Given the many changes to the business environment and eating habits in Perth since the National Fish Consumption Study, particularly over the past year, there is a great need for up to date reliable information on the consumption of seafood in Perth to comprehend and overcome this reported downturn in seafood retail sales and for long term planning for the producers and marketers of seafood.

This information would also allow industry to make better use of the States underutilised finfish particularly the species coming to Perth from remote areas such as the North West Shelf which are currently not fetching high prices. With the growing number of Asian fish shops in Perth and the growing interest in ethnic foods, import replacement with local underutilised species is of great importance.

Australia as a whole can benefit from the results of this research because this study can be directly compared with a similar study being conducted in Sydney by Ruello & associates (FRDC 98/345). The results of the two studies in the west and east can then be used by other states in between the two seaboards.

This Western Australian project is best regarded as an extension to the Sydney FRDC 98/345 project. It is intended that the Perth study can start in January 1999 so that interviews are conducted at the same time in Perth and Sydney so that we have uniform seasonal data on both sides of the continent.

The development of a simple guide on where and how to target advertising will be a first for the Australian seafood industry. It will prove to be a valuable tool for industry sectors all around Australia and will encourage and assist the retail sector to advertise their business and their products

The Australian Seafood Industry Council has identified a need to hold a biennial national seafood industry conference where the industry can gather in an appropriate forum to discuss and learn about issues of critical nature affecting the industry and to use this forum as a means of providing the basis for future planning and directions. The ASIC have identified the need to hold this conference bi-ennually on an ongoing basis. The ASIC have agreed that the venues for future conferences will be: 2001 Qld, 2003 WA, 2005 NSW.

There are a range of industry needs which have been identified as critical and which a National Seafood Conference can immediately and directly address at a national level.

1. There is a critical need for the seafood industry of Australia to promote itself and it's image.

2. There is also a critical need for industry to address the public's perception of seafood and associated issues such as quality, health benefits and product promotion.

3. There is a clear need for the Australian seafood industry to develop a 'conference culture' at a national level, which is critical to ensuring effective information transfer.

4. Other issues such as training and education, marketing and industry development also have international aspects which could be addressed through attracting international industry delegates to Australia through a conference.

5. There is a need for more extensive communication/interaction within the industry at national level and a national conference will provide an ideal forum for this to occur.

Additionally there is a need for national recognition within Australia's seafood industry of the value of its members and their operations. To promote this culture, the timing of the seafood conference and the fact that it will provide a critical mass of industry people will be the opportunity
to host the Inaugural National Seafood Industry Awards Dinner. This dinner is fully supported and will be fully funded by ASIC with the Project Management Team taking on the responsibility for the organisation of the event.

World fisheries governance is rapidly evolving in response to modern imperatives both for improved environmental and natural resource management and for economic efficiency in an increasingly global economy. In re-examining the relationship between man and fishery resources, new forms of relations, more conducive to sustainability, are being conceived and tested.

Key questions we must ask are: Who should have access to the resources? What options are there for the form and the price of access rights? These difficult questions have very fundmental social, conomic, and political implications - and it is unlikely that a unique solution would fit every situation. Thus it is vital to exchange information on these situations, on new fisheries governance and rights approaches, and on the difficulties and outcomes of their implementation.

Property rights are a powerful institutional framework which society has evolved to enable people to exploit the natural environment in an orderly fashion. They constitute an institutional framework which operates according to rules of definition and conduct. Depending on the actual management regime, these may be formal and explicit or informal and implicit. There is a need to bring these differing views into open debate and explore avenues of common interest.

Informational exchange is vital as property rights (and the associated rules) define powers, duties and responsibilities for individuals or groups. As such they have the potential, when well defined, to enable conflicts between different users of a resource to be resolved, including resolution by market transaction involving the transfer of property.

This conference intends to contribute to this exchange of information on use of property rights in fisheries management by exploring the strategic, political, and operational issues of different forms of rights-based fisheries management worldwide.

As the Australian Aquaculture Industry makes more use of genetic techniques, and works more with fully domesticated stock, there is a need to be fully informed of advances in this area. To remain competitive, and to maximise the effectiveness of limited research funds, industry and government will require to identify and access technologies developed overseas as rapidly as possible.

Advances in genetics are occuring at considerable speed and there is a need to establish and maintain interactions with research groups worldwide. The effectiveness with which this can be done is enhanced not only by demonstrating the research skills developed in Australia, but by exposure of International scientists to Australia, it aquaculture industries and research groups.

Holding the 7th International Symposium on Genetics in Aquaculture in Australia will provide an excellent opportunity to provide this exposure, to establish or strengthen networks, and, by maintaining the tradition of the "Genetics in Aquaculture" Symposia, establishing our position in the International scene in this area of research and technology development.

The importance of this area of research and technology development was demonstrated by the demand for, and the conduct of, a national meeting on Genetics in Aquaculture in Perth in Sept 1998 supported by FRDC. At that meeting, the development of international interactions were identified as an important requirement for Australia.