Circular Economy Opportunities For Fisheries And Aquaculture In Australia
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$158,000.00
Summary
Current resource use challenges sustainability and resilience of industries. Circular value chains allow management of waste losses and maximise resource recovery. A circular economy (CE) mimics the cycles in nature in which there is no waste. Maximum value and utility of products and materials is maintained in CE through a combination of extending product lifetimes, increasing resource use intensity, and end-of-life material recycling. CE includes the idea of regenerative development, i.e. as ....Current resource use challenges sustainability and resilience of industries. Circular value chains allow management of waste losses and maximise resource recovery. A circular economy (CE) mimics the cycles in nature in which there is no waste. Maximum value and utility of products and materials is maintained in CE through a combination of extending product lifetimes, increasing resource use intensity, and end-of-life material recycling. CE includes the idea of regenerative development, i.e. as the earth’s resources cycle as materials through the economy they restore and enhance, rather than deplete, natural capital.
Economic opportunities of circularity are well identified, the World Economic Forum estimates global adoption of CE principles would deliver cost savings of US$1trillion dollars per annum by 2025. A recent UTS:ISF study estimated an Australian CE could be worth AU$2 billion by 2025. However, current knowledge gaps constrain how CE may develop, at what scale it makes sense to close loops, and the strategies, policy mix and incentives needed to promote circularity.
For fisheries and aquaculture, CE adoption addresses waste challenges through the creation of new value chains for fish/shell waste and substitution or recycling plastics and provides co-benefits of resource efficiency, contributions to healthy aquatic eco-systems and creation of added value and new employment. Frameworks to guide ‘CE thinking’ exist e.g. Ellen Macarthur Foundation’s 10R’s and ReSOLVE (see Supplementary Material), but have not been explored, are often omitted in food innovation debates (Pagotto and Halog 2015), and opportunities for implementation within the sector are still emerging (e.g., replacement of fish-feed for abalone with wine production waste or repurposing mussel shells as high-nutrient fertiliser). The need to understand the context, opportunity and benefit of CE innovations and to identify strategic approaches to sectoral circularity at scale are apparent.
Objectives: 1. 1. Develop increased knowledge of how the concept of circular economy relates to fishing and aquaculture, including downstream activities such as post-harvest processing and packaging. 2. 2. Develop increased knowledge of how circular practices being applied in other sectors and industries relate to the fishing and aquaculture sectors and could be adopted by fishing and aquaculture businesses. This includes opportunities for fisheries/aquaculture industries to develop circular linkages with other marine and land based sectors. 3. 3. Identify opportunities that are available and areas for exploration in the short, medium and longer term to progress a circular economy for fisheries and aquaculture. 4. 4. Identify barriers to adopting circularity within the fisheries/aquaculture sector, and known strategies for addressing those barriers. Read moreRead less
Bursary To Attend The 2022 Microplastics And Seafood: Human Health Symposium In The United Kingdom - Nina Wootton
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$9,400.00
Summary
[Produce a ‘Critical Review Paper’ to provide a potential roadmap for additional research, as well as help identify communication strategies for the seafood industry. This is a development and networking opportunity to create future relationships and collaborations]
This bursary will allow Nina Wootton to attend the microplastics and seafood symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland. The focus of the symposium will be human health aspects of microplastics in seafood. The aim is to produce a cri ....[Produce a ‘Critical Review Paper’ to provide a potential roadmap for additional research, as well as help identify communication strategies for the seafood industry. This is a development and networking opportunity to create future relationships and collaborations]
This bursary will allow Nina Wootton to attend the microplastics and seafood symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland. The focus of the symposium will be human health aspects of microplastics in seafood. The aim is to produce a critical review paper to provide a potential roadmap for additional research, as well as help identify communication strategies for the seafood industry. This is part of an international partnership between FRDC, Seafish (UK) and Seafood Industry Research Fund (USA) that will have 11 scientific experts attending along with industry. The symposium provides Australians with a unique opportunity to engage with experts and industry from around the world.
We will also visit several UK based research groups as part of our travel - we have already engaged with researchers from Plymouth Marine Laboratories, University of Plymouth and Exeter University including Professor Richard Thompson, the first researcher to identify microplastics as an issue. Objectives: 1. Attend the 'Microplastics and Seafood; Human Health Symposium' in the United Kingdom 2. To produce a ‘Critical Review Paper’ addressing microplastics in seafood and impact on human health to provide a potential roadmap for additional research and identify communication strategies for the seafood industry Read moreRead less
Bursary To Attend The 2022 Microplastics And Seafood: Human Health Symposium In The United Kingdom - Bronwyn Gillanders
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$8,885.00
Summary
[Produce a ‘Critical Review Paper’ to provide a potential roadmap for additional research, as well as help identify communication strategies for the seafood industry. This is a development and networking opportunity to create future relationships and collaborations]
This bursary will allow Professor Gillanders to attend the microplastics and seafood symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland. The focus of the symposium will be human health aspects of microplastics in seafood. The aim is to produ ....[Produce a ‘Critical Review Paper’ to provide a potential roadmap for additional research, as well as help identify communication strategies for the seafood industry. This is a development and networking opportunity to create future relationships and collaborations]
This bursary will allow Professor Gillanders to attend the microplastics and seafood symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland. The focus of the symposium will be human health aspects of microplastics in seafood. The aim is to produce a critical review paper to provide a potential roadmap for additional research, as well as help identify communication strategies for the seafood industry. This is part of an international partnership between FRDC, Seafish (UK) and Seafood Industry Research Fund (USA) that will have 11 scientific experts attending along with industry. The symposium provides Australians with a unique opportunity to engage with experts and industry from around the world.
We will also visit several UK based research groups as part of our travel - we have already engaged with researchers from Plymouth Marine Laboratories, University of Plymouth and Exeter University including Professor Richard Thompson, the first researcher to identify microplastics as an issue. Objectives: 1. Attend the 'Microplastics and Seafood; Human Health Symposium' in the United Kingdom 2. To produce a ‘Critical Review Paper’ addressing microplastics in seafood and impact on human health to provide a potential roadmap for additional research and identify communication strategies for the seafood industry Read moreRead less
A Global Review On Implications Of Plastic In Seafood
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$60,513.00
Summary
The project will review and synthesise available global data on the potential effects and implications that plastic is causing in seafood species in the context of the impacts they generate to fishing and aquaculture sectors. Concurrently, using published literature on sources of marine pollution, the abundance of plastic entering aquatic systems from seafood related sources will be quantified, with particular focus to the Australian context. Ultimately, this will give the fisheries sector, part ....The project will review and synthesise available global data on the potential effects and implications that plastic is causing in seafood species in the context of the impacts they generate to fishing and aquaculture sectors. Concurrently, using published literature on sources of marine pollution, the abundance of plastic entering aquatic systems from seafood related sources will be quantified, with particular focus to the Australian context. Ultimately, this will give the fisheries sector, particularly in an Australian setting, the knowledge to evaluate where appropriate mitigation strategies are necessary and reduce the presence and impacts of microplastics in seafood.
This project aligns with FRDC R&D Plan Outcome 1: Growth and Enduring prosperity; In particular, it targets the priorities of: - Improving the understanding of the cause and extent of impacts to aquatic systems and what is needed to improve them - Promote a circular economy to remove waste from the processing system, keep products and materials in use and promote the repair of natural systems
Providing information on how marine pollution may affect the seafood industry and seafood species fished will guide the urgency of future research and allow management and mitigation strategies that support the seafood sector to be developed. Ultimately, quantifying the amount of plastic contributed by the seafood sector to marine plastics will allow us to advance with solutions and uncover where plastic alternatives are most needed.
Objectives: 1. Undertake a systematic review, collating, synthesising and analysing global data on the effects and implications of plastic pollution in seafood species and the seafood industry 2. Identify potential sources of plastic in marine environments, including the percentage coming through fishing and aquaculture 3. Highlight key knowledge gaps, opportunities and threats of plastic in the seafood sector 4. Disseminate findings and information on effects and implications of plastic pollution on seafood species to fishers and managers Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL170100041
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,327,500.00
Summary
Controlling chemical reactions via pH-switchable electrostatic catalysis. This project aims to establish a new approach to catalysis using the electrostatic effects of pH-switchable, charged functional groups. Utilising simple homogeneous catalysts and polymer-supported enzyme-mimicking catalysts, a wide range of target reactions will be studied. The expected outcomes of the project will include a new approach to the design and optimisation of several new classes of catalyst for assembling compl ....Controlling chemical reactions via pH-switchable electrostatic catalysis. This project aims to establish a new approach to catalysis using the electrostatic effects of pH-switchable, charged functional groups. Utilising simple homogeneous catalysts and polymer-supported enzyme-mimicking catalysts, a wide range of target reactions will be studied. The expected outcomes of the project will include a new approach to the design and optimisation of several new classes of catalyst for assembling complex molecules and materials. The project also offers a unique opportunity to train the next generation of chemists in the principles of computer-aided chemical design. The catalysts developed in this project will be able to accelerate and control the chemical reactions used in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and materials, with significant practical benefits to industry.Read moreRead less
Functionalised biopolymers - a new class of renewable nano-engineered materials. Licella is an Australian start-up company, focusing on developing uses for the renewable resource lignocellulosic biomass; a fibrous material sourced principally from waste, such as that generated by forestry and agricultural operations. It is possible to use such waste and process it to separate the biomass components. This project proposes to modify these biomass fractions with living radical polymerisation (LPR) ....Functionalised biopolymers - a new class of renewable nano-engineered materials. Licella is an Australian start-up company, focusing on developing uses for the renewable resource lignocellulosic biomass; a fibrous material sourced principally from waste, such as that generated by forestry and agricultural operations. It is possible to use such waste and process it to separate the biomass components. This project proposes to modify these biomass fractions with living radical polymerisation (LPR) polymers to impart functionalities, such as antimicrobial properties, high tensile strengths and/or in-built photodegrability. New, high-performance sustainable materials like these will be the back-bone of the polymer/plastics industry of the future, replacing common plastics, sourced from non-renewable petrochemicals, with benign, sustainable plastics.Read moreRead less
Multiblock copolymer synthesis for nano-engineered materials. This project aims to develop methodology for environmentally friendly and industrially applicable synthesis of new types of advanced polymeric materials comprising multiblock copolymers. Polymeric materials play an important role in society with applications from bulk plastics to advanced technological applications. This would enable the creation of advanced materials with specific engineering targets and applications ranging from nan ....Multiblock copolymer synthesis for nano-engineered materials. This project aims to develop methodology for environmentally friendly and industrially applicable synthesis of new types of advanced polymeric materials comprising multiblock copolymers. Polymeric materials play an important role in society with applications from bulk plastics to advanced technological applications. This would enable the creation of advanced materials with specific engineering targets and applications ranging from nanomedicine to materials science.Read moreRead less
Computer-Aided Design of Agents for Controlling Free-Radical Polymerisation. This project will provide cutting-edge fundamental research of importance to free-radical polymerisation. This process is the basis of a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide, and is very important to the Australian economy. The project will help to expand the applicability of the reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerisation process, which is a significant new CSIRO-invented method for contro ....Computer-Aided Design of Agents for Controlling Free-Radical Polymerisation. This project will provide cutting-edge fundamental research of importance to free-radical polymerisation. This process is the basis of a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide, and is very important to the Australian economy. The project will help to expand the applicability of the reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerisation process, which is a significant new CSIRO-invented method for controlling free-radical polymerisation. In doing this, the project will facilitate the design and development of a range of new polymer products, with applications in biotechnology and nanotechnology. This research will help to keep Australia at the forefront of this important field.Read moreRead less
Pro-Fluorescent Aryl Nitroxides: New Probes for Polymer Lifetime and Kinetics Research. Internal aryl rings present in novel probes developed for this project impart fluorescence which is efficiently and internally quenched by the presence of a paramagnetic nitroxide group. Scavenging of radicals by the nitroxide however "switches on" the fluorescence and this enables powerful new fluorescence-based detection levels for the technique of nitroxide free radical scavenging. Such sensitivity is a ....Pro-Fluorescent Aryl Nitroxides: New Probes for Polymer Lifetime and Kinetics Research. Internal aryl rings present in novel probes developed for this project impart fluorescence which is efficiently and internally quenched by the presence of a paramagnetic nitroxide group. Scavenging of radicals by the nitroxide however "switches on" the fluorescence and this enables powerful new fluorescence-based detection levels for the technique of nitroxide free radical scavenging. Such sensitivity is applicable to polymerization kinetics studies, as well as providing new means for the determination of materials lifetimes. The development of pro-fluorescent markers as indicators for polymer degradation would be a significant outcome for materials where component failure has a major negative impact.Read moreRead less