on review (1) and modelling (2) for publication in a peer-reviewed, open-access, scientific journal Read moreRead less
NCCP: Development Of Hydrological, Ecological And Epidemiological Modelling To Inform A CyHV3 Release Strategy For The Biocontrol Of Carp In The Murray Darling Basin
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$1,057,000.00
Summary
The complexity of developing an optimized "release strategy" requires a modelling approach, as undertaking field trials to develop this strategy is not an option - due to the impossibility of containing the virus to the trial site.
Whilst it might be possible to develop a theoretical model for release, it is much preferable that this be based on the available and relevant data that exists for each catchment.
To achieve this we will develop a series of inter-related hydrol .... The complexity of developing an optimized "release strategy" requires a modelling approach, as undertaking field trials to develop this strategy is not an option - due to the impossibility of containing the virus to the trial site.
Whilst it might be possible to develop a theoretical model for release, it is much preferable that this be based on the available and relevant data that exists for each catchment.
To achieve this we will develop a series of inter-related hydrological, ecological, demographic and epidemiological models, and integrate these using a Big Data approach, where the underlying data is stored in databases and accessed using work-flow tools such as CSIRO's Workspace (https://research.csiro.au/workspace/)
Objectives: 1. Develop a series of inter-related hydrological, ecological and epidemiological models that will enable the development of a strategy to inform the strategic staged release of CyHV-3 so as to deliver maximum impact whilst minimizing the major anticipated adverse ecological consequence, i.e. large scale anoxic river events. 2. Develop Big Data management and visualization systems for delivering the large amount of data that will arise from the modelling exercises in an interactive and informative manner. Read moreRead less
NCCP: The Likely Medium- To Long-term Ecological Outcomes Of Major Carp Population Reductions
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$80,632.00
Summary
Release of CyHV-3 virus will be predicated on a sound understanding of the likely impacts of reductions in carp numbers both in terms of immediate effects and longer term ecological responses. Predicting post-control outcomes is particularly important where there may be permanent or transient impacts that may be negatively perceived. Recognising and quantifying uncertainty around these predictions is a critical component of providing advice on release and communication to managers and the genera ....Release of CyHV-3 virus will be predicated on a sound understanding of the likely impacts of reductions in carp numbers both in terms of immediate effects and longer term ecological responses. Predicting post-control outcomes is particularly important where there may be permanent or transient impacts that may be negatively perceived. Recognising and quantifying uncertainty around these predictions is a critical component of providing advice on release and communication to managers and the general public.
The essential needs are; a) A clear conceptualization of the role of carp across ecosystems to enable an expert elicitation of the likely impacts of carp control using CyHV-3. b) To understand how ecosystems may change under scenarios of carp control by CyHV-3 c) To be able to communicate these predicted changed with defined levels of confidence to the public.
The project will identify particular ecosystem attributes expected to change in response to carp control, for example native fish species diversity and abundance, water quality, algal composition and biomass. These metrics will be selected based on current monitoring programs, and conceptualized into simple diagrams which summarise the likely impacts of carp and carp control. This preliminary understanding will underpin exploration of particular control scenarios in terms of evidence available for making predictions of effects on ecosystem attributes. These predictions will be informed by the published literature and expert elicitation from NCCP management and expert panel members.
For all scenarios, the project needs to provide an assessment of the evidence underpinning the predictions of ecosystem response, including: • causal relationships between carp abundance and ecosystem attributes, and the role of other variables (e.g. land-use, geographic region) • identification of knowledge gaps
Objectives 1. Develop a conceptual framework and identify ecosystem attributes expected to change in response to carp control 2. Define attribute metrics and quantify attribute independence 3. Assess the confidence of the scientific evidence underpinning the predicted outcomes 4. Provide outputs that are clearly communicable to the general public and other Objectives: 1. Develop a conceptual framework and identify ecosystem attributes expected to change in response to carp control over the medium to long-term. 2. Define attribute metrics and quantify attribute independence 3. Assess the confidence of the scientific opinion /evidence underpinning the predicted outcomes 4. Provide outputs that are clearly communicable to the general public and other components of the NCCP Read moreRead less
Tactical Research Fund: Rapid Response To Abalone Virus Depletion In Western Victoria: Information Acquisition And Reefcode Assessment Models
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$70,000.00
Summary
The workshop review concluded that (1) there are significant gaps and limitations in the existing information on the status of the abalone populations across reefs in western Victoria (West and Central zones) and exposure of these populations to the virus and (2) that the current regional model was inadequate to represent the current situation in the western zone or to evaluate management options.
In relation to the information needs, it was concluded that there was an urgent need for ....The workshop review concluded that (1) there are significant gaps and limitations in the existing information on the status of the abalone populations across reefs in western Victoria (West and Central zones) and exposure of these populations to the virus and (2) that the current regional model was inadequate to represent the current situation in the western zone or to evaluate management options.
In relation to the information needs, it was concluded that there was an urgent need for a repeat of the scientific surveys at all the standard monitoring sites in the western zone, and far enough into the central zone to be ahead of the virus outbreaks, during July-August 2007. The standard sampling should be augmented by genetic sampling and broad survey of aggregations on the reefs.
The current quantitative regional model is not adequate to represent the current situation in the western zone or to evaluate management options. This is because the current situation in the western zone provides both a form of depletion that is very different from fishing, in terms of the size classes affected and extent of depletion. Reefs are affected differently and the management options are also likely to vary by reef, but the existing regional model does not represent reefs. Because the current situation is unique, there is no longer a basis for assuming that the previously-used industry-based semi-quantitative assessment of reef codes will continue to be reliable.
Thus there is a need to develop and apply a quantitative model that is spatially resolved to at least the reef-code level, and to use this for assessment of population status and examination of management options at the reef-code level. Objectives: 1. Conduct the scientific surveys at the DPIR reef-code sites, using the Victorian survey methods, augmented by genetic sampling and extended survey of the extent of aggregations. 2. Develop a long-term monitoring strategy for continued assessment of reef-stock status and management options. 3. Use existing models to broadly illustrate the likely impacts of the outbreaks. 4. Compile existing information on the outbreaks in an accessible, informative form, develop reef-code growth, maturity and abundance trajectories, and agreed catch histories. 5. Develop and apply a quantitative model that is spatially resolved to the scale of reef-codes, and use this to assess the status of populations and inform the Total Allowable Catch setting process. Read moreRead less