Developing new ways to add value and increase the social licence of fishers remains a challenge for the fishing industry across the globe. The Australian seafood industry, and in particular small scale inshore fishers are under increasing pressure to meet community expectations, while still servicing a need to provide fresh locally caught seafood. The challenge remains how to balance these two needs. Objectives: 1. Increase the knowledge of the participants participating in the Lo ....Developing new ways to add value and increase the social licence of fishers remains a challenge for the fishing industry across the globe. The Australian seafood industry, and in particular small scale inshore fishers are under increasing pressure to meet community expectations, while still servicing a need to provide fresh locally caught seafood. The challenge remains how to balance these two needs. Objectives: 1. Increase the knowledge of the participants participating in the Local Seafood Summit to opportunities for new ways of promoting their industry Read moreRead less
Huon: Design And Testing Of Well-boat Bathing Systems Including The Development Of Full Freshwater Re-circulation Capability, And, The Safe And Reliable Use Of Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment In Both Seawater And Reusable Freshwater Baths For Atlantic Salmon
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$500,000.00
Summary
The present project relates principally to Programs 1 (Environment) & 2 (Industry) of the FRDC’s Strategic priority areas. Specifically the project will increase the gross value of production, profit margins, productivity and opportunity (Theme 7) for Huon, through providing the company with a means to expand operations into offshore and more exposed fish farming areas. The successful use of the well-boat also extends to Theme 1 through providing a means to prevent and manage disease incursion ....The present project relates principally to Programs 1 (Environment) & 2 (Industry) of the FRDC’s Strategic priority areas. Specifically the project will increase the gross value of production, profit margins, productivity and opportunity (Theme 7) for Huon, through providing the company with a means to expand operations into offshore and more exposed fish farming areas. The successful use of the well-boat also extends to Theme 1 through providing a means to prevent and manage disease incursions through providing a biosecure vessel for transferring fish between marine sites.
On a broad operational level the project is needed in order to: 1) Allow the company to expand offshore 2) Ensure the cost effective use of the well-boat at inshore and offshore sites 3) Provide low risk SOP’s for bathing on board the well-boat
To make the use of the well-boat cost effective Huon has to both reduce the time for bathing so that more baths can be undertaken during appropriate weather conditions, and the well boat has to be able to reuse freshwater or find a method for bathing in seawater that will greatly reduce the need to return to shore-based freshwater fill stations to re-load with freshwater as all fill stations are at least 50kms from the exposed water sites.
Objectives: 1. Design and test a water quality treatment system that allows multiple reuse of freshwater in well-boat bathing operations. 2. Adapt previous experience and experimentation of the use of Hydrogen peroxide as a therapeutant in both fresh and seawater bathing into Huon’s well-boat operations, including devising mechanisms and systems for freshwater reuse during treatment. 3. Provide detailed SOP’s for the previous objectives. Read moreRead less
Tactical Research Fund: Topping Up The "Crystal Bowl" For Barramundi
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$62,000.00
Summary
Application 2010/018: A "Crystal Bowl" for Barramundi was submitted to the FRDC 2010 round. While the application was rejected the Board indicated it was sympathetic to the approach described and suggested further discussion with Recfishing Research in the development of any future application. It is proposed that a further application be developed for the FRDC 2011 round addressing the issues raised by the Board.
The "Crystal Bowl" concept will underpin any move to regional management ....Application 2010/018: A "Crystal Bowl" for Barramundi was submitted to the FRDC 2010 round. While the application was rejected the Board indicated it was sympathetic to the approach described and suggested further discussion with Recfishing Research in the development of any future application. It is proposed that a further application be developed for the FRDC 2011 round addressing the issues raised by the Board.
The "Crystal Bowl" concept will underpin any move to regional management which is dependent on fine scale data collection on Barramundi in the Fitzroy River system and remains pivotal to the further development of the concept.
Data collected will also be used as baseline data for two coal port developments proposed by Xstrata for the Fitzroy River. These proposals are in their early stages. One proposal at Balaclava Island at the mouth of the river could impact on Barramundi and Threadfin spawning grounds and the other to barge coal down the Fitzroy River will significantly disrupt fishing activities. Discussions are underway with consultants for Xstrata to establish a monitoring program however this is unlikely to commence until the project are approved.
The data required is commercial catch, recreational catch and recruitment. Also required are the environmental conditions including connectivity of wetland lagoons, river flows and rainfall.
Data on commercial catch is available from Fisheries Queensland. CapReef, a community based monitoring program, has collected data on recreational catch since 2007 and recruitment since 1999. A further application for the "Crystal Bowl" will not be submitted until November 2010 and if approved would not commence until around June 2011. Objectives: 1. Collection of commercial catch and recreational catch data for the Fitzroy River in 2010-11 2. Collection of Barramundi recruitment and environmental data for the 2011 recruitment season from January to April 3. Use of that data in the development of commitment to local or regional management among local stakeholders and as baseline data for estimating the impact of proposed coal port developments for the Fitzroy River Read moreRead less
Objectives: 1. Develop & evaluate commercially feasible methods for growing oysters in deep water in estuarine & inshore coastal areas: 2. Develop & evaluate best trays, flotation units, moorings for deep water; grow-out trials of growth & mortality; economics of deep water culture
A Fishing Survey Of Flatfishes In Bass Strait Waters Adjacent To Tasmania
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
Objectives: 1. Assess commercial viability of specialised trawling for flounder & sole in shallow inshore waters of Bass Strait adjacent to Tasmania 2. efficiency of vessel 11-16m for otter trawling; 3. provide data to compare earning capacity of similar vessels in specialised trlg & rock lobster fishery
Defining The Stock Structure Of Northern Australia's Threadfin Salmon Species
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$369,653.00
Summary
Threadfins form an important component of barramundi fisheries and are likely to play a significant ecological role in northern inshore habitats. Despite their importance and the expansion of coastal fisheries, the status of the threadfin resource in most parts is unknown whereas in WA they are considered fully or over-exploited (Pember et al, 2005). This uncertainty arises from the limited understanding of threadfin biology, stock structure and a lack of available data on resource exploitation ....Threadfins form an important component of barramundi fisheries and are likely to play a significant ecological role in northern inshore habitats. Despite their importance and the expansion of coastal fisheries, the status of the threadfin resource in most parts is unknown whereas in WA they are considered fully or over-exploited (Pember et al, 2005). This uncertainty arises from the limited understanding of threadfin biology, stock structure and a lack of available data on resource exploitation (Welch et al. 2002). The inshore net fisheries across northern Australia are currently managed separately and under vastly different management regimes. However, without knowledge of threadfin stock structure the appropriate spatial scales of management is not known. In August 2003, the Northern Australian Fisheries Management Forum (NAFM) signalled its intention to move from single jurisdiction-based fishery assessment and management towards a more integrated approach that reflected the management needs of species across their northern Australian range. Elucidation of threadfin stock structure is vital for their management at an appropriate ecosystem scale. Attending to these critical issues for threadfins will also provide a framework for addressing management of other inshore species that are fished in adjacent State and Territory waters. Consequently, this project addresses research priorities outlined by QFIRAC, the NT FRAB, Fisheries WA and Sunfish.
Industry has also expressed major concerns for the sustainability of the threadfin fisheries. These concerns are based on fishers’ personal experience’s, whereby large concentrations of king threadfins usually associated with inshore fishing grounds, especially in the south-east Gulf of Carpentaria, are now being encountered much less frequently, and their movement on and off the grounds is much more erratic than previous years (G. Ward, pers. comm.). Objectives: 1. To determine the stock structure of king and blue threadfin salmon across northern Australia. 2. To use these findings to define the appropriate cross-jurisdictional management framework for sustainable use of king and blue threadfin resources in northern Australia. Read moreRead less
Characterisation Of The Inshore Fish Assemblages Of The Pilbara And Kimberley Coasts
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$472,686.75
Summary
Inshore demersal fish stocks in Australia’s north-west face increased exploitation pressure by an ever increasing number of recreational fishers in direct competition with an adjacent commercial fishing industry. There is, therefore, an urgent need to determine the species distribution and the composition of demersal scalefish resources in the inshore region of north-western Australia in waters outward from the shoreline to depths of 30 metres, including the documentation of the abundance and di ....Inshore demersal fish stocks in Australia’s north-west face increased exploitation pressure by an ever increasing number of recreational fishers in direct competition with an adjacent commercial fishing industry. There is, therefore, an urgent need to determine the species distribution and the composition of demersal scalefish resources in the inshore region of north-western Australia in waters outward from the shoreline to depths of 30 metres, including the documentation of the abundance and diversity of any significant finfish by-catch of prawn trawlers operating within the region, as a basis for formulating rational management plans for the exploitation of the demersal scalefish resource among user-groups.
The sharing of the inshore demersal fish resource in this region will require careful future management to ensure sustainability and avoid conflict among these user groups. This project will provide baseline information on the species composition and relative abundance of the inshore fishes of Australia’s north-west and identify possible nursery areas of species of commercial and recreational fishing significance which may need protection, possibly as nursery closures, in the future. Furthermore, in order to facilitate sagacious management plans and to safeguard the interests of commercial and recreational fishers, the baseline information on the nearshore fishery resources of the north-west provided by this study can be used to assess the impact of any possible access restrictions that may be imposed in areas nominated as future marine reserve sites in north-western Australia. Objectives: 1. To determine the overall catch of the key species of commercial and recreational fishing significance (that is, the recreational catch, commercial catch and other landed catch). 2. To determine the species composition and relative abundance of the inshore demersal finfish resource from the shoreline outward to a depth of 30 metres along the inner-continental shelf in north-western Australia. 3. To determine the nursery areas of fish species of commercial and recreational significance in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions. Read moreRead less
Beyond GVP: The Value Of Inshore Commercial Fisheries To Fishers And Consumers In Regional Communities On Queensland’s East Coast
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$179,648.64
Summary
There are multiple threats to ongoing access/operation of commercial inshore fisheries (finfish and crab) along Queensland’s east coast. These include port developments and expansions, coastal development, public perception (which influences management) and competition between fishing sectors (which also influences management). These threats to access could adversely affect not only commercial fishers themselves, but also secondary industries as well as the availability of seafood to local commu ....There are multiple threats to ongoing access/operation of commercial inshore fisheries (finfish and crab) along Queensland’s east coast. These include port developments and expansions, coastal development, public perception (which influences management) and competition between fishing sectors (which also influences management). These threats to access could adversely affect not only commercial fishers themselves, but also secondary industries as well as the availability of seafood to local communities. It is now well documented that consumers prefer local seafood products, and are willing to pay more for seafood labelled ‘local’ (Tobin et al. 2010; Calogeras et al. 2011).
It could be assumed that reducing these threats and ensuring ongoing operation of commercial fisheries and local seafood supply is desirable, for many social and economic reasons. Yet there is little information about the value inshore commercial fisheries and fishing businesses provide to communities (aside from the much used GVP, which has long been recognised as a nonsensical measure of value (e.g. Edwards 1991, McPhee & Hundloe 2004)), or the relative value of local seafood compared to non-local seafood for consumers.
Without knowing the real economic value of commercial fisheries and local seafood for regional communities, decisions regarding management of, and access to, resources are likely to be ill informed. Real value information can be used to ensure appropriate access of fishers and consumers to fisheries resources, better assess the economic impacts of other coastal activities that negatively affect fishing, or better inform reallocation processes where necessary.
Objectives: 1. Determine the economic value of inshore commercial finfish and crab fisheries within Qld east-coast regional communities 2. Model the flow-on economic and employment value of inshore commercial fisheries 3. Determine the relative value of local seafood compared to non-local Australian or imported products 4. Develop a transferable methodology template to measure the value of commercial fisheries to regional communities for a broader range of fisheries Read moreRead less