Project number: 2023-133
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $130,349.30
Principal Investigator: Brendan D. Cowled
Organisation: AusVet Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 18 Jul 2024 - 28 Feb 2025
Contact:
FRDC

Need

This project would utilise the combination of a systematic review of literature and industry consultation to provide a thorough risk assessment of AVG impacting other areas and industries. Risk analysis is a well-established scientific method and is commonly used by veterinary epidemiologists to allow objective assessment of the risks of animal production or harvest practices or trade in transmitting animal diseases. This project seeks to apply risk assessment to explore the risk that SRL fishers and other activities pose to transmission of AVG and what level of risk mitigation is required to manage that risk. It may be possible to relax fishing and movement restrictions if the risk can be mitigated, or wider consideration of more activities may lead to risk mitigation recommendations for various activities.

Objectives

1. Assess the risk that Southern Rock Lobster fishing operations (the use of pots and fishing vessels) act as a vector of transmission of AVG.
2. Assess the risk that other commercial and non-commercial fishing activities act as a vector of transmission of AVG. This will include:• recreational fishing (including boating activities)• abalone fishing and associated activities such as cleaning abalone catch enroute to port• a representative net fishing industry.We note that the Victorian Government has completed a risk assessment on abalone diving and we will not repeat that, instead review their risk assessment and include that in our project to be efficient.

Related research

Industry
Industry
Environment