Investigation Of Significance To The Australian Fishing Industry Of (a) Fisheries Data Availability (b) Fuel
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
Objectives: 1. Investigate & report on accessibility & usage of data avail to fisheries authorities; & on availability, cost, distribution, storage & usage patterns of fuel & 2. the possible impact on shipbuilding, catching, processing & marketing sectors
SESSF Industry Development Subprogram: Alternative Fuels For Fishing Vessels
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$137,291.91
Summary
With most of Australia's fish stocks at fully fished or overfished status, there is reduced opportunity for increasing economic returns from larger catches or unexploited resources. As a result, the fishing industry is looking for opportunities to increase its profit margins by reducing the cost of fishing. Generally, fuel is the one single highest operating cost to fishing vessels, accounting for up to 50% of the operating costs of a fishing vessel in Australia.
The Australian (and Ne ....With most of Australia's fish stocks at fully fished or overfished status, there is reduced opportunity for increasing economic returns from larger catches or unexploited resources. As a result, the fishing industry is looking for opportunities to increase its profit margins by reducing the cost of fishing. Generally, fuel is the one single highest operating cost to fishing vessels, accounting for up to 50% of the operating costs of a fishing vessel in Australia.
The Australian (and New Zealand) Fishing Industry requires assistance in becoming a more efficient user of energy. Some forms of fishing, such as trawling, expend more fuel per kg of fish landed compared to passive methods such as longlining and trap fishing. In all cases however, rising fuel prices impinge on the profitability of the operations, and ultimately put their viability in jeopardy; this has reach a critical situation for many operators in Australia.
The R&D plans and strategies of all advisory bodies to the FRDC contain high priority goals to achieve FRDC’s Industry Development goal (planned outcome):, The commercial sector of the Australian fishing industry is profitable, internationally competitive and socially resilient. This investigation into alternative fuels for the fishing industry, some of which also achieve lower greenhouse gas emissions, has the intention of improving the economic viability of fishing enterprises and shifting the industry towards a more secure position with respect to future fuel needs.
Objectives: 1. Demonstrate the feasibility of Marine Gas Oil (or other lower cost distillates) in fishing vessel engines, as a cheaper form of petroleum based diesel fuel. 2. Investigate the technical feasibility of fishoil as a biofuel source related directly to the activities of the industry. 3. Evaluate LPG as a relatively user friendly option with established supply chain, and detail the required technology in the context of fishing vessels. 4. Evaluate natural gas (LNG, CNG) as a prospect for significant fuel cost savings, and detail the required technology in the context of fishing vessels. Read moreRead less
Ninety-day Sea Trial Using CNG (compressed Natural Gas) As The Major Fuel Component For The Marine Diesel Engine
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
Objectives: 1. Extend data from previous trials; confirm fuel efficiencies & substitution rates in previous tests can be improved. 2. Develop & test automatic electronic gas governor & dual fuel control mechanisms. 3. Demonstrate feasibility & savings to the industry
Seafood CRC: Spatial Management Of Southern Rock Lobster Fisheries To Improve Yield, Value And Sustainability
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$1,264,950.38
Summary
Quota management of rock lobster fisheries in southern States combined with higher prices for shallow-water lobsters has driven effort inshore. This is because fishers now manage their business to optimise the value of each kg, not maximise catch. Deeper water lobsters are often uneconomical to fish under current management as beach price can be as little as $4/kg above lease price (as lease price responds to beach price of shallow water product). This has produced an unusual situation in fi ....Quota management of rock lobster fisheries in southern States combined with higher prices for shallow-water lobsters has driven effort inshore. This is because fishers now manage their business to optimise the value of each kg, not maximise catch. Deeper water lobsters are often uneconomical to fish under current management as beach price can be as little as $4/kg above lease price (as lease price responds to beach price of shallow water product). This has produced an unusual situation in fisheries management where fishers are shifting effort away from high catch rate areas and into more depleted areas. There is now a management need for improved ability to follow trends in stocks at different depths and to evaluate novel harvest strategies suited to these spatial issues.
Adjusting harvest strategies to take account of spatial patterns in the biology of lobsters and patterns in the fleet has the potential to substantially increase yield, value and sustainability of the fishery. For example, preliminary modelling of the Tasmanian fishery has shown that regional size limits could double egg production in northern regions where levels are currently of concern, while simultaneously increasing yield by around 25%. Shifting effort into deeper water by means such as specific deep-water quota would be expected to increase yield given that these stocks are currently under-exploited. Translocating lobsters from slow to high growth areas leads to increased productivity and also higher beach price per lobster due to improved colour. Bio-economic modelling has indicated that gains in nett economic yield could be more than doubled in many cases through translocation (FRDC 2005/217). These opportunities also exist to varying degrees in SA and Victoria. Objectives: 0. To conduct field experiments and sampling to provide additional data required for alternative harvest strategy evaluation (fisher catch sampling, translocation release survival, release movement, translocation growth transition, effects of translocation on maturity and egg production parameters, density dependent growth). 1. To develop functional management and monitoring recommendations to apply outcomes. 2. To evaluate alternative spatial management options (deep-water quota, translocation, size limits) by economic analysis. 3. To conduct field experiments on translocation to provide additional data required for economic evaluation (change in colour, tail width, condition, and ability to survive transport). 4. To determine the extent of ecological community change in deep water reef habitats in response to increased harvest rates of lobsters. 5. To evaluate alternative spatial management options (deep-water quota, translocation, size limits) in respect to yield and egg production (biological projection). 6. To enable assessment reporting of trends in biomass and egg production by depth (model fitting). Read moreRead less
Feasibility Study For The Use Of Biofuel For The Western Rocklobster Industry
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$70,000.00
Summary
The Western Rock Lobster Industry is facing cost and return challenges. Catch predictions are low for the next three years. With best estimate for the 2007/2008 season being only 9900 tonnes. Currency exchange rates are moving against exporters. Fuel prices have risen sharply and forward projections in the medium and longer term suggest continuing increases. Greenhouse gas abatement is becoming central to government planning and future policies and could impact severely on industries where fuel ....The Western Rock Lobster Industry is facing cost and return challenges. Catch predictions are low for the next three years. With best estimate for the 2007/2008 season being only 9900 tonnes. Currency exchange rates are moving against exporters. Fuel prices have risen sharply and forward projections in the medium and longer term suggest continuing increases. Greenhouse gas abatement is becoming central to government planning and future policies and could impact severely on industries where fuel is a major part of their cost profile. Currently fuel represents approximately 20% of the opperating costs of the fishing business. Governments may mandate fuel emission limits, or require that they be offset through credit arrangements and they may mandate biofuel use levels in transport fuels. Biofuels have the potential to play a part in relieving cost, emission and fuel source pressures in the future. The Western Rock Lobster Industry needs to understand the opportunities biofuels offer it. There is much general and often misleading information available on biofuels. There is a need to examine the potential for biofuels in a dispassionate and objective way, specifically in relation to the Western Rock Lobster Industry so that the industry can take informed decisions about the possible role biofuels might have in the future of the industry. Fishermen, processing works and others need to be well informed about biofuel, especially biodiesel production technologies and use. Also they need to be in a position to approach government, financiers and others with a detailed business case when wishing to capitalise on biofuel opportunities. Objectives: 1. Analysis of fuel use by the Western Rock Lobster Industry including distribution infrastructure and logistics . 2. Analysis of biofuel production possibilities for the Western Rock Lobster Industry including sources of raw materials, byproduct opportunities, and logistics of manufacture, storage and distribution. 3. Technical and economic advantages and disadvantages of biofuels for the industry including appropriate fuel standards and engine warranty issues . 4. Potential business cases, possible business structures and sources of capital for the development of a biofuel industry serving the Western Rock Lobster Industry Read moreRead less
Higher Returns In Prawn Aquaculture: Pilot Program To Create Production Stocks That Are All Female
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$163,967.00
Summary
Objectives: 1. Establish the genetic mechanism of sex determination in penaeid prawn and provide genetic markers that will allow sex to allow sex to be determined before visible signs are evident 2. Identify and isolate gene(s) involved in, and ideally resposible for triggering sex determination. Studies of the potential for hormones to induce sex reversal will also be undertaken 3. Produce the first sex reversed prawns as broodstock.
Rock Lobster Enhancement And Aquaculture Subprogram: The Nutrition Of Juvenile And Adult Lobsters To Optimise Survival, Growth And Condition
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$242,418.50
Summary
Because Australia's rock lobster fisheries are at their maximum sustainable capacity, the value of the industry can be increased only through the development of aquaculture. In the immediate term, this could be achieved by on-growing of juveniles taken from the wild and the holding of adults for weight gain or niche marketing opportunities. In the longer term, domestication of the specie/s and hatchery propagation of the juveniles will enable a sustainable rock lobster aquaculture industry to d ....Because Australia's rock lobster fisheries are at their maximum sustainable capacity, the value of the industry can be increased only through the development of aquaculture. In the immediate term, this could be achieved by on-growing of juveniles taken from the wild and the holding of adults for weight gain or niche marketing opportunities. In the longer term, domestication of the specie/s and hatchery propagation of the juveniles will enable a sustainable rock lobster aquaculture industry to develop. In Australia, these opportunities are seriously constrained by the lack of a cost-effective and efficacious rock lobster feed. This contrasts with the developing industry in New Zealand where waste from the large mussel industry is an available and inexpensive source of feed. If feed comprises from 40 to 50% of rock lobster production costs as is the case for prawn and finfish grow-out operations, the availability of a suitable formulated pelleted feed is seen as a necessity for commercial production.
Preliminary feed’s development work (FRDC 98/303) for juvenile and adult lobsters has been initiated in an 18-month project that terminated in December 1999. Although all lobster species consumed the developed dry feed pellets, the productivity of juvenile animals was inferior to the feeding of fresh mussels. However, with adult J. edwardsii held in sea cages, the pelleted diets were equal to fresh mussel in maintaining the condition (moult frequency, weight increase and survival) and colour of the lobsters The sub-optimal performance of the pelleted diets for the juveniles is thought to have been due to the reduced attractiveness and /or sub-optimal nutrient specifications of the diet for the lobsters. This project will seek to develop improved and more cost-effective pelleted dry lobster feeds for P. ornatus and J. edwardsii juveniles and to improve the feeds management of adult J. edwardsii. Dietary improvements made with the juvenile work will be applied to adult lobsters being held under commercial sea cage conditions in Professor Geddes’ ‘On-growing Project’ (98/305). A collaborative research approach involving CSIRO, TAFI and UA and other agencies in the RLEAS will give the best prospects for achieving our aims. The likelihood of the project being successful is high because:
1. The initial Feed’s Development Project has shown dry pelleted diets to be well accepted by the lobsters and further improvements are likely upon implementation of the proposed targeted research. 2. The project will build on the already established strong collaborative linkages between related rock lobster research being carried out at CSIRO, QDPI, TAFI, UA and by industry. 3. The assembled project team has considerable expertise and an established track record in delivery of successful feed development for other crustaceans (prawns) and finfish, and have established strong collaborative linkages with the aquafeed industry to aid the rapid commercialisation of the research. Objectives: 1. Develop manufactured feeds for juvenile rock lobsters (ie puerulus - year 1 and beyond) that optimise survival and growth by: a) defining the chemicophysical cues that stimulate food consumption in juvenile rock lobsters, b) developing pelleted feeds that remain attractive to lobsters for periods in excess of four hours after immersion, and c) determining the optimum dietary specifications of selected nutrients required by juvenile rock lobsters for growth and development. 2. Develop manufactured feeds for adult lobsters for body maintenance and moult manipulation by a) determining the optimum pellet size and feeding frequency for maintaining the condition of adult rock lobsters and b) providing continued advice to project 98/305 on feeds development for adult lobster holding. Read moreRead less
Objectives: 1. Attempt to reduce production costs & increase production of high quality cultured pearls by investigation of shell turning, cleaning & opening; wild spat collection; mantle tissue compatibility; & Australian made nuclei