Life Expectancy among Disease-Diagnosed. This project aims to improve methodological tools for calculating life expectancy for populations with mental or physical disorders in Australia as well as to determine gains and losses in terms of excess mortality. To achieve this goal innovative measures, which solve methodological previous shortcoming regarding different age at diagnosis will be applied. The expected outcomes of the project include precise figures of excess mortality related to mental ....Life Expectancy among Disease-Diagnosed. This project aims to improve methodological tools for calculating life expectancy for populations with mental or physical disorders in Australia as well as to determine gains and losses in terms of excess mortality. To achieve this goal innovative measures, which solve methodological previous shortcoming regarding different age at diagnosis will be applied. The expected outcomes of the project include precise figures of excess mortality related to mental and physical disorders. Significant benefits for future public policy-making will be gained by analysing excess mortality among individuals diagnosed mental or physical disorders, and cross-country comparisons using national linkage data. Read moreRead less
Safeguarding Our Sydney Rock Oyster Industry Against QX Disease
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$200,000.00
Summary
Outbreaks of QX disease in Port Stephens in 2022 and 2023 mark the continued spread of this disease into Sydney rock oyster (SRO)-producing estuaries in NSW and QLD over the last 50 years. In severe years, QX can cause up to 90% mortalities in affected stock, therefore this disease poses a major threat to an industry that is of substantial economic, historic and cultural value. Despite the apparent presence of the causative agent (M. sydneyi) in nearly all estuaries undertaking SRO produc ....Outbreaks of QX disease in Port Stephens in 2022 and 2023 mark the continued spread of this disease into Sydney rock oyster (SRO)-producing estuaries in NSW and QLD over the last 50 years. In severe years, QX can cause up to 90% mortalities in affected stock, therefore this disease poses a major threat to an industry that is of substantial economic, historic and cultural value. Despite the apparent presence of the causative agent (M. sydneyi) in nearly all estuaries undertaking SRO production, disease only occurs in some, and biosecurity protocols further complicate SRO farming as stocks from high-risk estuaries cannot be moved into estuaries that have a lower QX disease risk profile.
Reasons behind the expression of QX disease in some estuaries but not others currently remain unknown. In France, a related parasite, M. refringens, was originally thought to be a widespread cause of marteiliosis in the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) as well as mussels belonging to the genus Mytilus. M. refringens O (oyster) type and M (mussel) type, which were originally described due their differential pathogenicities in the respective hosts, have more recently been found to constitute separate species, with M type being renamed as Marteilia pararefringens. A similar situation may exist in Australia with M. sydneyi constituting more than one species and with the more pathogenic strains being responsible for QX disease outbreaks. Historically these questions could not be meaningfully answered due a lack of genetic information about M. sydneyi; however NSW DPI has recently undertaken a genome sequencing project on M. sydneyi that can facilitate strain comparison. Therefore, one aim of this project is to characterise Marteilia strains from estuaries where disease occurs, and compare with those from estuaries where disease does not occur, to better inform biosecurity policies. If the M. sydneyi strains are identical across estuaries, then this may enable biosecurity policy to be modified to allow oyster translocations across so called “high” and “low” risk estuaries. However, if strains do differ across high and low risk estuaries, then any biosecurity policy will be aimed at protecting estuaries not currently experiencing QX outbreaks from the introduction of high pathogenicity strains.
QX disease remains as the primary known threat for SRO production. Due to significant knowledge gaps in how this disease is transmitted, the use of selectively bred QX resistant oysters is the main management tool used to enable cultivation to continue in estuaries where the disease is enzootic. QX survival is a quantitative and a responsive trait where applied breeding offers a good solution to increase QX survival with significant economic benefits for industry. QX survival breeding is reliant on field challenges however, this method works well to increase resistance. Best results for improving QX survival are achieved through a combination of breeding and management practices to minimise impacts. It is recommended to use oysters selected for QX survival as a risk management strategy to reduce stock losses before a QX disease outbreak occurs in an estuary. When oysters selected for QX survival are used in estuaries affected by QX, it is important to deploy spat when M. sydneyi infections have ceased and harvest these oysters prior to a second disease exposure. This relies on specific timing of commercial hatchery production and fast oyster growth which is a trait under selection in combination with QX survival. Field exposures that run over two seasons of QX disease are now used to increase survival following consecutive outbreaks. Other diseases or factors that compromise SRO health prior to or during M. sydneyi infections also reduce the effectiveness of breeding.
Increasing genetic gains for QX survival has been the primary objective of the breeding program since its inception. A genomics project is currently underway which aims to identify genetic markers for QX disease resistance to increase genetic progress for this trait. Batches of Richmond River Rock oyster (RRRO) produced by NSW DPI have shown high levels of of QX disease survival. Prior studies on RRROs suggest that genetically they are classified as SROs but they appear to have developed significant resistance, presumably due to years of exposure to QX in the Richmond River estuary where the disease in enzootic. Preliminary experimental evidence suggests that RRROs display enhanced survival when exposed to QX disease, justifying their inclusion in the selective breeding program. Therefore, the second aim of this project is to assess QX survival of current RRRO families across multiple years of QX exposure and compare these results to other QX-resistant families in the breeding program. This information will be used in this project to formulate a breeding plan to create additional families using batches of RRROs that have been assessed for QX survival. Objectives: 1. To use previously generated genomic data from M. sydneyi to develop a multilocus sequence typing scheme for Marteilia strains from SROs 2. To screen samples collected from low-risk estuaries for M. sydneyi using qPCR 3. To compare Marteilia MLST profiles of qPCR positive samples from low-risk estuaries with those from M. sydneyi MLST profiles from high-risk estuaries. 4. To create 10 additional families (in addition to the families produced for the 2023 year class breeding run) that have a parent sourced from the Richmond River 5. To assess the QX survival of the 10 additional 2023 year class families as spat, adults and over two seasons at multiple sites 6. To generate QX spat survival estimated breeding values (EBVs) for families with RRRO parents produced for the YC2022 and 2023 year classes 7. To collect performance data (QX survival and growth) that allows comparison of RRROs and commercial families from the Sydney Rock Oyster breeding program over two consecutive seasons of QX disease. Read moreRead less
Development Of An Experimental Aquaculture Facility (EAF) Specific Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD) Challenge Model That Can Reliably Evaluate Treatment Interventions To Support Industry Focused AGD Studies
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$250,000.00
Summary
Commercial in confidence. To know more about this project please contact FRDC. Objectives: Commercial in confidence
Investigating Aetiology And Risk Factors Of Ocular Lesions And Associated Mortality In Ranched Southern Bluefin Tuna
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$200,238.00
Summary
This year (2017), some of the ranching operations reported the increased cumulative mortality. In some severe cases, up to 90% of collected mortalities present some degree of unilateral or bilateral ocular damage ranging from corneal cloudiness, with or without ulcers, up to complete perforation. The anecdotal report of eye lesions has progressively increased since the 2015 season without a definitive cause being identified. Previous reports (Rough et al., 1999; Rough, 2000; Hayward et al., 2007 ....This year (2017), some of the ranching operations reported the increased cumulative mortality. In some severe cases, up to 90% of collected mortalities present some degree of unilateral or bilateral ocular damage ranging from corneal cloudiness, with or without ulcers, up to complete perforation. The anecdotal report of eye lesions has progressively increased since the 2015 season without a definitive cause being identified. Previous reports (Rough et al., 1999; Rough, 2000; Hayward et al., 2007; Hayward et al., 2008a; Hayward et al., 2008b; Hayward et al., 2009; Hayward et al., 2010; Hayward et al., 2011, including FRDC projects No 2003/225 and 2008/228, Nowak et al., 2007; Nowak et al., 2012) identified sea lice of the genus Caligus spp. as a differential cause of eye lesions in SBT. The copepod ectoparasite is thought to damage the eyes by feeding on the cornea epithelium of infested SBT. Lesions worsen when fish flash against the cage’s net to dislodge the itchy copepods. Partial or full vision loss is suspected to impair the capacity of the fish to compete for feed and to result, with time, in the death of affected fish. At this stage, it is unclear: 1 - what is the distribution of the observed increased mortality across the industry; 2 - what is the occurrence and severity of eye lesions across the industry; 3 - if the observed increased mortality is entirely attributable to eye lesions; 4 - if eye lesions are solely caused by C. chiastos or if other causes are involved; 5 - if potential tow-, cage-, and fish-level risk factors are associated with the occurrence of eye lesions and its cause(s). Objectives: 1. Estimate the frequency and distribution of increased mortality across the industry. 2. Describe the pathology and severity of eye lesions and estimate the frequency and distribution of these lesions across the industry. 3. Investigate potential tow-, farm-, and fish-level risk factors associated with increased mortality and eye lesion occurrence. 4. Investigate the putative role of sealice in causing this episode of eye lesions. Read moreRead less
DIsrupting Child Exploitation - the DICE project. Child sexual exploitation is an insidious social problem which impacts the most vulnerable children and young people in Australia. The DICE project (Disrupting Child Sexual Exploitation) aims to develop a multi-agency response which pivots the focus of intervention to the sexual exploitation predators who target vulnerable young people in statutory care. Previous interventions have prioritised protecting (and controlling) the young people, with l ....DIsrupting Child Exploitation - the DICE project. Child sexual exploitation is an insidious social problem which impacts the most vulnerable children and young people in Australia. The DICE project (Disrupting Child Sexual Exploitation) aims to develop a multi-agency response which pivots the focus of intervention to the sexual exploitation predators who target vulnerable young people in statutory care. Previous interventions have prioritised protecting (and controlling) the young people, with limited success. Through a trauma informed approach which supports young people, combined with disruptive police strategies targeting perpetrators, and co-ordinated multiagency working, it is anticipated that there will be measurable changes to the protection of vulnerable young people. Read moreRead less
Wearable thermoelectric textiles for portable microelectronics. Wearable thermoelectrics enable the power generation from the temperature difference between human body and ambient temperature by using thermoelectric effect. This project aims to design eco-friendly wearable thermoelectric textiles to realize high-efficiency solid-state power generation and meet individual needs with human comfort and health. The target is to achieve a power density in the as-designed thermoelectric textiles by th ....Wearable thermoelectric textiles for portable microelectronics. Wearable thermoelectrics enable the power generation from the temperature difference between human body and ambient temperature by using thermoelectric effect. This project aims to design eco-friendly wearable thermoelectric textiles to realize high-efficiency solid-state power generation and meet individual needs with human comfort and health. The target is to achieve a power density in the as-designed thermoelectric textiles by the optimization of materials and device design. The outcome will open up a new platform for the green and sustainable charge for portable microelectronics, which will lead to an innovative technology for energy management, which will place Australia at the forefront of wearable electronics and textile industry.Read moreRead less
Aquatic Animal Health And Biosecurity Subprogram: Comparative Pathogenicity Of Exotic Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND) And The Presumptive Bacterial Hepatopancreatitis Detected In Farmed Penaeus Monodon In Queensland
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$131,106.00
Summary
Australian prawn production, forecast at 24 kilotonnes in 2014/15, is valued at >$310 million. The prawn fishery is an important natural resource that supports a substantial export industry. Prawn aquaculture in northern Australia accounts for approximately 20% of the total volume of Australian production. The new, emerging disease syndrome, characterised by hepatopancreatitis and mortalities in farmed P monodon, was first reported in north Queensland in early 2015. The disease was again detecte ....Australian prawn production, forecast at 24 kilotonnes in 2014/15, is valued at >$310 million. The prawn fishery is an important natural resource that supports a substantial export industry. Prawn aquaculture in northern Australia accounts for approximately 20% of the total volume of Australian production. The new, emerging disease syndrome, characterised by hepatopancreatitis and mortalities in farmed P monodon, was first reported in north Queensland in early 2015. The disease was again detected in late 2015 and emerged in central Queensland in early 2016. The disease in two prawn farming regions in Queensland is ongoing. While there are similarities with the emerging disease in central and north Queensland with exotic AHPND, the following important information is still unknown:
1) what is the variability (if any) in host bacterial strains associated with the AHPND toxin genes in diseased prawns in Queensland, particularly between the two different regions currently affected?
2) what is the pathogenicity of Australian bacterial isolates containing the AHPND toxin genes to P. monodon and P merguiensis how does this compare to disease caused by exotic AHPND isolates?
3) the preliminary WGS analysis needs to be repeated/confirmed using a more stringent and advanced platform.
This project will characterise the causative agent(s) and hepatopancreatitis disease in Australian farmed P. monodon. This information is critical for the prawn industry, policy-makers and regulators in order to respond to the disease. The Project aligns with Key Research Area 6.2.1 of the FRDC AAHS R&D Plan “Knowledge about new and emerging infectious diseases”.
Objectives: 1. Compare the pathogenicity of exotic AHPND and the presumptive bacterial hepatopancreatitis in Penaeus monodon and P. merguensis. 2. Compare the pathology caused by exotic AHPND and the presumptive bacterial hepatopancreatitis in Penaeus monodon and P. merguensis. 3. Determine the whole genome sequence of the Vibrio harveyi strain from farmed Penaeus monodon and P. merguensis presumptive bacterial hepatopancreatitis. 4. Optimise, evaluate through inter-laboratory testing and then implement improved diagnostic tests for the Pir toxin gene. Read moreRead less
Can Spatial Fishery-dependent Data Be Used To Determine Abalone Stock Status In A Spatially Structured Fishery?
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$562,128.00
Summary
With the advent of the Status of Australian Fish Stocks (SAFS) process, there is now a requirement to provide a stock ‘status’ determination in addition to the annual TACC determination. The ‘status’ reflects changes in the overall biomass, the fishing mortality, or in their proxies. This has led to disagreements among researchers, managers and industry, largely due to uncertainty around how best to derive a meaningful overall stock status indicator to meet the requirements of the SAFS reporting ....With the advent of the Status of Australian Fish Stocks (SAFS) process, there is now a requirement to provide a stock ‘status’ determination in addition to the annual TACC determination. The ‘status’ reflects changes in the overall biomass, the fishing mortality, or in their proxies. This has led to disagreements among researchers, managers and industry, largely due to uncertainty around how best to derive a meaningful overall stock status indicator to meet the requirements of the SAFS reporting process. These higher-level reporting processes are an important demonstration of sustainable management of Australian fisheries, but only if stock status determinations are accurate and defensible.
Australian abalone fisheries primarily use harvest control rules based around CPUE (Kg/Hr) to set TACC. However, with abalone, stable catch-rates may not indicate stable biomass and/or stable density. Catch-rates are frequently criticised because the effort needed to take a quantity of catch may be influenced by density but also by density independent factors such as conditions at the time of fishing, experience, and the ability of fishers to adjust their fishing strategy to maintain catch rates (diver behaviour driven hyper-stability). While there are many issues with the assumption that CPUE is a reliable proxy for abundance, it is assumed to be so despite the absence of robust data to validate use of CPUE in this way. In some jurisdictions CPUE is supplemented by sparse fishery-dependent size and density data. There is an urgent need to review common assumptions, methods and interpretations of CPUE as a primary indicator, and to determine whether inclusion of spatial fishery data could provide a ‘global’ indicator of stock status for abalone fisheries.
Objectives: 1. Characterise the statistical properties, coherence, interpretability and assumptions of spatial and classic indicators of fishery performance 2. Develop methods for inclusion of fine-scale spatial data in CPUE standardisations 3. Identify methods for detecting hyper-stability in CPUE 4. Determine feasibility of spatial data based stock status determination in spatially structured fisheries Read moreRead less
Developing A Positive Cultural Attitude Towards The Capture And Release Of Sharks And Rays
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$358,968.00
Summary
Recently, PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture (PIRSA F and A) identified the need to develop a recreational fishery- and research-supported program that combines new communication strategies and evidence-based CoP development to disseminate information relevant to supporting the management of recreational fisheries for sharks and rays. The priority identified was to improve education and awareness among the recreational fishers in relation to ethical capture, handling and release practices for shark ....Recently, PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture (PIRSA F and A) identified the need to develop a recreational fishery- and research-supported program that combines new communication strategies and evidence-based CoP development to disseminate information relevant to supporting the management of recreational fisheries for sharks and rays. The priority identified was to improve education and awareness among the recreational fishers in relation to ethical capture, handling and release practices for sharks and rays. Examples of this approach were undertaken in the United States (NOAA), Australia (TAFI and SARDI) and Hawaii (NOAA), where recreational groups have contributed to research activities to assess PRS and use the information to educate other fishers about specific issues related to fisheries for shark species. This proactive approach could be applied to shark and ray species that are priorities for management and taken as bycatch, or targeted by recreational and gamefishing anglers across southern Australia. Correspondence with research colleagues in Victoria and NSW, and fishery stakeholders, identified a need to review, improve and rationalise guidelines for capture, handling and release of sharks and rays, and highlighted data gaps for key species. A field-based quantitative study of the PRS of selected target priority species will be designed during a workshop in 2019, led by SARDI and CSIRO, with support of a linked FRDC-funded project (2018-042) in Victoria (Monash University). The overarching aim is to inform the development of capture, handling and release guidelines and CoPs for sharks and rays that apply to the range of fishing situations across southern Australia. The SARDI and Monash-based projects address region-specific needs and will co-manage the workshop (See suppl. letter). This will include engagement between government agencies, NGOs, and fishers to understand the relative susceptibilities of target species to handling, and expected impacts of gear configuration on PRS. Research outcomes of the broader project will be coupled with public and fishery feed-back strategies (e.g. expansion of a tagging program) to address the management and perception issues.
Objectives: 1. Facilitate a national workshop to identify priority species and operational factors to investigate during studies aimed at informing sustainable recreational fisher practices for sharks and rays. 2. Use web-supported telemetry technology, and direct engagement of recreational fishers to collect post-release survival data on the priority species within a structured case-study framework. 3. To support positive and sustainable cultural attitudes towards sharks and rays through the production of evidence-based educational material to inform sustainable recreational fisher practices. Read moreRead less
Improving Southern Rock Lobster On-vessel Handling Practices, Data Collection And Industry Tools For Lobster Quality Assessment
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$538,604.00
Summary
The export of Southern Rock Lobster (SRL) from Southern Australia to international markets is one of Australia's most valuable fisheries. There are increasing trends in post-harvest mortality of SRL confirmed by the recent Fisheries Research and Development Corporation project (FRDC 2016-235). This is costing the industry millions due to stock losses, decreased consumer confidence in product quality and reputational damage to the SRL market brand. The causes of this increased post-harvest mortal ....The export of Southern Rock Lobster (SRL) from Southern Australia to international markets is one of Australia's most valuable fisheries. There are increasing trends in post-harvest mortality of SRL confirmed by the recent Fisheries Research and Development Corporation project (FRDC 2016-235). This is costing the industry millions due to stock losses, decreased consumer confidence in product quality and reputational damage to the SRL market brand. The causes of this increased post-harvest mortality are inconsistent across the industry sector with a range of factors implicated including environmental stressors, novel health conditions, and sub-optimal post-harvest practices. Results from (FRDC2016-235) indicate a need to optimise live lobster management processes across the entire post-harvest chain of custody in-order to minimize lobster mortality and enhance the economics of the SRL fishing and processing industry sectors.
The FRDC SRL live holding project (2016-235) conducted an analysis of the processing industry sector practices and provided guidance for best practices. These recommendations have been welcomed by the industry and further consultation has identified a critical need to extend this approach to the fishing component of the industry.
This project will address these key industry priorities and conduct an analysis of on-vessel live lobster handling and holding practices, quantify the impact of systems and practices on lobster quality and provide recommendations on improving on-vessel post-harvest practices. The current FRDC traceability project (FRDC 2016-177) is trialing a range of traceability technologies that this proposed new project will extend and enhance on-vessels to strengthen the capture, monitoring, and analysis of post-harvest data on lobster welfare, quality, and handling practices.
This project will also extend the development of practical and easy to use tools for the evaluation of lobster health including the handheld lactate meter and refractive index. Building evidenced-based approaches to measuring health and stress will provide all industry sectors with improved measurement of quality, animal welfare, and sustainability at all points in the supply chain.
Objectives: 1. Investigate the impacts of on-vessel handling and maintenance practices on live SRL post-harvest performance 2. Develop practical tools for the improved management of SRL industry live lobster operations (ie hand-held lactate meter and refractive index including thresholds for poor lobster performance) 3. Extend findings to the SRL industry (best practice guides and workshops) and incorporation of results into the SRL Clean green program. Read moreRead less