Commercial in confidence. To know more about this project please contact FRDC.

[Produce a ‘Critical Review Paper’ to provide a potential roadmap for additional research, as well as help identify communication strategies for the seafood industry. This is a development and networking opportunity to create future relationships and collaborations]

This bursary will allow Nina Wootton to attend the microplastics and seafood symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland. The focus of the symposium will be human health aspects of microplastics in seafood. The aim is to produce a critical review paper to provide a potential roadmap for additional research, as well as help identify communication strategies for the seafood industry. This is part of an international partnership between FRDC, Seafish (UK) and Seafood Industry Research Fund (USA) that will have 11 scientific experts attending along with industry. The symposium provides Australians with a unique opportunity to engage with experts and industry from around the world.

We will also visit several UK based research groups as part of our travel - we have already engaged with researchers from Plymouth Marine Laboratories, University of Plymouth and Exeter University including Professor Richard Thompson, the first researcher to identify microplastics as an issue.

Please see attached sponsorship proposal that will outline the different tiers of sponsorship and gains for each level of contribution. Please note that the festivals will provide an important exposure of the crucial work of the FRDC to our communities and educate the public on who you are.

Aquaculture is ultimately a complex concept. Presently the aquaculture industry sectors are experiencing challenges to communicating a collective narrative to support and educate external stakeholders and defend its activities when required. This position is due to a range of factors, including the absence of coordinated government outreach programs, policies and platforms (like provided to dairy and other sectors), a lack of stakeholder awareness on industry priorities and contribution to society, and the absence of effective structures to support knowledge sharing and low aquaculture literacy. Furthermore, there has been no platform to bring the industry sectors together for united outreach or to collectively communicate the value proposition of aquaculture and the key messages in a way that resonates, or results in a change of behaviour (trust) with key stakeholders.

While there are many individual voices in the industry with a multitude of state and species-based advocacy organizations, committees and special interest groups, this makes it difficult to lead a coordinated and consistent internal message within the industry, as well as to coordinate responses to issues and topics important to external stakeholders. The impact can mean there are mixed or incoherent messages going to seafood consumers, local community groups living or operating adjacent to farms, supply chain partners, NGO’s, researchers, policy makers, international agencies, and local, state and federal government agencies.

To build a strong and ensuring cross-sectoral communications and outreach program, there is a need to map the internal and external stakeholder landscape and capture current outreach and communications efforts, priorities, message banks, and scale of influence of these groups.