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Recently Completed Final ReportsFRDC invests in research around Australia and completes around 100 reports each year.
Below is a list and summary of the most recently completed FRDC final reports. This list provides a quick snapshot of what has been completed in the past three months. For all older projects please visit the Completed Project Archives page.
To view a full overview of the project and to download a copy of the final report, please visit the Research – Current and completed section of the website. This will take you to the Australian Agriculture and Natural Resources On-line (AANRO). Over the coming months this database will be updated to contain all finalised FRDC project reports.
Evaluating the Performance of Australian Marine Capture FisheriesThe report looks at the current fisheries management systems around Australia and identifies gaps in our current knowledge. It then highlights the benefits that could be gained from changes to the current approaches. The report is based on an analysis of confidential interviews with more than 70 national and international experts.
More information: Professor George Kailis A review of the ecological impacts of selected antibiotics and antifoulants currently used in the Tasmanian salmonid farming industry – 2007/246A review of the ecological impacts of selected antibiotics and antifoulants currently used in the Tasmanian salmonid farming industry – 2007/246 More information: Dr Catriona Macleod - 03 62277237 Aquaculture EMS – 2004/096The key objective of this project was to develop and produce an environmental management system (EMS) template document as a tool for the salmonid, oyster and abalone sectors of the Tasmanian aquaculture industry. For the oyster and abalone sectors, most of the industry’s operational practices were found to pose a low risk to the marine environment outside the lease area. The one environmental high-risk area of concern identified for the oyster industry was the potential translocation of invasive marine species between regions. The risk assessment also found that there may be some impacts on sensitive habitats, such as salt marsh, at a regional level. Most of the moderate, high and extreme risks to all industry sectors were external environmental factors. There was a low risk of the industry having a negative social impact at a state, regional and local level. The potential negative impact on industry sustainability by increasing regulation across all tiers of government was considered to be moderate. Commercial marine floating tank system – 2008/038The outcomes of this project are improvements to the semi-intensive floating tank system (SIFTS ) which make this technology close to being market-ready for protected marine environments. An underwater mortality detection and removal device was developed, along with an efficient method of transferring and processing the solid waste that the SIFTS captures. As well as being relevant to the SIFTS deployment into protected ocean environments, the improvements are also of direct relevance to the use of SIFTS in its original application of inland saline water bodies and also to those land-based aquaculture systems that generate high volumes of solid wastes. Monitoring seal interactions – 2005/049As a direct result of this project and its outputs, fishers in the wet boat component of the Commonwealth Trawl Sector of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF ) are now well informed about the identification, biology and conservation of seals; the potential impact of seal–fishery interactions; the importance of and need to record seal interactions and the correct way to do this. As part of this project the South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association (SETFIA) compiled an Industry Code of Practice to Minimise Interactions with Seals in 2007. All wet boats in the Commonwealth Trawl Sector of the SESF have a copy on board to ensure that skippers and crew have access to information on how to minimise seal bycatch and seal mortalities. The project has also established an industry-based monitoring and data collection program that resulted in a significant increase in fishers reporting seal–fishery interactions and fishers collecting samples from drowned seals. Validation options developed in the project can be used by industry to enhance the robustness of reported seal interactions. Through increased reporting and satisfactory validation of the industry-based monitoring program, industry will better meet the data collection and reporting standards for seal interactions required under the EPBC Act 1999 and the SESF Bycatch Action Plan. Information on the level of seal–fishery interactions will be analysed in 2009-10 once sufficient data has been collected. Producing homozygous Pacific oysters – 2002/204The results from this study showed a high and highly variable genetic load (number of lethal equivalents) in Pacific Oysters, which was expressed progressively with larval development. On day 20 post-fertilisation the average number of lethal equivalents per individual was 11.5 or 15.0, according to the two methods used. This result highlighted the importance of avoiding inbreeding in order to maintain reliable commercial hatchery production. Inbreeding can be minimised by using a higher number of broodstock and/or broodstock with a clearly recorded pedigree history. Doubled haploid oyster larvae were produced by inhibiting the first mitotic division of eggs activated by UV irradiated sperm. The number of genetic markers required to differentiate doubled haploid progenies from meiotic II gynogens can be calculated by the equations developed in the present study. Detecting contamination from meiotic gynogenetic progenies is the major challenge to production of doubled haploids in aquaculture species. Sustainable finfish culture technologies – 2005/213The project showed that yields of 10 tonnes of fish per hectare cannot be sustainably achieved in static, autotrophic saline ponds (that is, ponds dominated by photosynthetic organisms) over a three to four-month production cycle, despite the removal of settable wastes from the semiintensive floating tank system (SIFTS ). The outcome of this finding was to advise potential industry entrants of this fact and to further investigate alternative options to enable such yields to be achieved. The project’s work on integrating heterotrophic pond-management techniques (that is, ponds dominated by bacterial organisms that use organic carbon as an energy source) with carnivorous fish production in SIFTS has shown that 15 tonnes per hectare is achievable over a 100-day production cycle. Economic analysis revealed that the profitability of a stand-alone enterprise growing carnivorous fish in SIFTS within heterotrophic ponds would be marginal at 150 tonnes per year of production. The outcomes of these trials have already been used to design further trials on optimising heterotrophic pond management at the Queensland Department of Primary Industries’ Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre. Demonstrating that SIFTS can be integrated with heterotrophic pondmanagement systems creates an opportunity for existing prawn farms using heterotrophic pond management to integrate Barramundi farming into their existing operations with minimal changes. Acoustic reef habitat mapping – 2004/020This project tested and extended mapping techniques previously applied in Tasmania and South Australia to successfully map abalone habitats in Victoria’s Western Zone. This demonstrated that a level of consistency in marine and abalone habitat mapping can be achieved between states and between regions with relatively similar marine environments. A further outcome of the project was the participation of the Fisheries Research Branch (FRB) in development of a draft, nationally consistent, marine habitat classification system as part of the Australian Coastal Vulnerability Project. This project demonstrated the potential benefits to marine habitat mapping studies of working with inexpensive sidescan sonars for agencies with limited budgets. FRB’s positive experiences with this equipment resulted in two other marine research agencies (in SA and the Northern Territory) acquiring the same equipment to conduct marine-mapping programs. The project was able to meet the planned outcome of mapping high-value reef areas in the Western Zone. These data will be made accessible to Fisheries Victoria staff through the Department of Primary Industries network. Effects of longline fishing in the ETBF – 2004/063This study examined the environment and ecosystem of the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery (ETBF) from direct observation and from qualitative and quantitative models. The project described physical and biological processes in three areas where the fishery operates and provided details of primary productivity and prey biomass and species composition in the region. The researchers have also described the main food-web pathways leading to top predators from analyses of stomach contents and from biochemistry. Spatial analysis of biological oceanography of the region identified two main ecosystems separated by the Tasman front. These observations and analyses were used to inform and ground-truth qualitative and quantitative models of potential scenarios of fishing impacts and climate change on the target and bycatch species of the fishery. The resulting models showed that fishing pressure on individual predator species is unlikely to spread widely through the fishery as other predators fill the gaps left by those affected. The climate change scenarios modelled indicated that a warming ocean was likely to lead to more favourable conditions for a number of top predators in the region through increases in prey, particularly squid. These outcomes provide an empirical and model-based framework for the design and implementation of focused studies to better inform predictions of impacts of climate change and fisheries on the ETBF and the pelagic ecosystems off eastern Australia. SA seafood food plan – 2007/401The vision of the South Australian Seafood Food Plan is to increase the value of the SA seafood industry to $2 billion by 2015. The strategy to achieve this is to increase the per unit value of SA seafood by identifying and meeting premium market standards, positioning product through strategic marketing, restructuring supply chains and moving away from commodity trading to niche supplies. This project aims to deliver according to the objectives of the Seafood Food Plan by developing a managed supply model to achieve an increase in the value of SA seafood based on a guaranteed offer of quality and supply. The project has highlighted that a cultural and operational shift in approach away from the current price-driven, daily spot market approach to supplying customers in a managed fashion is fundamental to success. The Lakes and Coorong, blue crabs, rocklobster and oyster sectors are committed to working together to implement the plan under a fisher-direct trade facilitation supply chain model. Monitoring options for SBT ranch sector – 2008/044Outcomes of this project are:
More information: Gavin Begg, 02 6272 4277 Patagonian toothfish stock assessments – 2008/046The main outcome of this project was the successful development of statistical methods for the sensitivity testing of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) integrated assessment model for the inclusion of length-at-age estimates from more than 5500 individual toothfish, in the form of gear and season-specific age-length keys. The results of this project provide a firm basis for stock assessments and for scientists, fishers and resource managers to evaluate the costs and benefits of including season and gear specific age-length keys in future HIMI toothfish assessment, increased confidence in the current stock-assessment approach, as well as statistical tools that can be readily applied in other fisheries where age-length keys and/or integrated assessments are used.More information: Dirk Welsford, 03 6232 3608 Environmental issues of salmonid farms – 2004/074The project has established a detailed set of data that provides a clear picture of the environmental conditions in the Huon Estuary and D’Entrecasteaux Channel, where two-thirds of Tasmania’s salmonid industry is located. Environmental conditions are generally good, with occasional periods of high phytoplankton abundance and low dissolved oxygen. The data have been used to calibrate and validate sophisticated three-dimensional hydrodynamic and biogeochemical models of the region that capture the main physical and biological processes. A major success of the project was the development of a 3D hydrodynamic, sediment and bio-geochemical model to evaluate the environmental impact of salmonid fish farms in the Huon Estuary and D’Entrecasteaux Channel. A long-term monitoring strategy for the industry in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and Huon Estuary has been developed to ensure the sustainability of the salmonid industry. The proposed monitoring program is designed to provide knowledge of how well the ecosystem is functioning with an increased nutrient load and to detect any significant trends in ecological indicators. Coral Reef Fin Fish Fishery modelling – 2001/020This project simulates the targeting behaviour, vessel dynamics and effort distribution in the Coral Reef Fin Fish Fishery CRF. Results showed that reducing fishing effort is the most effective way of maximising conservation and stock objectives for both Coral Trout and Red Throat Emperor. The management strategy that best maximised the harvest objective depended on the species. Reducing the minimum legal size limit (MLS ), combined with increasing fishing effort and the amount of area open to fishing achieved the highest harvest of Coral Trout; while for Red Throat Emperor, reducing the selectivity of the gear combined with changing the MLS led to the largest harvests. The highest catch per unit effort (CPUE) of Coral Trout was obtained by reducing fishing effort and the highest catch rates of Red Throat Emperor were obtained by reducing the selectivity of the gear combined with changing the MLS . The best strategies for the recreational fishers who wished to catch a big fish each trip also involved reducing total fishing effort. A major issue addressed by this research concerns the effect of seasonal spawning closures. In general, similar to the other effort reduction strategies, a three-month closure that effectively decreased total fishing effort for the year had conservation and stock benefits, but tended to reduce the ability to satisfy management objectives related to harvest (specifically, to meet catch quotas). The results emphasise a difference in the effectiveness of management strategies on the different species considered. This highlights that fishery managers and stakeholders should not judge the effectiveness of a management strategy on only a single species, such as Coral Trout, alone. In a multi-species fishery such as the CRF, impacts of fishing and performance of fisheries are likely to vary with species harvested by the fishery. Genetic improvement of P.monodon – 2008/336Training was provided to experienced hatchery managers on handling domesticated P. monodon. The first industry trial of the domesticated eastcoast lines was conducted with 248 female and 224 male G3 (third generation) pond-reared broodstock. Unfortunately, the low reproductive performance of these broodstock resulted in no postlarvae being produced during the trial and no ponds stocked with domesticated east-coast lines. G3 pond-reared broodstock selected from the Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre (BIARC) ponds in August 2006 were sent to AIMS for reproductive evaluation and to produce the G4 generation. Assessments of the pond-reared G3 females at AIMS indicated that their spawning performance was comparable to the previous generation (G2) females. Spermatophores of the G3 pond-reared males were poorly developed and abnormal, and so the G4 nucleus of families was produced by mating the G3 pond-reared females to the CSIRO reserve stock of G3 tank-reared males. In total, 23 genetically distinct G4 families were produced at AIMS. G4 families were reared through to broodstock age in ponds at Seafarm in north Queensland and in tanks at CSIRO. Health monitoring of the east coast domesticated lines during this project revealed that viral transmission from the G3 broodstock to the progeny G4 families was low; and that rearing of the east coast G4 lines in the CSIRO tanks and the Seafarm broodstock ponds avoided infections escalating within any of the prawns or being transmitted horizontally at high frequency. A computerised prawn-management system was developed at AIMS and customised to collate data originating from the single breeding nucleus approach. However, the design allows for considerable versatility in catering for different types of input data. ESD reporting and assessment – 2004/006The projects and processes undertaken through the ESD subprogram have, overall, been successful. It has provided the basis to demonstrate whether management has credibility with the issues of resource sustainability, functional ecosystem relationships and habitat processes, such as is needed to meet the requirements of the Commonwealth’s EPBC assessment. The subprogram has delivered the following benefits: The projects and processes undertaken through the ESD subprogram have, overall, been successful. It has provided the basis to demonstrate whether management has credibility with the issues of resource sustainability, functional ecosystem relationships and habitat processes, such as is needed to meet the requirements of the Commonwealth’s EPBC assessment. The subprogram has delivered the following benefits:
One of the main gaps was the effective use of social and economic tools. There is a lack of understanding of the values and outcomes that the community wants from the management of marine resources. Management of fish spawning – 2004/051A study of the ecological and fisheries importance of fish spawning aggregations highlighted the need to properly consider spawning behaviour when managing the impact of fishing activity and has made fishers and the public much more appreciative of fish in their natural environment. A study of the increased awareness of the tools available for studying and monitoring fish species highlighted the need to match the tool to the budget, species ecology, and habitat. It provides an objective overview of the pros and cons of each tool, as well as demonstrating new applications for them. The information gained during this study has since been incorporated into subsequent monitoring studies undertaken by the Department of Fisheries, Western Australia. A partnership between research scientists and recreational fishers known as ‘Samson Science’, involving a large number of well-trained anglers in a study of Samsonfish, is a positive example of the benefits that can be gained through proper commitment to community involvement. In another study, protocols were developed for the Samsonfish sports fishery and a handy ‘how to’ guide aimed at maximising survivorship of released Samsonfish was produced. A number of journal and grey literature articles, as well as seminars and TV documentaries, have also resulted from this study. Response to abalone virus depletion – 2007/066This project provided survey and other information to support assessment of individual reef codes in Victoria’s western zones, and basic models to assess population status and examine management options for these reef codes. The immediate outcomes were better-informed abalone industry stakeholders in Victoria’s western zone, the Victorian management agency and Victoria generally. However, as this was the first project to build reef-code level assessment models, and the first to design surveys to assess the impact of the new disease on reef stocks, it has provided a basis for design and testing of models for reef-scale management of stocks elsewhere, and a tested template for the information that will be required when/if the virus spreads to other regions. Thus the industry generally and all abalone-producing states have benefited. Global lobster market database – 2006/213Detailed long-term information on key markets and competitors has been gathered from all the key markets and competitors. With monthly data available from as early as 1995 in some cases, the information in the database can be used to identify trends and changes within the key competitors and markets relative to the Australian lobster industries. The use of the independent market commentaries, the Quarterly Reports and the searchable web-based program go a significant way to providing strategic, flexible, effective market tools for maximising the industry’s position. The effectiveness and usefulness of these tools is subjective, with varying feedback from steering committee members as to their worth. To be truly effective, the reports and database inputs and outputs would most likely need to be modified and personalised to better suit individual marketers and industry members. The achievement of a greater understanding of market requirements by the industry is also subjective, with the levels of understanding of the international market requirements by Southern, Tropical and Western Rocklobster producers being improved by varying degrees. While representatives from each of the sectors have expressed the value of collecting data for use in understanding the market’s requirements, each have stated that they did not actually use the data at the time. Thus, it is likely that the data may be useful in the long term to the industry members’ understanding of market requirements. Value chain management and traceability in the Southern Rocklobster industry – 2004/412This project has produced a robust, individually branded and barcoded lobster tag and a functional traceability system to allow industry to offer a branded, traceable and quality-guaranteed product to new and existing markets. The development of these tools provides the opportunity to increase the value of the lobster resource by improving the ‘offer’ to new niche markets willing to pay increased prices for guaranteed quality. This represents an increase in economic activity at both industry and community levels. The initial response from industry has been positive. Fishers now have the ability to prove the quality standards they fish by through whole-chain traceability. Abalone virus management strategies – 2006/243This project aims to develop codes of practice to standardise and improve the biosecurity measures in place in aquaculture farms and in commercial harvesting operations and processors. For completeness, recreational divers and fishers are also included. In developing these codes of practice, a robust and defensible process was undertaken to identify the key issues that need to be addressed by the wild harvest, recreational, aquaculture and processing sectors. These issues were assessed and prioritised at a risk-assessment workshop conducted by an expert panel assembled from all Australian states with an abalone industry. The panel included aquatic animal health specialists, representatives from industry and government officials. The risk-assessment workshop identified the most important issues for each industry sector and control measures were developed, bearing in mind that knowledge of the virus was incomplete. The controls were subsequently developed (in consultation with industry) into codes of practice that comprise a series of standard operating procedures. The adoption and implementation of the codes of practice by industry will increase biosecurity within the Australian abalone industry and minimise the risk of further outbreaks and the spread of abalone viral ganglioneuritis. EMS in WA commercial fisheries – 2005/035This project has improved community/stakeholder knowledge of and input into the value, management regimes and fishing practices of Western Australia’s South Coast Estuarine Fishery (SCEF) and Marine Aquarium Fishery (MAF). Community awareness and understanding of the use of environmental management systems (EMS) in commercial fisheries has increased, along with the level of stewardship and cohesion between licensees in the SCEF. The project has reduced the threat to seafood and marine aquarium supplies from marine planning processes as a result of improved stakeholder confidence in professional fishers. Results from a survey give information on the effectiveness of EMS in improving community perceptions of the SCEF and MAF. Another outcome is the application of EMS consistently across the pearling industry through the attendance of all pearling companies at a Broome workshop. More information: Felicity Horn, 08 9492 8829 |
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