A Multi-setting Intervention To Reduce Sedentary Behaviour, Promote Physical Activity And Improve Childrens Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$860,343.00
Summary
Sedentary behaviours and physical inactivity play a major role in the rising prevalence of obesity among children in Australia. This intervention study will take place in the school and family settings which play a critical role in shaping children's health behaviours. The objective is to determine whether a 2-year behavioural intervention reduces sedentary behaviour and promotes physical activity and results in improved health among 8-9 year old children.
Identification Of Environmental Factors, With Particular Reference To Acid Sulfate Soil Runoff, Causing Production Losses In Sydney Rock Oysters
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$185,191.50
Summary
This research proposal developed from discussions with NSW and Queensland oyster growers who consider estuarine acidification is a cause of declining oyster health and productivity. A recently completed study of estuarine acidification and its role in fish kills, habitat degradation and outbreaks of EUS in estuarine fish, showed that the occurrence and duration of acidification events may be a potential threat to sessile organisms such as oysters (Sammut et al., 1996; 1996b; Callinan et al., 19 ....This research proposal developed from discussions with NSW and Queensland oyster growers who consider estuarine acidification is a cause of declining oyster health and productivity. A recently completed study of estuarine acidification and its role in fish kills, habitat degradation and outbreaks of EUS in estuarine fish, showed that the occurrence and duration of acidification events may be a potential threat to sessile organisms such as oysters (Sammut et al., 1996; 1996b; Callinan et al., 1996;1996b). The former study indicates that such associations between acidified water and poor oyster health are plausible. The proposed study is needed to test for putative associations between acidified water and oyster health and productivity problems. It will also generate other data that will be used to identify risk factors for QX disease. If an association between QX disease outbreaks and exposure to acidified water is confirmed, or other water quality variables are identified as causative factors, then appropriate water quality management can be developed. At present, attempts to manage acid sulfate soil drainage in NSW fail to recognise the water quality needs of oyster producers. Data from this study can be used to design acid sulfate soil management strategies to avoid secondary impacts on oyster health and maximise productivity. Objectives: 1. To identify associations between water quality conditions (with particular reference to acidified water and toxic metals), other environmental factors and reduced growth rates and disease outbreaks/mortalisties in oysters at selected sites on the Hastings and Tweed Rivers. 2. To identify specific environment and management related risk factors for reduced growth rates at selected sites. 3. To identify environmental and management risk factors for specific diseases with particular reference to QX on the Tweed River. 4. To effectively communicate the findings of this study to the oyster industry and relevant agencies Read moreRead less
Aquatic Animal Health Subprogram: Development Of A National Translocation Policy Using Abalone And Prawns As Templates For Other Aquatic Species
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$24,391.00
Summary
To maximize gains from the breeding programs they need to cross best performing stock. Where the stock is located in different States, there is a need to move the animals across state borders - preferably as animal or seed, but the ability to move gametes or larvae would be viewed as significant progress towards achieving the objectives of the program. The project leaders are also requesting that the business of selling genetically enhanced stock not be restricted to customers within state bor ....To maximize gains from the breeding programs they need to cross best performing stock. Where the stock is located in different States, there is a need to move the animals across state borders - preferably as animal or seed, but the ability to move gametes or larvae would be viewed as significant progress towards achieving the objectives of the program. The project leaders are also requesting that the business of selling genetically enhanced stock not be restricted to customers within state borders as this limit would make the program economically unviable.
This need for national translocation policies is becoming urgent with the steady but unpublicized increase in the number of aquatic animal hatcheries across Australia. To make the hatcheries viable, sales across jurisdictions in some industries are essential in some industries. Considering all aquatic animal species, not just abalone, Western Australia alone has in excess of seventeen aquaculture production hatcheries (as at August 2003) and this pattern is similar in other jurisdictions. Objectives: 1. To develop a single consistent translocation policy document for live temperate abalone, involving Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia, which is based on scientific risk assessment principles; recognizes that the disease status of wild abalone populations is still unclear; may recognize different zones of “risk” and is consistent with Australia’s international obligations. 2. To develop a single consistent translocation policy document for live prawns, involving Queensland, Northern Territory, New South Wales and Western Australia, which is based on scientific risk assessment principles; recognizes that the disease status of wild prawn populations is still unclear; may recognize different zones of “risk” and is consistent with Australia’s international obligations. 3. To indicate how these policies can be a template for other translocation issues. Read moreRead less
Innovative Solutions For Aquaculture Planning And Management – Project 5, Environmental Audit Of Marine Aquaculture Developments In South Australia
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$498,512.00
Summary
Aquaculture is a rapidly growing industry in Australia, and as such there are substantial issues related to resource allocation and ESD. South Australia is at the forefront of this development with a range of innovative aquaculture industries, an active group in PIRSA Aquaculture addressing policy and management issues, and another in SARDI Aquatic Sciences providing the scientific and technical background information for such matters through targeted research and development (R&D). As such, S ....Aquaculture is a rapidly growing industry in Australia, and as such there are substantial issues related to resource allocation and ESD. South Australia is at the forefront of this development with a range of innovative aquaculture industries, an active group in PIRSA Aquaculture addressing policy and management issues, and another in SARDI Aquatic Sciences providing the scientific and technical background information for such matters through targeted research and development (R&D). As such, South Australia provides an ideal model for other States.
While a reasonable level of environmental information exists and, through the Aquafin CRC, continues to grow for tuna farming, this is not the case for most of the other marine aquaculture industry sectors. The purpose of this application is therefore to gather and review existing environmental information, undertake an environmental risk assessment, investigate through targeted R&D the priority environmental impact issues, establish a framework of key indicators on which to base impact assessments, and develop industry sector-based environmental monitoring programs that enable impacts to be detected. Apart from tuna, we currently have very little information on the environmental impacts of finfish farming in South Australian waters, especially for the rapidly growing Yellowtail Kingfish sector. In order to obtain public support for further development of this industry, it is essential that its environmental impacts are assessed, and strategies implemented for reducing any impacts that occur. Similarly, for shellfish farming, there is still a great deal of contention about impacts on the ecosystem, particularly seagrasses, which co-occur with the largest shellfish aquaculture industry in the state – Pacific Oysters.
This project will therefore provide background information for improving and further developing the project “Innovative solutions for aquaculture planning and management – Project 2, Spatial impacts and carrying capacity: Further developing, refining and validating existing models of shellfish and finfish carrying capacity”. Both projects will provide much of the scientific and technical data for input into the project “Innovative solutions for aquaculture planning and management – Project 1, Decision support system for aquaculture development”, where “Decision support system” is defined as a computer based, integrated method for supporting management decisions. Decision support systems must incorporate rigorous and scientifically sound decision criteria and, as such they require a good understanding of the potential environmental impacts that may result from aquaculture, as well as the characteristics of existing or future farm sites and the ecosystem in which they exist.
In response to rapid growth, PIRSA Aquaculture are also developing an environmental management policy in parallel with the AFMF ESD framework (visit www.pir.sa.gov.au/sector118.shtml). Thus, information from the present project will be important for this policy. Objectives: 1. Review the current environmental status of marine aquaculture in South Australia by assessing the level and adequacy of existing information and information collection protocols in relation to environmental impacts. 2. Assess and prioritise the actual and perceived environmental impacts of marine aquaculture in South Australia using a formal risk assessment framework. 3. Investigate identified high priority environmental impact issues through targeted field based R&D, including the development and evaluation of methodologies and sustainability indicators. 4. Develop aquaculture sector-based optimal environmental monitoring programs, including identifying the parameters to be measured (environmental as well as farm management), the spatial and temporal frequency of monitoring required, and select critical decision points against which ESD performance can be measured. Read moreRead less
Understanding and overcoming confusion in consumer financial decisions. This project aims to develop consumer-centred approaches to reducing the harmful effects of confusion in financial decisions by studying superannuation investment and home loan decisions where confused choices are individually and collectively costly. The project intends to develop comprehensive models to capture the full complexity of financial products and the diverse preferences and capability of consumers, then to use ad ....Understanding and overcoming confusion in consumer financial decisions. This project aims to develop consumer-centred approaches to reducing the harmful effects of confusion in financial decisions by studying superannuation investment and home loan decisions where confused choices are individually and collectively costly. The project intends to develop comprehensive models to capture the full complexity of financial products and the diverse preferences and capability of consumers, then to use advanced statistical methods to estimate the benefits of clearer decision-making. The outcomes of this project includes new models of complex financial decisions, and a better understanding of where confusion arises and the effects it may have. Decreased confusion will raise financial well-being and help communities become more resilient to financial shocks.Read moreRead less
Geelong Revisited: From ESD To EBFM – Future Directions For Fisheries Management.
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$45,000.00
Summary
In the early 1990s, a national consensus was reached among all levels of government for the need to apply the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) in all activities. By the late 1990s, this meant that the fishing industry was facing greater accountability for their direct and indirect impacts on the marine environment, which culminated in the passing of the Commonwealth’s EPBC Act. The resultant challenge was how to address these issues in a practical manner.
Conse ....In the early 1990s, a national consensus was reached among all levels of government for the need to apply the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) in all activities. By the late 1990s, this meant that the fishing industry was facing greater accountability for their direct and indirect impacts on the marine environment, which culminated in the passing of the Commonwealth’s EPBC Act. The resultant challenge was how to address these issues in a practical manner.
Consequently, in March 2000, FRDC funded a workshop in Geelong attended by all jurisdictions, commercial and recreational fishing groups and non-government organisations. They identified a set of nationally based projects that were to facilitate the incorporation of ESD into the management arrangements of all Australian fisheries. Through these projects, which were coordinated by the ESD Subprogram, an ESD framework plus a suite of tools for wild capture fisheries (and other sectors) were generated.
It has subsequently been recognised that ESD must now extend beyond the individual fishery to cover all fishing activities within a region. This level is termed Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM). Several jurisdictions (eg WA) have already commenced major programs to implement EBFM using an adaptation of the basic ESD framework. There are also a growing number of regional marine planning initiatives being undertaken by both state and federal agencies that are seeking to address all fishing and non fishing marine activities.
Fittingly, a key finding of the recent CSIRO review of ESD implementation was the need for a national forum to coordinate approaches to EBFM. Consensus is needed on the degree to which an integrated, national approach should be taken to further develop tools for EBFM and regional marine planning, or whether these should continue to be developed using jurisdictional based approaches. Objectives: 1. Formally review (a) the progress nationally against the aspirations of the ESD Conference in Geelong in 2000; and (b) the outcomes of the FRDC ESD Sub-Program which arose as a result of that Conference 2. Determine whether a national program is required to assist in the development and integration of state and federal initiatives associated with fisheries and marine management at the regional scale. Read moreRead less
Embedding Impact Pathway Thinking Into The Identification And Prioritisation Of RD&E Needs And Investments For FRDC
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$80,000.00
Summary
In order to support a greater degree of systems thinking in its advisory committees, it is proposed to expose all committee members to the potential approaches to priority setting through a systems lens and benefits of these approaches, and then work with a subset of Research Advisory Committees [and possibly others] to test how bringing tools such as theory of change into their deliberations could assist them to deliver better designed priorities. Working specifically towards theories of chang ....In order to support a greater degree of systems thinking in its advisory committees, it is proposed to expose all committee members to the potential approaches to priority setting through a systems lens and benefits of these approaches, and then work with a subset of Research Advisory Committees [and possibly others] to test how bringing tools such as theory of change into their deliberations could assist them to deliver better designed priorities. Working specifically towards theories of change in the committee processes, at appropriate levels of complexity, is expected to provide (i) a context to making approaches of different committee members more explicit, (ii) a basis for better design logic, and (iii) a way of more readily communicating the committee's priorities. The focus of this approach on identifying and working back from ultimate objectives helps frame what may legitimately be narrow priorities in a wider analysis of system drivers such as incoherent policy environments or climate change and thus enable larger agendas to be built around such issues across FRDC. An explicit emphasis on barriers, enablers and assumptions, as well as what is necessary and sufficient to achieve the objectives, also provides a strong basis for evaluating progress and learning. Together these attributes are anticipated to achieve the intent of supporting better FRDC priority setting and increased impact for its stakeholders. Objectives: 1. Build the knowledge, attitude, skill, aspiration and practice (kasap) among the FRDC’s advisory committees and staff, with particular focus on Extension Officers, to embed impact pathway thinking into the identification and prioritisation of RD&E needs and investments. Read moreRead less
Voluntary Behaviour Change In Recreational Fisheries To Support Sustainability And Amenity
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$193,128.00
Summary
This project responds to an FRDC identified opportunity to review and build on previous experiences aimed towards encouraging recreational fishers to voluntarily diversify their target species.
This project targets three outcomes in the FRDC R&D Plan 2020-25: -Outcome 1. Growth for enduring prosperity -Outcome 2. Best practices and production systems -Outcome 4. Fair and secure access to aquatic resources
Our project consists of two phases, each addressing a di ....This project responds to an FRDC identified opportunity to review and build on previous experiences aimed towards encouraging recreational fishers to voluntarily diversify their target species.
This project targets three outcomes in the FRDC R&D Plan 2020-25: -Outcome 1. Growth for enduring prosperity -Outcome 2. Best practices and production systems -Outcome 4. Fair and secure access to aquatic resources
Our project consists of two phases, each addressing a discrete need identified through conversations with stakeholders.
Phase 1 – Developing a knowledge base and roadmap: A robust knowledge base, including data on the the magnitude of behaviour changes achieved by previous initiatives, is required to support the use of voluntary behaviour change interventions for diversifying target species as alternatives to direct regulations. Phase 1 will consist of a backwards looking scan of past-experience to construct this knowledge base from case studies that have implemented an initiative to promote voluntary diversification of recreational target species. This will include a global literature scan, and interviews with stakeholders and managers in Australia to document case studies, identify their successes or failures and compile data on the magnitude of behaviour change achieved. The knowledge base will then be used to identify key knowledge gaps and develop a roadmap of research and information needed to support voluntary behaviour change strategies aimed at diversifying target species as genuine alternatives to direct regulations.
Phase 2 – Improving effectiveness: Effective behavioural change interventions require careful targeting to ensure they are appropriate and acceptable within a specific context. Phase 2 will look forward with a focus on the future implementation of voluntary approaches that can confidently be applied to promote the voluntary diversification of target species for recreational fishers. This will include a forward-looking test of approaches identified through Phase 1 through interviews, focus groups and a survey of recreational fishers to delve deeply into which approaches are acceptable, where they are acceptable and which approaches are most likely to influence change. The outputs of Phase 2 will include clear advice on which strategies are likely to work in different situations relevant to Australian recreational fisheries.
A project evaluation will take place at the end of phase 1 to evaluate the feasibility of the remaining components, and guide case study selection and strategy for phase 2. This will be based on the interim short report based on phase 1 submitted to the FRDC in the milestone schedule below, as well as progress report 1.
To facilitate co-design and research impact, the research team have engaged with the Australian Fisheries Management Forum (AFMF), the AFSB Fisheries Management Committee (on advice from the AFMF), and the Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF). Input from recreational fishing stakeholders into the project will be facilitated through an ARFF advisory panel, with representatives from different jurisdictions across Australia. The advisory panel plan to meet with the research team on 5 occasions across the project (front loaded to facilitate co-design). The model for input from fisheries managers is an on-going discussion but will likely take a similar advisory panel across jurisdictions.
Project risks: The project relies heavily on the inputs of recreational fishing stakeholders and managers, with potential risks around a lack of availability to participate as well as lack of interest. To manage this risk the project team will work closely with the ARFF advisory group to identify and manage relationships with participants. A secondary project risk is the potential for sharing and disclosure of sensitive information from interviews and focus groups. To manage this risk, the research protocol will be subject to a human ethics review against the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. Through this process, issues of anonymity, data management and retention and data sharing will be addressed in-line with national standards and carried throughout the project. Objectives: 1. To develop a global knowledge base of behaviour change strategies that have been used to promote diversification of recreational target species. 2. To identify the magnitude of behaviour change achieved by different strategies. 3. To identify key knowledge gaps forming a road map for supporting voluntary behaviour change strategies aimed at diversifying target species as genuine alternatives to direct regulations. 4. To identify success factors that may have driven success or failure of past behavioural change strategies. 5. To develop a shortlist of strategies that experiences suggest will be effective in an Australian context. 6. To test the shortlist of potential behaviour change strategies from Phase 1 in terms of their acceptability, likelihood to influence change to deepen understanding of success factors (e.g., motivators, species, and/or incentives) within the Australian context. 7. To package key insights, lessons and recommendations for behaviour change initiatives to diversify fish species for recreational fishers. 8. To ensure this knowledge is easily accessed and practical, and framed so as to speak to the values and drivers of recreational fishers. 9. To maximise the reach and amplification of this knowledge through building the capability of fisheries managers. Read moreRead less
Abalone Aquaculture Subprogram: Early Life History Of Abalone (Haliotis Rubra, H. Laevigata): Settlement, Survival And Early Growth
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$313,217.00
Summary
Abalone farming can be improved in Australia. The profit will be increased and the cost of production reduced:
· increased knowledge of the settlement process and development of a better settlement system resulting in low cost juvenile abalone is essential for both integrated abalone farms and for the supply of seed to growout farms;
· the development of a practical settlement protocol for abalone requires a greater understanding of microalgae requirements and their culture and ....Abalone farming can be improved in Australia. The profit will be increased and the cost of production reduced:
· increased knowledge of the settlement process and development of a better settlement system resulting in low cost juvenile abalone is essential for both integrated abalone farms and for the supply of seed to growout farms;
· the development of a practical settlement protocol for abalone requires a greater understanding of microalgae requirements and their culture and reduces the cost for abalone at the growout stage;
· the project will be integrated into the abalone aquaculture sub-program and has extensive industry involvement in developing the practical aspects;
· the aquaculture industry in Victoria is developing into a major growth area and investment opportunity and production is intended to triple by the end of 2001;
· the success of the Australian abalone aquaculture industry is dependent on developing methods that reduce costs in labour and growout time;
· the project will deliver information that can result in technically advanced culture methods that will maintain the competitive edge over low labour cost countries. Objectives: 1. To test performance of different settlement inducers at both the laboratory and commercial scale. 2. To improve the rate and consistency of abalone larval settlement. 3. To compare different microalgal diets for their nutritional value in terms of digestibility and growth. 4. To quantify the suitability of different microalgae for their ease of use, both for maintaining mass cultures and ability to recolonise settlement surfaces. 5. To increase growth and survival for the first two months of post-larval life at a commercial scale. Read moreRead less
A Study Of The Movement And Behaviour Of The Sand Crab (Portunus Pelagicus) Using Ultrasonic Tags
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
Objectives: 1. Develop ultrasonic tags suitable for tracking & monitoring behaviour of sand crabs. 2. Develop simple methods of tracking tagged free-ranging crabs in Moreton Bay. 3. Obtain positional & Behavioural information over 24-hour periods to map movement of individual crabs