Over the next five years, FRDC investment will be targeted to achieve the five outcomes of this R&D Plan (shown in Figure 2 below). The five outcomes are:
- Growth for enduring prosperity
- Best practices and production systems
- A culture that is inclusive and forward thinking
- Fair and secure access to aquatic resources
- Community trust, respect and value
This is one of the FRDC’s most ‘people-centric’ plans to date, with a focus on capacity building, shaping culture, building relationships and establishing shared principles and values. To help make progress towards these outcomes easier, the FRDC will use five enabling strategies to realise the highest potential from investments made for fishing and aquaculture.
The five outcomes in FRDC’s R&D Plan align with 14 of the 17 United Nations SDGs, although the extent to which each outcome contributes to a particular SDG will depend on how the FRDC allocates its R&D investments.
Figure 2. The heart of FRDC’s R&D Plan 2020–25: Five outcomes supported by five enabling strategies
Outcome 1: Growth for enduring prosperity
Enduring and balanced ecological, social and economic growth for the community benefit
As the world’s population grows, so must the range of benefits that come from Australia’s aquatic resources. If managed sustainably, fishing and aquaculture can contribute to growth and diversification, helping Australia achieve its target of growing agriculture to $100 billion by 2030.
Confidence from economic security promotes innovation and new perspectives that will deliver benefits for the wider community. an awareness that prosperity and sustainability are mutually supporting concepts is central to this R&D Plan. unfortunately, Australia’s aquatic ecosystems are under pressure from a variety of activities and influences. Fishing and aquaculture can affect natural systems, yet improved and better-informed management has seen fewer unwanted incidents.
Meanwhile, other threats to ecosystems are now better understood. examples are increased water use, exploration and extraction of minerals and petroleum, climate change, runoff, habitat removal and degradation from urban and agricultural areas, larger amounts of plastics and their impact as well as greater levels of vessel traffic and associated port infrastructure. these pressures can compromise the productivity of Australia’s aquatic systems and fisheries.
The FRDC will explore opportunities to invest in, manage and promote adoption of R&D to:
- support a sustainable, efficient and effective increase in production, value and price,
- guide a coordinated and evidence-based strategy for growth,
- develop more effective and cost-efficient solutions for understanding and responding to biosecurity risks from a changing climate and increased global movement of goods,
- promote a circular economy to remove waste from the processing system, keep products and materials in use and promote the repair of natural systems,
- improve understanding of, and increase community benefits from, fishing and aquaculture,
- better connect Indigenous communities with fishing and aquaculture initiatives to build opportunities for economic security in regional and remote areas where desired,
- improve understanding of the cause and extent of impacts to aquatic systems and what is needed to improve them,
- build skills and networks, including the traditional knowledge, innovation and practices of Indigenous australians to understand, restore and create healthy aquatic ecosystems,
- build partnerships to develop system-wide understanding, and identify ways to maintain and get the most benefits from aquatic systems.
| THE FUTURE: Expanding aquaculture Aquaculture is Australia’s fastest growing form of primary production and will be critical in meeting food security needs, economic targets and nutritional requirements. Yet, expansion of aquaculture is currently limited by various constraints. Increased production further offshore and within closed land-based systems presents challenges, but also opportunities for improving prospects for controlling disease and pathogens. |
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Outcome 2: Best practices and production systems
Diverse benefits from aquatic resources to be consistent with shared principles
Ethical performance is now big business worldwide, with benefits including improved reputation, reduced risk, competitive advantage, access to new markets and value creation. Industries and sectors are responding by adopting practices that have less impact on the environment or are even regenerative. they also consider the wellbeing of workers, communities and consumers, conserve non-renewable energy, sustainably manage natural resources, minimise stress in animals, and do not compromise the needs of future generations.
The FRDC will explore opportunities to invest in, manage and promote adoption of R&D to:
- minimise impacts on non-target species and ecosystems,
- better understand and increase wellbeing, equity and safety of workers within each sector,
- develop innovative ways to conduct and communicate independent validation of sustainable practices and outcomes to markets and consumers,
- improve animal welfare outcomes,
- promote learning and sharing among sectors and industries, including identifying, documenting and promoting Indigenous traditional fisheries management systems and practices,
- inform effective management of climate change impacts through adaptation and mitigation,
- explore ways to capitalise on new opportunities presented by climate change,
- develop improved decision-making tools better able to respond to biological variability and increased revenue volatility and risks.
| THE FUTURE: Reducing the environmental footprint of commercial wild-catch fisheries Fishing has evolved through the ages, yet is still based on the same basic elements: hooks, nets, traps and hand collection, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Developments in robotics, sensors, artificial intelligence and automation present opportunities to explore new ways to harvest seafood while reducing impacts on the environment and improving economic returns. |
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Outcome 3: A culture that is inclusive and forward thinking
A fishing and aquaculture community that is cooperative, diverse and well equipped to enable growth and adaptability in a complex and uncertain world
‘Culture’ describes an emergent pattern of behaviours and responses adopted by a group over time, which they consider to be the ‘correct’ way to perceive, feel, think and act. Culture reflects what a group stands for, what they consider to be right and wrong, and is shaped by the rules, systems and protocols of their surroundings.
Working to address the dynamics that affect fishing and aquaculture today — such as market volatility, evolving societal beliefs, climate-driven ecological changes and technological disruption — will require a culture that is focused on solutions, resourceful and willing to be collaborative.
To change culture, you must modify what shaped it in the first place. This means identifying the underlying beliefs, relationships and norms that are influencing decision making and challenging assumptions and expectations. this requires developing new ways of working together.
To assist, the FRDC will explore opportunities to invest in and manage adoption of R&D research to:
- understand and address factors that hold back positive cultural and behavioural change,
- promote greater inclusiveness, creative thought and solution seeking,
- support sharing among stakeholders so that others can learn from those who are already producing promising results,
- encourage openness to new ideas, approaches and ways of thinking and behaving, recognising that needs may differ among sectors,
- strengthen collaboration across sectors to enable the full benefit of collaborative partnerships.
The FRDC will also aim to modify how it identifies and solves problems by engaging a range of collaborators to tackle ambitious challenges together. this may mean accepting new tolerances for risk and realising that experimentation can fail or come up with unexpected results, but will always provide opportunities for learning.
| THE FUTURE: Playing it safe Fatalities in fishing and aquaculture make it one of the most dangerous occupations and recreational pursuits in Australia. Changing the ‘culture’ so that safety is viewed as an investment rather than a cost will require reshaping current values, attitudes and behaviours. It will involve establishing an environment where some behaviours are ‘easy’ and others are ‘hard’. Rewarding ‘desired’ behaviours, discouraging those that are ‘negative’ will bring about incremental new ways of behaving and aim to ensure positive actions and practices are socially reinforced. |
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Outcome 4: Fair and secure access to aquatic resources
Integrated management of Australia’s aquatic resources, providing certainty and confidence
Access to aquatic resources, guided by good management, is fundamental for the continued delivery of economic and social benefits such as food, income, employment, recreation and cultural identity for all Australians. however, resource sharing among users can be contentious. as the ‘blue economy’ takes shape and seafood species move in response to a changing climate, Australia’s seascapes are likely to become busier and more contested.
Optimising benefits for the Australian community means sharing resources fairly using open and evidence-based processes within the limits of sustainability.
Decision making on the management of aquatic resources sometimes occurs without a multi-sector view and the associated context necessary to ensure that the Australian community receives the best value from any decisions made. this has led — at times — to trade-offs, environmental impacts, unnecessary complexity, ineffectiveness, inefficiency and increased costs.
To assist, the FRDC will explore opportunities to invest in R&D to:
- support increasingly integrated and effective management of Australia’s aquatic resources,
- promote development and adoption of management measures that are well suited for resilience to change, including:
- harvest strategies that are flexible to take account for the dynamic nature of resource use,
- flexible spatial arrangements, decision-making tools better able to transparently deal with biological variability, climate change, harvest uncertainty, management of revenue volatility and risks,
- management approaches that aim for fairness,
- participative management across Australia’s fisheries to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
| THE FUTURE: A busy aquatic landscape Australia’s aquatic environment is governed by a complex series of rules, zones and reserves that apply to its many diverse users. Research and development that moves efforts towards an integrated, system-wide approach for managing these vast water resources would help ensure that the objectives, programs and measures are consistent across different users. |
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Outcome 5: Community trust, respect and value
People feel good about using the products, services and experiences provided by fishing and aquaculture
Community support is essential if Australia’s fisheries are to grow and prosper. aquaculture activities also need the approval and trust of local residents, given the sector’s aspirations for growth into new coastal waters. achieving and retaining this support means that fishing and aquaculture need to show that using publicly owned resources can co-exist with community values and also deliver benefits to them.
FRDC research (Alexander et al., 2020) determined the main reasons for society’s support of fishing and aquaculture. they included that:
- Government is seen to have a strong oversight of the sector and there are fair decision-making processes in place,
- operations are acting in alignment with social norms, have a level of visibility and there is evidence of sustainable and responsible practices,
- sectors are building relationships, connecting with the community and communicating effectively,
- fishing and aquaculture work together, using alliances and partnerships to resolve issues,
- there is a shared vision, with benefits being generated and distributed to the Australian community.
The FRDC will explore opportunities to invest in, manage and promote adoption of R&D to:
- motivate action across sectors to achieve a shared vision,
- nurture relationships and communications between stakeholders and with the community,
- encourage the use of transparent decision-making tools and best practice in the management of fisheries and aquaculture to ensure a fair distribution of economic and societal benefits,
- improve seafood traceability and integrity from capture through to end user.
| THE FUTURE: Restorative aquatic farming FRDC research has identified that communities look for sustainable practices and operations which are in alignment with social norms. Ocean-based mixed farming systems that grow multiple ‘crops’ in the same area are a win/win, allowing nutrients from growing fish to be used by seaweeds and shellfish that improve water quality and provide additional products for a growing market. They also have an added benefit of providing habitat for the wild fish that share these aquatic spaces. |
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