About FRDC

The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) is Australia’s leading agency concerned with planning, investing in, and managing fisheries research, development and extension.

The FRDC is a statutory corporation founded in 1991 under the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development (PIERD) Act 1989. It is responsible to the Minister for Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry.

The FRDC’s mission is to maximise economic, environmental and social benefits for its stakeholders through effective investment and partnership in research, development and extension.

Evolution of the FRDC

The FRDC has evolved as an organisation since inception in 1992. Over this time the strategic focus has also changed to reflect the priorities of both the stakeholders but also the broader community base. A summary of FRDC's evolution has been prepared and is available for download.

Stakeholders

The FRDC’s stakeholders are the Australian Government and the three sectors of the fishing industry: commercial (wild catch and aquaculture), recreational and indigenous. It is also guided by state and territory governments, other funding bodies, research providers, community and interest groups and ultimately the people of Australia.

Who funds the FRDC?

The FRDC is charged with investing in priority research and development within the fishing industry, meeting the government’s national and rural research priorities and pursuing adoption of that research and development. It does this with funding from the Australian Government and contributions revenue from the Commonwealth and state-based fisheries.

Reporting

In addition to the requirements of the PIERD Act, the FRDC reports to its prescribed representative organisations and is subject to accountability and reporting obligations set out in the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies (CAC) Act 1997.