Following on from our discussions at the FRAB Stakeholders meeting in Canberra, WAFIC is seeking FRDC financial support for its Strategic Planning Workshop which is scheduled to be held at the Hillarys Research Centre on Tuesday 10 June, 2008.

Given the work that Ewan Colquhoun did with the WAFIC Seafood CRC Strategic Plan, WAFIC has engaged Ewan as facilitator for the Strategic Planning day. The program will in all likelihood be very similar although there will be more participants – probably very similar to the Summit meeting held in Fremantle in October last year.

We estimate the cost of the Strategic Planning process including travel assistance for some participants, room hire, catering, and the facilitators’ cost for writing up the report will be $20,000. WAFIC is seeking FRDC support to cover this amount of costs. Any costs above that amount will be paid from the WAFIC operational budget.

The October 2007 Summit and the WAFIC Seafood CRC Strategic Plan have provided a very good framework for the WAFIC Strategic Planning day.

Industry organisations need to build their capacity to meet future challenges and opportunities. Building the skills and confidence for industry to influence is one aspect of capacity that the people development program aims to address through this project, providing opportunity to influence is another.

There is a need for coordinated delivery of opportunities to develop governance capability in the fishing
industry and and to promote opportunitites to foster diversity through succession planning within industry committees and boards. n.

Industry organisations need to build their capacity to meet future challenges and opportunities. Building the skills and confidence for industry to influence is one aspect of capacity that the people development program aims to address through this project, providing opportunity to influence is another.

There is a need for coordinated delivery of opportunities to develop governance capability in the fishing
industry and and to promote opportunitites to foster diversity through succession planning within industry committees and boards. There is also a need to provide additional opportunities for those people who participate in the AICD program to observe effective boards in action.

Industry organisations need to build their capacity to meet future challenges and opportunities. Building the skills and confidence for industry to influence is one aspect of capacity that the people development program aims to address through this project, providing opportunity to influence is another.

There is a need for coordinated delivery of opportunities to develop governance capability in the fishing
industry and and to promote opportunitites to foster diversity through succession planning within industry committees and boards. There is also a need to provide additional opportunities for those people who participate in the AICD program to observe effective boards in action.

Clearly the commercial fishers cannot contiune to catch mullet and only get 1980 prices. This is not economically viable. Mullet is a greatly under rated table fish and the opportunity to value add and present a product for the consumer that is ready to cook, packaged tastefully with several cooking options on the packaging is seen as a logical step.

The work that the Geraldton Fish Market has put into this is substanital and if the members of the CPFA can capitalise on this and adopt the technology and methods than we are learning from others within the industry.

We have to do something to improve the returns for the fishers otherwise we will not have a mullet meshing fishery and there is every likelihood that we will not attract the next generation of fishers as it will not be viable.