Recreational Fishing And Human Wellbeing: Insights From Existing Data And Development Of Best Practice Approaches To Future Measurement
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$46,000.00
Summary
This project is needed as there are knowledge gaps about the effect of recreational fishing on the health and wellbeing of recreational fishers. Recent years have seen many claims about the health and wellbeing benefits of recreational fishing, as well as growing interest in nature connection and outdoor recreation as wellbeing interventions more generally. Measuring and valuing the wellbeing benefits of recreational fishing is not currently possible due to a lack of evidence, and limited method ....This project is needed as there are knowledge gaps about the effect of recreational fishing on the health and wellbeing of recreational fishers. Recent years have seen many claims about the health and wellbeing benefits of recreational fishing, as well as growing interest in nature connection and outdoor recreation as wellbeing interventions more generally. Measuring and valuing the wellbeing benefits of recreational fishing is not currently possible due to a lack of evidence, and limited methods for monitoring, measuring and reporting wellbeing effects. The FRDC’s RD&E Plan 2015-20 aims by 2020 to have robust community net benefit metrics that enable measurement of the benefits of fishing. This project will develop robust metrics related to health and wellbeing benefits of recreational fishing. Achieving this requires better understanding both (i) whether and under what circumstances engaging in recreational fishing has measurable impacts on health and wellbeing, and (ii) how to measure these benefits to produce readily accessible and understandable metrics. This will help achieve the FRDC’s national research strategy deliverable ‘Social contribution is supported by the fishing and aquaculture sector so it can capture the non-monetary value of activities across sectors.’ This work will also contribute to national science and research priorities in the health field, specifically the priority ‘Build healthy and resilient communities throughout Australia by developing … preventative strategies to improve physical and mental well-being’ (http://www.science.gov.au/scienceGov/ScienceAndResearchPriorities/Pages/Health.aspx). Nationally, this research priority aims to develop strategies for supporting wellbeing. This project contributes by identifying the role recreational fishing can play in building healthy and resilient communities through supporting physical and mental wellbeing. This research will also contribute to the overarching aims of Australia’s rural research, development and extension strategy, which include ‘develop a range of technologies and knowledge to contribute to healthy Australian lifestyles’ (http://www.agriculture.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/ag-food/innovation2/nsrrdip-investment-plan1.pdf) Objectives: 1. Understand whether engaging in recreational fishing (or in particular types or frequency of fishing) is associated with improved health and wellbeing for individual recreational fishers using available datasets 2. Identify best practice methods for establishing a causal relationship between (i) engaging in fishing and (ii) health and wellbeing outcomes for individual recreational fishers 3. Produce proposed set of measures and associated methodology that can be used to robustly measure causal association between engaging in fishing and health & wellbeing for individual recreational fishers and that can be used to provide valuation of these benefits for the broader economy Read moreRead less
Improving The Effectiveness, Efficiency And Safety Of Mitigation Tools For Protected Species Interactions In The Eastern Tuna And Billfish Fishery
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$268,500.00
Summary
There is a need to explore new wildlife mitigation technologies and refine existing ones to focus on reducing WHS and further improve technology to minimise wildlife interactions.
This proposal is focused on crew safety associated with current mitigation and improving currently used mitigation tools.
Improving WHS Flyback prevention device - managing flyback from existing mitigation strategies is very important - this is when the line is bitten off and the lead weight re ....There is a need to explore new wildlife mitigation technologies and refine existing ones to focus on reducing WHS and further improve technology to minimise wildlife interactions.
This proposal is focused on crew safety associated with current mitigation and improving currently used mitigation tools.
Improving WHS Flyback prevention device - managing flyback from existing mitigation strategies is very important - this is when the line is bitten off and the lead weight required to sink the baited hook quickly during the longline set recoils back at the operator hauling the line. There have already been several serious injuries in Australian longline fisheries due to line weights, including some significant recent injuries.
Side setting - the longline is set from the side of a vessel allowing the baited hook more time to sink out of reach of scavenging seabirds. This technology needs to be explored in context of Australian on-water environmental conditions and WHS risks
Line weighting - there are current line weighting requirements specified in ACAP guidelines, Conservation Management Measures of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, and the ETBF Management arrangements. There is a need to remove weights from lines due to recoil while maintaining line sinking efficiency. Furthermore, fishers are very concerned that extra line weighting reduces catch rates as it restricts bait movement.
Technical improvements Other technical improvements to existing mitigation equipment will also be tested including
Tori line improvements - A Tori line is deployed from a high point on the vessel to a drogue 100m astern to create tension in the line where streamers hang loosely at predetermined intervals. The streamers act as deterrent to scavenging seabirds by creating an obstacle in the way of baited hooks being set. There is a need to refine the Tori line so that it is easier to deploy and retrieve, is readily made or purchased, meets specifications of the Agreement of the Conservation of Albatross and Petrel (ACAP) guidelines, is suitable for all areas of the fishery, and configurations are explored for species specific applications.
Objectives: 1. To trial several new and/or modified protected species mitigation tools and processes in the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery to further reduce the rate of protected species interactions. 2. To demonstrate whether new and/or modified mitigation tools and processes are cost-effective and easy to use than the current suite 3. To improve crew safety through revising the design and deployment of protected species mitigation equipment. 4. To provide Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery vessels with an improved protected species toolkit including better data gathering, greater analysis capability and enhanced information sharing capabilities Read moreRead less
Where we belong: Connecting Indigenous identity and well-being in the city. This project aims to address a critical knowledge gap about the lived experience of well-being for urban/sub-urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This project intends to provide an empirical understanding of the importance of identity and belonging for well-being from an Indigenous standpoint. Expected outcomes of this project include an in-depth, holistic, and place-based understanding of Indigenous- ....Where we belong: Connecting Indigenous identity and well-being in the city. This project aims to address a critical knowledge gap about the lived experience of well-being for urban/sub-urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This project intends to provide an empirical understanding of the importance of identity and belonging for well-being from an Indigenous standpoint. Expected outcomes of this project include an in-depth, holistic, and place-based understanding of Indigenous-determined pathways to living well in the city and identifying community-based policy opportunities. This project has the potential to contribute to significant social and cultural benefits, such as improving Indigenous community well-being, healing intergenerational trauma, and promoting social cohesion and reconciliation.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100140
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$436,968.00
Summary
Improving the Outcomes of Indigenous Boarding School Graduates. This project generates evidence that is urgently needed to improve Indigenous Australian boarding school outcomes, by examining the life paths and experiences of recent graduates. It draws on rich qualitative data regarding Indigenous graduate experiences, to examine practices that affect retention, attainment, post-school pathways and cultural wellbeing. This project expands a novel Indigenous research method, photoyarn, to amplify ....Improving the Outcomes of Indigenous Boarding School Graduates. This project generates evidence that is urgently needed to improve Indigenous Australian boarding school outcomes, by examining the life paths and experiences of recent graduates. It draws on rich qualitative data regarding Indigenous graduate experiences, to examine practices that affect retention, attainment, post-school pathways and cultural wellbeing. This project expands a novel Indigenous research method, photoyarn, to amplify the voices of Indigenous participants using digital co-research processes. Providing first-hand evidence to inform Indigenous education policy, this project also produces best practice guidelines for Australia's boarding school industry, toward closing the gap in Indigenous boarding graduate outcomes.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100077
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$441,935.00
Summary
A geospatial toolkit to assess community risk to environmental change. This project seeks to strengthen our understanding of the role of environmental change in driving patterns of community risk, by building a spatially and temporally explicit model, and a risk index that will be designed with input from decision makers. This project expects to improve the implementation of geospatial tools for risk assessment using an innovative approach based on evidence and practice. Expected outcomes includ ....A geospatial toolkit to assess community risk to environmental change. This project seeks to strengthen our understanding of the role of environmental change in driving patterns of community risk, by building a spatially and temporally explicit model, and a risk index that will be designed with input from decision makers. This project expects to improve the implementation of geospatial tools for risk assessment using an innovative approach based on evidence and practice. Expected outcomes include increased and optimal implementation of geospatial data in Australian systems, and enhanced research capacity to proactively respond to environmental change.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100120
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$404,053.00
Summary
On the wealth of First Nations: Examining the Indigenous-settler wealth gap. This project aims to revise understandings of First Nations economic circumstances by investigating disparities between First Nations and non-Indigenous financial wealth. It expects to generate knowledge of the size of the ‘wealth gap’ and identify the structures that cause its contemporary reproduction and analyse policy options to address these disparities. Expected outcomes of the project include new knowledge about ....On the wealth of First Nations: Examining the Indigenous-settler wealth gap. This project aims to revise understandings of First Nations economic circumstances by investigating disparities between First Nations and non-Indigenous financial wealth. It expects to generate knowledge of the size of the ‘wealth gap’ and identify the structures that cause its contemporary reproduction and analyse policy options to address these disparities. Expected outcomes of the project include new knowledge about the Indigenous-settler wealth gap and the development of a research literature on approaches to addressing the wealth gap in Australia. This should provide significant benefits including a clearer understanding of the nature and causes of economic disparities between First Nations and non-Indigenous people in Australia.Read moreRead less
Co-designing a Food Sovereignty Model with Indigenous Communities. Food sovereignty asserts the rights of people and communities to healthy and culturally appropriate foods through determination of their own food and agriculture systems. With food insecurity higher among Indigenous households; a food sovereignty approach offers the potential for sustainable long-term solutions that maintain human dignity and reinvigorate knowledge systems. Drawing on national and international perspectives and u ....Co-designing a Food Sovereignty Model with Indigenous Communities. Food sovereignty asserts the rights of people and communities to healthy and culturally appropriate foods through determination of their own food and agriculture systems. With food insecurity higher among Indigenous households; a food sovereignty approach offers the potential for sustainable long-term solutions that maintain human dignity and reinvigorate knowledge systems. Drawing on national and international perspectives and using Indigenous research methodologies, this project aims to co-design a food sovereignty model that will enable Indigenous communities to effectively address food insecurity according to their local contexts. Both the process and solutions will contribute to improvements in physical, mental and social wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Using multiple data sources to understand the opioid crisis in Australia . This project aims to improve the quality and integration of population-level data for monitoring the consumption of opioids, licit and illicit, in Queensland communities. The analysis of opioids in wastewater, integrated with opioid use information such as prescription and seizure statistics will vastly increase knowledge of consumption patterns of opioids. By analysing wastewater samples from 2011 and triangulating with ....Using multiple data sources to understand the opioid crisis in Australia . This project aims to improve the quality and integration of population-level data for monitoring the consumption of opioids, licit and illicit, in Queensland communities. The analysis of opioids in wastewater, integrated with opioid use information such as prescription and seizure statistics will vastly increase knowledge of consumption patterns of opioids. By analysing wastewater samples from 2011 and triangulating with other datasets, the expected outcomes include building capacity to estimate consumption of all opioids; detecting the misuse of licit and illicit opioids over time. Anticipated benefit is to provide objective evidence of opioid use patterns for decision makers and a framework for a national opioids monitoring program.Read moreRead less
Village democracy in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. This project aims to understand variation in village politics in Indonesia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, and the effects of that variation on development outcomes, democratic participation, and gender equity. It will generate new knowledge on how micro-level power structures affect citizens’ experience of government. Expected outcomes include a new framework for understanding how community power structures shape and constrain governme ....Village democracy in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. This project aims to understand variation in village politics in Indonesia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, and the effects of that variation on development outcomes, democratic participation, and gender equity. It will generate new knowledge on how micro-level power structures affect citizens’ experience of government. Expected outcomes include a new framework for understanding how community power structures shape and constrain government action. Benefits will include strengthening Australia’s position as a world leader in Asian and Pacific studies, generating a new framework for understanding the effects of village political dynamics, and guidance for Australian and other policy makers planning grassroots development interventions.Read moreRead less
Overcoming Violence and Building Peace in Conditions of Complexity in PNG . The project is an investigation of the drivers and inhibitors of three inter-related forms of violence in Papua New Guinea - tribal fighting, sorcery accusation related violence and family and sexual violence. The harm caused by these forms of violence is systemic and ongoing, with widespread negative impacts for women, men and children across multiple dimensions of social and economic development. The project will produ ....Overcoming Violence and Building Peace in Conditions of Complexity in PNG . The project is an investigation of the drivers and inhibitors of three inter-related forms of violence in Papua New Guinea - tribal fighting, sorcery accusation related violence and family and sexual violence. The harm caused by these forms of violence is systemic and ongoing, with widespread negative impacts for women, men and children across multiple dimensions of social and economic development. The project will produce new knowledge about how violence and peace-making initiatives emerge, connect, spread and disperse, and generate new conceptual models to better analyse the dynamics of violence and peace across time and space. These theoretical insights will inform better violence prevention initiatives for Papua New Guinea and beyond.Read moreRead less