Reforming evidence synthesis and translation for food and nutrition policy. This project aims to develop and evaluate a ‘Fit-for-Purpose’ framework to strategically guide evidence synthesis and translation for food and nutrition policies in order to effectively and safely tackle contemporary nutrition and food security problems. The project intends to use interdisciplinary approaches that integrate nutrition science, health promotion and policy science. The project would also examine policy-make ....Reforming evidence synthesis and translation for food and nutrition policy. This project aims to develop and evaluate a ‘Fit-for-Purpose’ framework to strategically guide evidence synthesis and translation for food and nutrition policies in order to effectively and safely tackle contemporary nutrition and food security problems. The project intends to use interdisciplinary approaches that integrate nutrition science, health promotion and policy science. The project would also examine policy-maker acceptance of the framework. Expected project outcomes include an enhanced capacity to critically analyse existing policies and guide future food and nutrition policy formulation and evaluation. This project would provide significant benefits by helping to promote public health, wellbeing and food system sustainability.Read moreRead less
The consistent growth of the Murray cod production sector in Australia is evidence that the industry is no longer fledgling and has grown into a significant production sector. Growth figures from 2012 until now effectively doubled year on year, with the total production from 2019/2020 season estimated to be around 516 tonnes with an industry value of around $9.2 million (AUD). With this increased production and forecast to reach a $50 million dollar sector by 2030, it is imperative that feeds fo ....The consistent growth of the Murray cod production sector in Australia is evidence that the industry is no longer fledgling and has grown into a significant production sector. Growth figures from 2012 until now effectively doubled year on year, with the total production from 2019/2020 season estimated to be around 516 tonnes with an industry value of around $9.2 million (AUD). With this increased production and forecast to reach a $50 million dollar sector by 2030, it is imperative that feeds for Murray cod are tailored and bespoke to reach their full potential. The development of bespoke feeds for the sector will have the added benefit of improving the economics of operations from both a growth performance and feed efficiency perspective.
Noting that past research on Murray cod primarily by researchers at the Deakin University was very successful in demonstrating some core aspects of fish nutrition, it remains to be determined what benefits are possible on larger fish size classes which represent the bulk of feed consumed. In other well studied species such as Atlantic salmon and barramundi, gains in production efficiency can be achieved by diet design, with incremental changes improving the profitability throughout the life cycle. Although there is no co-op or association for growers, a recently commissioned report has highlighted the need for improved feeds and key R&D support for the sector is required. The proposed project aims to address some of the fundamental gaps in Murray cod nutrition on large size classes to identify where gains in production efficiency can realistically be achieved. Objectives: 1. Determine a baseline for the most optimal macronutrient levels (principally protein and lipid) for medium and large Murray cod in extruded diets. 2. Understand the nutrient profile of the feed types and how this affects the fish performance. 3. Conduct a series of laboratory analyses to determine the biometric and biochemical effect of the feed. Read moreRead less
An Investigation Of Indigenous Knowledges And Nutritional Health And Wellbeing Benefits And Values Of Seafood For Supporting Indigenous Fisheries Development
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$111,932.00
Summary
Development of Aboriginal fishing businesses in the Northern Territory is aiming to improve the livelihoods of community members by providing access to a nutritious, diverse and culturally significant food supply. At both global and national levels, organisations are advocating for health to be considered in all policy (WHO, 2013). The objectives of the proposed research are to understand from an Indigenous knowledge domain the nutritional health and wellbeing benefits of seafood. This informati ....Development of Aboriginal fishing businesses in the Northern Territory is aiming to improve the livelihoods of community members by providing access to a nutritious, diverse and culturally significant food supply. At both global and national levels, organisations are advocating for health to be considered in all policy (WHO, 2013). The objectives of the proposed research are to understand from an Indigenous knowledge domain the nutritional health and wellbeing benefits of seafood. This information can therefore support future considerations of nutrition and health benefits in policy and ensure that health and related unintentional impacts of policies are at least considered in the policy making process in fisheries development. There is an ongoing need for Indigenous grounded approaches to be implemented to improve the diet and nutritional programs in Aboriginal communities (e.g. government programs, Aboriginal Health organisations and school nutrition). It is anticipated that this research will be relevant to a wide range of stakeholders involved in addressing the nutritional and health outcomes in communities through promotion of seafood in diets. The western biomedical health benefits of seafood are widely known globally and nationally (FRDC, 2004). However, the relationships between Indigenous health and wellbeing and seafood in an Indigenous knowledge domain is not well understood. The proposed research aims to address this knowledge gap though a multidimensional approach including localised documentation and representation of Indigenous knowledges of the nutritional health and wellbeing benefits values and meanings of seafood and nutritional analysis of fish and seafood species. This approach will bring together two knowledges in a culturally appropriate manner to better promote a holistic understanding of nutritional benefits of seafood.
The outcome of the research will contribute new knowledge to ensure the development of Indigenous fisheries is sensitive to health, nutritional and wellbeing values and meanings of culturally important seafood. This research project is funded by the Fisheries Research Development Corporation (FRDC project 2019-143) on behalf of the Australian Government and is being implemented in partnership with Monash University, Charles Darwin University and Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation and Traditional Aboriginal Owners from the Maningrida region in the Northern Territory. Project investigators are Associate Professor Julie Brimblecombe, Associate Professor Natasha Stacey, and PhD candidate Beau Cubillo.
Objectives: 1. To document Indigenous knowledges on the understanding of the nutritional health and wellbeing benefits and the value and meanings of locally caught and consumed seafood 2. To develop outputs (e.g. poster, booklet) based on Aboriginal knowledge and nutrition profiling of identified seafood species for inter-generational knowledge transfer 3. To develop a conceptual framework to bring together and represent the components and values of Indigenous knowledges of the nutritional health and wellbeing benefits of seafood Read moreRead less
Accuracy and cost-effectiveness of technology-assisted dietary assessment. This project aims to compare leading methods for technology-assisted dietary assessment. Excessive cost and questionable accuracy limit the routine use of dietary assessment and undermine decision making in Australia. This project intends to compare three technology methods of assessing diet with the current standard recall method used in population surveys in order to confirm if the use of food images and automated metho ....Accuracy and cost-effectiveness of technology-assisted dietary assessment. This project aims to compare leading methods for technology-assisted dietary assessment. Excessive cost and questionable accuracy limit the routine use of dietary assessment and undermine decision making in Australia. This project intends to compare three technology methods of assessing diet with the current standard recall method used in population surveys in order to confirm if the use of food images and automated methods provide new approaches to improve accuracy and consumer acceptability. Expected outcomes of this project include more accurate and acceptable methods of assessing dietary intake. These findings will inform decision making for researchers, policy makers and practitioners in Australia, and potentially lead to more regular population surveillance.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100051
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$337,000.00
Summary
Unhealthy food marketing to children. This project aims to quantify children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing online and identify how online and TV food marketing influences food consumption and may affect death and disease. Reducing children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing is a global health priority. Online marketing is relatively unregulated and unstudied, but provides unprecedented opportunities for marketers to target children. Food marketing exposure leads to a hypothesised ca ....Unhealthy food marketing to children. This project aims to quantify children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing online and identify how online and TV food marketing influences food consumption and may affect death and disease. Reducing children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing is a global health priority. Online marketing is relatively unregulated and unstudied, but provides unprecedented opportunities for marketers to target children. Food marketing exposure leads to a hypothesised cascade of effects, including brand awareness, affect, and behaviour. This project will provide quantifiable data on online food marketing and will lead to a standard protocol for global monitoring.Read moreRead less
Strengthening food systems governance at the local level. This project aims to investigate the role of law, policy, and regulation in enabling local governments and communities to contribute to healthy, sustainable, and equitable food systems. The project will analyse policies and initiatives developed by local governments and communities in New South Wales and Victoria, including how law assists or prevents local-level action. The knowledge created by this project will inform recommendations fo ....Strengthening food systems governance at the local level. This project aims to investigate the role of law, policy, and regulation in enabling local governments and communities to contribute to healthy, sustainable, and equitable food systems. The project will analyse policies and initiatives developed by local governments and communities in New South Wales and Victoria, including how law assists or prevents local-level action. The knowledge created by this project will inform recommendations for policy and legislative reforms that will empower local governments and communities to respond to food system challenges.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101791
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$401,567.00
Summary
Influence of the food environment near schools on children's food intake. Bridging the disciplines of nutrition, public health, geography and urban planning, this unique and innovative project strives to be the first in Australia to: (i) longitudinally map, measure and monitor the food environment near schools; and (ii) comprehensively investigate how the proximity of healthy and unhealthy food outlets near schools impacts on children’s eating behaviours. The findings will be used to develop a s ....Influence of the food environment near schools on children's food intake. Bridging the disciplines of nutrition, public health, geography and urban planning, this unique and innovative project strives to be the first in Australia to: (i) longitudinally map, measure and monitor the food environment near schools; and (ii) comprehensively investigate how the proximity of healthy and unhealthy food outlets near schools impacts on children’s eating behaviours. The findings will be used to develop a set of policy and practice recommendations for key stakeholders (e.g., school staff, students, parents, community members, retailers, planners and government) to help create equitable and health-promoting food environments near schools.Read moreRead less
Cumulative Impact Risk Assessment Tool For Aquaculture In Australia
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$172,999.00
Summary
Difficulties with current legislation in Australia at State and Federal level make it challenging for marine farms to protect themselves, but equally for the community to have faith that aquaculture development is not harming the marine environment. An example from Tasmania is the recent contamination of Macquarie Harbour, whereby tailings from Copper Mines Tasmania (CMT) dam in Queenstown entered the harbour and undoubtedly caused environmental harm to salmon and other species. Because CMT and ....Difficulties with current legislation in Australia at State and Federal level make it challenging for marine farms to protect themselves, but equally for the community to have faith that aquaculture development is not harming the marine environment. An example from Tasmania is the recent contamination of Macquarie Harbour, whereby tailings from Copper Mines Tasmania (CMT) dam in Queenstown entered the harbour and undoubtedly caused environmental harm to salmon and other species. Because CMT and salmon farmers operate under different Acts CMT was not responsible for the incident but rather the government. Consequently, no investigation or clean-up ensued.
Additionally, the scope of statutory tools, such as EIS under the Tasmanian Marine Farm Planning Act 1995, is not regional and does not consider the compound interactions of and on production activities. A good example is the recent Storm Bay salmon farming expansion; while the EPBC listed handfish species in Tasmania were listed in the marine farming development plan, with a brief context, management of these species was not considered in the EIS because that process only includes direct impact of the lease position. Arguably, cumulative impacts from all development in the area will have varying impacts on the species, impacts which are not being considered under current government legislation, but are potentially the source of public ire.
For aquaculture to pursue sustainable efforts environmentally, economically and socially in the increasingly crowded near shore space requires proactive planning and transparency that is not currently possible given existing assessment tools. In particular, assessment of cumulative impacts must be addressed. Cumulative impact assessments (CIA) are gaining momentum across multiple industries due to a recognised need to apply them in the pursuit of sustainable management. CIAs are being undertaken with the protection of marines resources at front of mind, but so far there has been little consideration of aquaculture. An approach to CIA that makes aquaculture the centre point is required if we are to consider its impacts or conversely, its effectiveness. Objectives: 1. Identify the risks of multiple actions or impacts on the environment and social values of a marine production matrix in Australian waters. In order to do this a comprehensive literature review is required to develop the CIA approach and ensure the methods and gaps in aquaculture CIA are addressed to meet the needs of Australian aquaculture, the community and the consumer. 2. Develop a risk assessment tool that can be utilised by the public realm (governments at all levels, NFPS, community) to better understand the complexities of regional marine waters and user impacts to maximise current and future economic, social and environmental benefits. To do this requires identification of valued environmental and social components first, whereby such components are characterised, from this a framework is build on each valued component. 3. Assess aquaculture in the context of broader social and environmental issues within the marine production matrix, by performing an aquaculture specific cumulative impacts assessment for regional Australia Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100616
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$411,500.00
Summary
Sustained innovations to promote healthier food in the retail environment. This project aims to provide empirical evidence to drive sustained retailer change in favour of healthier food offerings. Australian food environments drive unhealthy diets and are a major cause of social, productivity and wellbeing loss. Using implementation science methods applied to rigorous real-world trials and policy collaborations, the project will test the effectiveness of innovative methods for sustaining organis ....Sustained innovations to promote healthier food in the retail environment. This project aims to provide empirical evidence to drive sustained retailer change in favour of healthier food offerings. Australian food environments drive unhealthy diets and are a major cause of social, productivity and wellbeing loss. Using implementation science methods applied to rigorous real-world trials and policy collaborations, the project will test the effectiveness of innovative methods for sustaining organisational change across a range of retail settings. Outcomes would deliver significant benefits by enabling retailers, governments, and public health advocates nationally and internationally to make the lasting changes to retail environments needed to improve productivity and population wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Seaweed Production As A Nutrient Offset For Moreton Bay
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$370,000.00
Summary
Moreton Bay is a 1,500 km-squared urbanised estuary adjacent to one of the fastest growing regions in Australia. Rapid population growth creates a challenge for wastewater utilities to deal with the increase in nutrient loads. This includes the single largest asset of Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU), the Luggage Point Sewage Treatment Plant, at the mouth of the Brisbane River that discharges into the bay. At the same time, on the eastern side of Moreton Bay, the Queensland rock oyster indu .... Moreton Bay is a 1,500 km-squared urbanised estuary adjacent to one of the fastest growing regions in Australia. Rapid population growth creates a challenge for wastewater utilities to deal with the increase in nutrient loads. This includes the single largest asset of Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU), the Luggage Point Sewage Treatment Plant, at the mouth of the Brisbane River that discharges into the bay. At the same time, on the eastern side of Moreton Bay, the Queensland rock oyster industry faces reduced productivity due to environmental change, disease and algal blooms, and challenges associated with the business risks presented by monoculture. Here, communities on Minjerribah (Nth Stradbroke Island) are also investigating new opportunities during their transition away from sand mining, and Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) has Native Title on a large tract of the Moreton Bay Marine Park, which to date is mostly unutilised.
Seaweed production offers a unique and timely solution to address some of the economic, environmental and social challenges in Moreton Bay. Seaweed farming is a “no-feed” form of aquaculture; it is zero waste and compatible with oyster farming and marine park zoning. Seaweeds grow quickly and strip nutrients from the water column, draw down carbon dioxide and can remove pollutants such as heavy metals. At the right scale, seaweed farming will reverse environmental change. Because of this, QUU and the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) are evaluating how much nutrient can be extracted from the bay as an offset for their discharge licences, to avoid substantial capital investment in sewage treatment whilst delivering better environmental outcomes for each dollar spent.
At more than 25 million tonnes per year, seaweed is the largest marine crop in the world. Southeast Queensland is the perfect setting for developing a seaweed industry – ample light, warm water and existing aquaculture leases with farmers, such as Moreton Bay Rock Oysters (MBRO), seeking to diversify their production. Investing in seaweed production will create a new industry for our coastal communities with accountable environmental services and sustainable products.
Objectives: 1. Compare and contrast the nutrient offset and sequestration potential of target seaweeds in controlled experiments 2. Evaluate seaweed production systems using commercially available aquaculture equipment during the scale-up of target seaweeds 3. Determine the yield and properties of harvested seaweed from a year-round pilot production trial at two sites within Moreton Bay 4. Assess the potential effects of seaweed culture on water quality and adjacent marine animals and vegetation 5. Model the removal of nutrients, carbon and other pollutants and the offset capacity of seaweed farming for Moreton Bay Read moreRead less