140 results

Practicing aquatic animal welfare: Identifying and mitigating obstacles to uptake and adoption by the Australian Fishing Industry

Project number: 2019-023
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $100,100.00
Principal Investigator: Nicki Mazur
Organisation: ENVision Environmental Consulting
Project start/end date: 1 Dec 2019 - 14 Dec 2020
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Recent research shows general public support for Australia’s fishing industry (Sparks 2017; Voyer et al 2016) that depends on people’s assessments of industry’s commitment to implement best practice and demonstration of being effective environmental stewards (Mazur et al 2014). The FRDC has recognised external pressure for the fishing industry to move beyond compliance with environmental and other regulations and improve its performance in key areas, including animal welfare. As noted above, the FRDC has provided support for a range of research and industry initiatives to achieve positive aquatic animal welfare outcomes. The FRDC also recognises that further improvement to the seafood industry’s aquatic animal welfare practices are required.

Recent FRDC project investments has produced valuable knowledge about how when change is called for it is very important to recognise that multiple factors influence – positively and/or negatively - people’s decisions to take up those new, innovative, and/or different practices (i.e. 2017-133, 2017-046, 2017-221). These factors typically include personal values and belief systems, access to different kinds of resources required to make changes, particular features of the recommended practices, as well as a range of macro-levels factors that while they may be outside of people’s direct control still affect their choices. FRDC Project 2017-133 generated important insights about how and to what extent these kinds of factors have been keeping the seafood industry from making more substantive progress towards building greater stakeholder and community trust (Mazur & Brooks 2018).

Further work of this nature is now needed to shed greater light on aquatic animal welfare in the seafood industry (FRDC 2017-221). In particular the research should be focused on identifying the particular features of ‘best care’ for aquatic animals, the range of factors that may be obstructing industry members’ use of those practices, and examples of recent (extension) initiatives used to encourage better aquatic animal welfare.

Objectives

1. Identifying best practice in (aquatic) animal welfare.
2. Identify the extent to which fishers and finfish aquaculture farms are applying best practice in Australia
3. Identify factors impeding the uptake and adoption of a selection of recommended aquatic animal welfare practices in wild-catch commercial fishing and finfish aquaculture
4. Identify appropriate strategies to mitigate obstacles to improved uptake and adoption of those recommended practices
5. Help build the Australian fishing industry's capacity to design and implement extension programs, especially those targeting increased uptake and adoption of recommended aquatic animal welfare practices
6. Contribute to increased likelihood of more widespread and enduring practice-change in the seafood industry's aquatic animal welfare practices in wild-catch commercial fishing and finfish aquaculture

Final report

Author: Dr. Nicole (Nicki) Mazur and Mr Andy Bodsworth
Final Report • 2022-03-31 • 1.78 MB
2019-023-DLD.pdf

Summary

This FRDC funded research  focuses on the obstacles to, and drivers of, positive practice change relating to aquatic animal welfare (AAW) in Australia’s wild-catch commercial fishing and finfish aquaculture sectors. It was conducted between December 2019 and March 2022 in response to growing societal expectations that production animals, including fish and crustaceans, be treated humanely ; and the need to understand how the Australian seafood industry can, and should, respond. 

A mixed-method approach was used to collect data and information for this research. These included a desk-top review, stakeholder consultation, and a set of interviews. 

This Project identified a range of AAW practices used by some seafood producers that they believed to be ‘humane’. The Project also identified some factors enabling and impeding seafood producers’ approaches. Key factors supporting AAW uptake and adoption included a seafood producers’ openness to change and interest in learning, the relative advantages of using recommended practices, well designed and resourced extension, and positive relationships across industry, government and interest group networks. 

This Project provides highly useful insights about AAW practices used by a small sample of Australian seafood industry members, which were primarily representatives of the wild-catch commercial fishing sector with two from the finfish aquaculture sector. This project’s findings support results from other recent Australian seafood industry research and policy initiatives, which have found that more appropriately designed and consistently-funded extension programs can help improve AAW uptake and adoption. However, AAW is a complex issue, and requires more than just extension.  A range of carefully conceived and integrated policy instruments (e.g., market instruments, regulations) are needed to achieve substantive and lasting AAW practice change. Five recommendations have been formulated to help amplify enablers of and mitigate obstacles to AAW uptake and adoption. Suggested next steps include a workshop to draw out policy and industry-led options to enhance adoption, including feasibility of a risk assessment; and a case studies to test risk assessment and options to improve adoption.

Harvest and slaughter methods for farmed Barramundi to minimise fish stress and achieve premium market quality and improved fish welfare outcomes

Project number: 2019-003
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $124,230.90
Principal Investigator: Paul Exley
Organisation: Department of Agriculture and Fisheries EcoScience Precinct
Project start/end date: 7 Jul 2019 - 27 Jun 2021
Contact:
FRDC
SPECIES

Need

Current practices for slaughter of farmed Barramundi use ice slurry. The sector has undertaken preliminary research to understand impacts of harvest and slaughter methods on stress, product quality and fish welfare.
Further investigation is needed into practical and cost-effective application of rested harvest on farms, together with understanding how practices can be improved, for example understanding optimal ice slurry amount, timing, and crowding; and determining impact on flesh quality indicators (e.g. flesh pH, blood glucose and lactate and blood pH). Complementary to harvest method protocols, is the need to investigate the impact on stress of direct transfer of fish into ice slurry as a slaughter method.

The project focus contributes directly to the National priority of:
Improving productivity and profitability of fishing and aquaculture, by increasing profitability through better supply-chain connections (FRDC RD&E plan, 2015-20).
Similarly, the project addresses the NPIRDEF, Working together: the National fishing and aquaculture RD&E Strategy, 2010 value chain outcome of:
Fisheries and aquaculture are prosperous and viable; strategic research themes – growth and profitability; maximising value from aquatic resources.

Objectives

1. Determine stress imposed on fish during harvest operations, and develop methods for stress reduction.
2. Evaluate methods of slaughter that minimise stress to fish, incorporating animal welfare best practice
3. Refine and adapt protocols on farm with Industry to ensure practicality and cost-effectiveness
4. Prepare guide material on effective protocols for Industry best practice in formats suitable for ready reference by Industry

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-6456352-0-1
Author: Paul Exley
Final Report • 2022-12-15 • 4.86 MB
2019-003-DLD.pdf

Summary

The Australian Barramundi Farmer's Association (ABFA) has learned how harvest teams on farms can take simple preparatory steps to ensure the quality and consistency of Australian farmed Barramundi reaching the market.  Scientists have worked with farmers that have nurtured their Barramundi for the last two years through the grow-out phase and have demonstrated through on-farm trials that the harvest phase is just as crucial.  Research undertaken with farmers has shown that it is important to keep water dissolved oxygen levels above 5.0 mg/L as the fish are concentrated together beside the pond bank for harvest, particularly at high water temperatures.  The next step is to have the correct number of ice slurry bins on hand to receive the tonnage the farm plans to harvest, with the correct ratio of fish, brine and ice to ensure rapid chill.  All data gained will serve as a baseline 'toolbox' to compare future harvest technologies that will be adopted to progress the pursuit of quality.

Developing FRDC’s 2020-2025 RD&E Plan

Project number: 2018-197
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $370,061.23
Principal Investigator: Matt Barwick
Organisation: Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC)
Project start/end date: 19 Apr 2019 - 30 Dec 2020
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Section 19 of PIRD Act requires R&D corporations to prepare R&D Plans for each consecutive 5-year period. Each plan is to include (at a minimum):
· a statement of the Corporation’s objectives and priorities for the period to which the plan is expressed to relate; and
· an outline of the strategies that the Corporation intends to adopt in order to achieve those objectives.
Under section 10 of the Funding Agreement between FRDC and the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR), FRDC is required to develop a consultation plan, which seeks to:
• explain the purpose and objectives of consultation to inform the 2020-2025 RD&E Plan;
• describe who will be consulted;
• outline methods proposed; and,
• explain how input provided will be used.

FRDC is to obtain DAWR approval for the consultation plan prior to commencement of activities.
In order to develop an RD&E Plan which accurately interprets and responds to RD&E needs for Australia’s fishing and aquaculture community it is important to understand the aspirations, pain points, risks and opportunities of each sector over the intended life of the plan through undertaking broad consultation. It is also important to understand the current situation of the fishing and aquaculture (F&A) community (including indigenous, wild catch, aquaculture and recreational, and post-harvest sectors). The situational analysis should provide an updated understanding of what fishing and aquaculture looks like in Australia today, who is involved, what drives them, how they are performing, how the product (if retained) is used, what are the main dominant risks and trends. An earlier situational analysis delivered as an output of FRDC Project 2014/503.20 provides a useful template.
Finally, it is for any RD&E plan to be informed by an understanding of likely future trends, risks and opportunities facing Australia’s F&A community in the future. This requires:
· compilation of evidence to enable consideration of likely future geopolitical, social, economic, environmental and/or technical changes likely to occur in the future, and drivers of those changes;
· generation of projections relating to supply and demand for seafood products as well as cultural and/or recreational time use

Objectives

1. Undertake consultative activities to inform development of the 2020-2025 RD&E Plan
2. Deliver a contemporary situational analysis for Australia’s fishing and aquaculture community to inform FRDC’s 2020-2025 RD&E Plan
3. Deliver a future-scan with a decadal time horizon (2030) to inform FRDC’s 2020-2025 RD&E Plan
4. Undertake activities necessary to enable launch of the 2020-2025 RD&E Plan by 30 June 2020.

Final report

Authors: Jeff Dambacher Alistair Hobday Fabio Boschetti Chris Moeseneder Linda Thomas
Final Report • 2020-05-28 • 2.57 MB
2018-197-DLD.pdf

Summary

This report covers the second of two CSIRO contributions to the project FRDC 2018-197. This project was reviewing FRDC research objectives through a process that developed alternative scenarios of possible futures relevant to Australian fisheries. Discussed here is the development of a quantitative model to explore future seafood scenarios developed elsewhere. The purpose of this modelling exercise was to support the project FRDC 2018-197. The development of these possible future scenarios was undertaken in a process 
that ran in parallel to the CSIRO contribution. This process involved a series of stakeholder workshops and follow-up discussions, to which CSIRO staff were occasional observers.
The qualitative models developed to describe present day dynamics were then tested to see if they could account for previously observed shocks or perturbations the Australian aquaculture and fisheries system. This involved a face-to-face workshop and teleconference with representatives of the Stage 1 expert group.
Based on external input to management, employment and environmental variables, the qualitative models produced a set of predictions that were highly consistent with previously observed impacts in Australian fisheries and aquaculture. 
The models were then tested to see how well they compared to the dynamics described in the future scenarios, and here model predictions were found to be highly consistent with the dynamics played out in the two future scenarios – that is, both worlds are likely.
With ongoing support from CSIRO, these models can now be used to explore alternative perturbations, identify the informative indicators, and to determine when these models of the future (World A and B) are no longer realistic representations of real situation. If insufficient information is being gather on these indicators, the efforts could be made to collect such data, or if the information is too expensive, the alternatives can also be investigated to determine how many alternative indicators provide the equivalent conformation
Final Report • 2020-05-28 • 2.57 MB
2018-197-DLD.pdf

Summary

This report covers the second of two CSIRO contributions to the project FRDC 2018-197. This project was reviewing FRDC research objectives through a process that developed alternative scenarios of possible futures relevant to Australian fisheries. Discussed here is the development of a quantitative model to explore future seafood scenarios developed elsewhere. The purpose of this modelling exercise was to support the project FRDC 2018-197. The development of these possible future scenarios was undertaken in a process 
that ran in parallel to the CSIRO contribution. This process involved a series of stakeholder workshops and follow-up discussions, to which CSIRO staff were occasional observers.
The qualitative models developed to describe present day dynamics were then tested to see if they could account for previously observed shocks or perturbations the Australian aquaculture and fisheries system. This involved a face-to-face workshop and teleconference with representatives of the Stage 1 expert group.
Based on external input to management, employment and environmental variables, the qualitative models produced a set of predictions that were highly consistent with previously observed impacts in Australian fisheries and aquaculture. 
The models were then tested to see how well they compared to the dynamics described in the future scenarios, and here model predictions were found to be highly consistent with the dynamics played out in the two future scenarios – that is, both worlds are likely.
With ongoing support from CSIRO, these models can now be used to explore alternative perturbations, identify the informative indicators, and to determine when these models of the future (World A and B) are no longer realistic representations of real situation. If insufficient information is being gather on these indicators, the efforts could be made to collect such data, or if the information is too expensive, the alternatives can also be investigated to determine how many alternative indicators provide the equivalent conformation
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-177
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

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ORGANISATION:
C-AID Consultants
SPECIES
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PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-176
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

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ORGANISATION:
KPMG Australia Melbourne
Communities
PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-172
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

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ORGANISATION:
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PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-140
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Strengthening the ABFA Quality Framework

The Australian Barramundi Farmers’ Association (ABFA) supports its members to strive to differentiate Australian farmed Barramundi on quality, safety, and sustainability. A critical aspect in building market share and securing premium price is assuring buyers and consumers that every meal of...
ORGANISATION:
Australian Barramundi Farmers Association (ABFA)
SPECIES
Industry
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PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-102
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Understanding Ostreid herpesvirus type 1 risk: alternative hosts and in situ hybridisation

South Australia (SA) has a large edible oyster industry primarily growing Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas). The industry is regionally-based, an important employer and a substantial contributor to regional economies. Pacific oyster mortality syndrome (POMS) is a serious infectious disease of C....
ORGANISATION:
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