Risk from Diarrhetic Shellfish Toxins and Dinophysis to the Australian Shellfish Industry
A Review of People Development in the Australian Fishing Industry
Final report
The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) has a longstanding commitment to investing in people development to support the fishing industry (commercial, recreational and Indigenous sectors) to enhance its learning, innovation and professionalism. To date, this investment has been primarily in the form of the sponsorship of leadership development and scholarships and other awards in higher education.
The FRDC is now seeking to take a more strategic approach to funding its people development program to ensure that its investments are closely aligned with broader industry priorities and needs. A more strategic approach will assist the creation of a learning culture within the industry so that FRDC investments will encourage a broader interest in learning and development beyond the immediate funding recipients.
The consultants have made a wide range of recommendations that cover the needs of all sectors of the industry. However, while the needs of the different sectors vary, we believe that there is a good deal of commonality. The common thread is that there is an urgent need to build capability at the local and regional levels to address real and practical issues that are impacting on industry development. We believe that the Australian fishing industry, and the FRDC in particular, can learn much from the Cooperative Venture for Capacity Building (CVCB) approach of the other Australian RDCs and the Industry Development Framework (IDF) of the NZ Ministry of Fisheries. The focus of these activities is to build models of good practice and practical resources to address regional issues in a cooperative or team-based approach.
A cooperative approach in the commercial fishing sector at the regional level is also an important ingredient in the industry’s challenge to improve the value of Australian seafood through a whole-of-chain approach to the production and marketing of seafood. Building value at each stage will require the development of capability to establish networks and cooperative ventures that will advantage the individuals and the industry as a whole.
An effective people development program will benefit from a move to a strategy-based (rather than a project-based) approach to funding. This approach is underpinned by endorsement of an operational plan that clearly identifies broad objectives (or challenges) and action strategies that will determine funding priorities. Projects may be initiated by the FRDC, or proposed by external stakeholders, that will support the achievement of the strategies. Similarly, all FRDC research and development projects should contain a discrete people development component to ensure that the project has identified a clear strategy for building capability to apply the outcomes.
The consultants also believe that a strategy-based approach will help address the largely uncoordinated and fragmented nature of people development that is now occurring across the industry. The FRDC can work with the peak bodies (ASIC, NAC, SSA, Indigenous councils, Recfish Australia, AFISC) to ensure an industry-wide approach to people development that is soundly based on agreed priorities and is best placed to lever investment by all levels of government.
One clear priority is to seek greater access to vocational education and training (VET) funding for the fishing industry. A coordinated approach that builds on the labour market intelligence of AFISC and its state/territory counterparts is the preferred way of identifying needs and funding impediments. The FRDC can then support the peak industry bodies to make the high level approaches to government that are required to influence policy makers. A stronger involvement in VET will also require the industry to embrace the Seafood Industry Training Package as the basis of competency standards across all sectors of the industry.
Finally, it is crucial that the FRDC takes steps to invest in building its own capability to manage an effective people development program on behalf of the industry. The FRDC will require some immediate support as well as take steps to ensure that it can sustain the program in the longer term. The FRDC will also require the input of key stakeholder groups on a continuing basis to ensure that its people development strategies continue to reflect the priorities and needs of the broader industry.
Tactical Research Fund: using industry expertise to build a national standard for grading of live mud crabs
Differing interpretations of grading standards for live mud crabs between fishers and buyers is highly emotive and greatly impacts industry revenue and relationships throughout the supply chain. Live mud crabs are the Sydney Fish Market’s second most valuable product and one of its most problematic, mainly due to grading issues. The urgent need for national grading standards is illustrated by the high level of confusion existing within all industry sectors.
This is compounded by the current environmental conditions that created an oversupply and low mud crab prices at market. Recent floods resulted in old crab with little meat content entering the market in higher than normal proportions, as well as an abundance of newly moulted ‘empty’ crab that are more susceptible to mortality within the supply chain and are lower priced. With newly adopted improved handling practices, harvesters are looking for new markets and experiencing various grading interpretations.
Lack of consumer confidence in purchasing a ‘full' crab impacts industry revenue. Having purchased a crab with poor meat content, consumers are unlikely to purchase again.
There is overwhelming Industry support to develop a universal, objective, agreed and workable standard. To achieve this national standards needs to be developed to ensure all harvesters, buyers and marketers agree on consistent grading standard for live mud crab. Many currently active industry members indicated they are unclear of grading parameters for live mud crab.
With the Qld crab-review in progress, the development of grading standards is timely and will assist the transition to any adjusted management regime.
As the catch of mud crab is a major component of the recreational fishery in many jurisdictions it is important to educate them on how to tell if a crab would be best returned to the water.
Final report
This project lead to a large number of outcomes that provided significant benefit to the Australian live mud crab industry supply chain. These include:
- Agreement on an easy to use, national, industry-driven, grading scheme for live mud crabs (the Australian Industry Live Mud Crab Grading Scheme) and the development of a range of material to extend the scheme widely
- Industry ownership and support for the grading scheme has been evident, with many sectors, individuals and groups taking the scheme on board, including the Sydney Fish Market (SFM) adopting the Australian Live Mud Crab Grading Scheme as part of its grading guidelines.
- Improved revenue return to the supply chain through a reduction in downgraded live mud crab, resulting in maximum price per unit. Even though not formally adopted until December 2012, data indicates up to a $1.40/kg increase in value for properly graded product at the SFM since the forum.
- Supply chain partners have indicated greater consumer satisfaction and less disagreement due to the development of the extension material and easy to use grading scheme. With the formal launch of the scheme on 3rd December 2012, in conjunction with the SFM, the linking with key sector sites and groups, and all of the material going live, it is anticipated that as consumers become better informed in their decision making process when choosing mud crab, there will be elevated consumer confidence to buy premium quality, live mud crab, engendering more frequent purchases.
- The linking of project 2010/302 and this project has seen far greater utilisation of Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) resources along the supply chain. Six trips were undertaken jointly to meet with key people and groups along the supply chain (NT x 2, NSW x 2, Vic x 1, Qld x 1), and the linking of best handling and grading became intertwined. In addition, when work on either project has taken place by the individual project teams, the opportunity to cross reference the projects has allowed the combined knowledge of the projects to be further extended.
- The forum methodology, which focused on providing optimal input from industry, was extremely well supported and can serve as a template for future whole of supply chain meetings.
- The benefits of using professional media/design personnel as part of capturing outcomes from the workshop and developing extension material proved very successful and resulted in production of high quality, client focussed, targeted material.
Keywords: Mud crab, grading scheme, quality, facilitation, extension, industry, supply chain.