Minister Watt’s Research Priorities Received August 2023

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, The Hon Murray Watt, has written to all Research and Development Corporations outlining his priorities:

I am writing to set out my priorities as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry that can inform research and development investments for all Rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs). The Commonwealth provides a significant amount of funding to RDCs. Therefore, it is key that RDC investment contributes to delivering the Australian Government's agricultural priorities and that these priorities are embedded in each RDC's longer-term strategic planning.

To this end, my priorities are biosecurity, climate change and sustainability, trade,

First Nations engagement and workforce. Thank you for providing information to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in late 2022 on Fisheries Research and Development Corporation's (FRDC) investments in these areas. I ask that you keep me updated on your investments and outcomes as they relate to the government's priorities.

I am also aware that the RDCs are making efforts to collaborate on cross-sectoral issues, and I strongly encourage you to continue and increase this collaboration.

FRDC’s progress in addressing these priorities can be found under the Knowledge Hub area of the FRDC website.

Apply for position of FRDC Chairperson

Applications are open for the position of FRDC Chairperson. Applications close 11.00pm (AEDT) Sunday 7 January 2024. To learn more and apply visit Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website.

FRDC staffing update

A few changes to staff at the FRDC are and soon to happen.

• General Manager Strategy and Innovation Matt Barwick has accepted an exciting secondment opportunity for 12 months within the International Environment, Reef and Oceans Division at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) commencing January 2024. We wish him all the best with this wonderful opportunity. An internal recruitment process for the position in underway.
• Two new Research Portfolio Manager Positions have recently been appointed with Benjamin Jones (Adelaide based) and Deepika Satchithananthan (Canberra based) commencing in January 2024.
• Carolyn Stewardson will return to full time work in the Canberra office from 2 January 2024.
• ICT contractor Nicole Stubing has been appointed to the position of Digitalisation and Insights Manager based in the Adelaide Office three days a week (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) effective from 1 January 2024.
• Business team contractor Meg Forestier-Wardley commenced in her new casual position with the ICT team as the Digitalisation and Insights Officer based in the Canberra Office on 1 December 2023.
• IT Support Officer Dean Stacey joined the FRDC team on 20 November.

See the latest FRDC organisation chart for up-to-date staffing details.

November 2023 Funding Round Update

The FRDC November Call for Investment Opportunities opened 22 November 2023 and closes 11.59pm (AEST) 16 February 2024 (unless otherwise stipulated). See November 2023 Open Call for R&D Investment Opportunities for all the details.

Investment Fund Approach to Approving Funding of RD&E

Each year FRDC hosts a Stakeholder Planning Workshop in October/November. The purpose is to bring FRDC’s stakeholders together to review progress, and plan together for the future.

The process in 2023 supplemented the traditional face-to-face workshop with a series of online discussions and an online survey. This mixed-method approach was employed to gain wider input and feedback from across FRDC's diverse and national stakeholder base.

The principle that underpinned this workshop design and process was a finding from a previous FRDC stakeholder workshop which made the case for FRDC needing to change to a new way of thinking based on the following key insights:

• The nature of the challenges in the sectors has changed
• The sectors are not equipped to manage systems challenges
• Stakeholders need to become systems change leaders

Actions were recommended by stakeholders during the workshop, which were used to underpin the FRDC November Call for Investment Opportunities and future planning processes (Annual Operational Plan and R&D Plan). The key issues were:

• Informing adaptive policy that responds to impacts of climate change
• Biosecurity harmonisation and preventative management
• Investment in development of leadership pathways, succession planning, capacity development, activating latent workforce, and arresting decline of small fishers
• Accelerating uptake of diesel alternatives
• Markets and economics (cost of operations, viability of supply to domestic and international markets)
• Flexibility in application of policy and fisheries regulation
• Equitable, sustainable resource access and security (including Indigenous)
• Spatial Squeeze (includes, renewable infrastructure, ocean energy, wind farms, expansion of marine parks & aquaculture

Commencement of Five Year Independent Review of FRDC

The FRDC has commissioned Forest Hill Consulting (Scott Williams and Russell Pattinson) to undertake the review to:

1. Assess the performance of FRDC in meeting its obligations under the PIRD Act and the 2020-2030 Statutory Funding Agreement (SFA) with the Commonwealth, with reference to:
   1. the five Performance Principles and associated Key Performance Indicators,
   2. as described in the SFA and the Guidelines,
   3. the Best Practice Guide to Stakeholder Consultation, and
   4. the RDC knowledge transfer and commercialisation guide.
2. Assess FRDC’s development and implementation of its R&D Plan 2020-25, including the delivery of benefits to FRDC’s stakeholders and community in general, and the degree to which FRDC investments have met the needs of stakeholders.
3. Assess the efficiency and effectiveness with which FRDC has carried out its R&D Plan 2020-25.
4. Assess how FRDC conducts its business, review the efficiency and effectiveness of FRDC’s current processes, and assess if current processes are fit for purpose, encapsulating best practice for stakeholder engagement, and approaching business with an ‘excellence in customer service’ lens.
5. Assess FRDC’s implementation and the effectiveness of actions taken to address feedback/recommendations from its previous Independent Performance Review (2018-19), including actions listed in the Performance Review Response and Implementation Plan and a comparison with the previous Review’s findings to identify what has/has not changed.

More details can be found on the Accountability Framework page.

2024 Status of Australian Stock Reports; and Shark and Ray Report Card

Work on the Status of Australian Fish Stocks (SAFS) Reports 6th edition is proceeding well. Jurisdictional SAFS author teams have now submitted almost all species reports, and these are undergoing external and FRDC review. As noted in the previous FRDC update, the 6th edition will add seven new species. Publication is expected early in 2024.

The FRDC’s Shark Report Card has been expanded to include rays. The expanded Shark and Ray Report Card covers and assesses 331 species (341 stocks), of which 230 stocks have been assessed as sustainable at current levels of fishing.

The Shark and Ray Report Card showcases Australia’s exceptional management of sharks and rays, with Australian waters serving as a ‘global lifeboat’ for species and groups that are threatened elsewhere.

Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics 2022

ABARES published the Australian Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics for 2022 on 14 December 2023. Production value increased 8% to $3.42b in 2021-22. Aquaculture production increased 13% to $1.94b, accounting for 56% of total GVP and wild-catch production increased by 2% to $1.51 billion, accounting for 44% of total.

Publication of the National Longspined Sea Urchin Five Year Business plan

A key outcome of the February 2023 National Centrostephanus Launceston Workshop was a commitment to establish a Task Force comprising representatives of the three state fisheries agencies, the Victorian Fisheries Authority, Marine Resources - Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) and NSW Government Department of Primary Industries - Fisheries, the CSIRO and FRDC. The Task Force developed a Plan for regional scale collaboration on best practice Centro management. This plan was a supplementary submission into the Parliament of Australia inquiry in to ‘Climate Related Marine Invasive Species’ The inquiry committee has now reported. Win-win under our oceans: Climate-related marine invasive species – Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au)

A critical Recommendation was “2: 4.69 The committee recommends that the government consider making an immediate national investment into Centro control, guided by the Centro Task Force Plan's action areas and goals”.

Futures of Seafood

This ambitious undertaking, titled ‘Futures of Seafood: Wild. Aquaculture. Recreational. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’ (FRDC-Project 2023-092) will be led by Seafood Industry Australia and Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre, with funding support from the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and DCCEEW as well as a wide range of partners to map an evidence-based future for Australia’s Indigenous, commercial, recreational and aquaculture sectors. The project is being co-funded by the Australian Government with an investment of nearly half a million dollars.

Spotlight on FRDC data products

Did you know that FRDC has a number of dashboards on our website, making it easy to view statistics and data about the fisheries and aquaculture sectors?

• Seafood Production provides data on GVP, derived from ABARES Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics
• Trade Dashboards present key import and export data from Australian Bureau of Statistics, Information Consultancy Services, 2007, cat. no. 9920.0, Canberra
• Status of Australian Fish Stocks dashboards enable users to analyse key trends in stock status across jurisdictions and species

Contact data@frdc.gov.au for support in using these dashboards, or suggestions for future visualisations.

Climate Outlook Briefings

Alistair Hobday (CSIRO) and Claire Spillman (Bureau of Meteorology) are presenting quarterly fishing and aquaculture climate outlook and marine warming briefings to enable industry to prepare and adapt. FRDC is also helping to co-ordinate regional briefings. More information is available on the Climate Change page.

National Seafood Industry Leadership Program (NSILP)

The National Seafood Industry Leadership Program 2024 Applications are now open and close COB 25 January 2024.

This highly sought after program is funded by FRDC and supported by Austral Fisheries and Sydney Fish Market. The 2024 program commences 12 March 2024 in Melbourne and concludes 17 October 2024 in Canberra.

National Food Security Inquiry report released

Report: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Agriculture/FoodsecurityinAustrali/Report

The report has singled out Seafood and Dairy as two sectors that have significant growth opportunities that are currently not being realised mainly due to government policy.

Australia is heavily dependent on imports to meet its demand for seafood, while having potentially rich sources of untapped seafood resources available to it. A specific strategy for expanding the seafood sector must be developed to optimise resource use while ensuring the economic and environmental sustainability of the industry.

Innovation has the capacity to improve, and in some directions revolutionise, the production of food. There are real opportunities for value adding within the food supply chain, increasing food security and economic development. Opportunities for expanding innovation and value adding in food production must be pursued, with a view to increasing productivity and enhancing food security.

Annual Report 2022-23

The FRDC Annual Report 2022-23, was tabled in Parliament on 18 October 2023. The annual report can be viewed here.

FRDC Social Media

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Upcoming events 2024

FRDC has updated its upcoming events web page as a single location for events.

New projects approved since last update 1 August 2023

Project Number	Title	Applicant	Principal Investigator
2023-017	Joint Asia Pacific Marine Biotechnology Conference and Australia New Zealand Marine Biotechnology Society Conference 2023	Flinders University	Steven M. Clarke
2022-036	Approaches for incorporating Indigenous Rights, practices and catch into resource sharing and harvest strategy frameworks, based on international experiences	University of Technology Sydney (UTS)	Nicholas R. McClean
2023-030	Rapid benefit cost analyses for inclusion in the FRDC 2022-23 Annual Report	ACRE Economics	Talia C. Hardaker
2023-009	Reducing impacts on threatened, endangered, and protected species in the Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery	Department of Agriculture and Fisheries EcoScience Precinct	Matthew J. Campbell
2022-203	Developing a framework to evaluate capability and capacity investment and implementation	First Person Consulting	Patrick Gilmour
2022-130	Minor use permit for trimethoprim-sulfadiazine in commercially cultured marine and freshwater finfish	Panaquatic Health Solutions Pty Ltd	Paul Hardy-Smith
2023-025	Rural Women's Award bursaries	Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC)	Sally Roberts
2022-166	Value-add and transition the Australian Herring (Arripis georgianus) commercial fishery from the bait market to the human consumption market through effective marketing strategies and industry collaboration	Blueshift Consulting	Robert A. Bell
2022-193	FRDC 2016-068 Vulnerability of the endangered Maugean skate population to degraded environmental conditions in Macquarie Harbour- presentation to the 6th international conference of fish telemetry 23	Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) Hobart	David Moreno
2021-007	Toolbox for the estimation of fish population abundance	CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Hobart	Alistair Hobday
2022-208	National Hatchery Network – Australian Sustainable Seaweed Alliance Program Leadership and Coordination	Australian Sustainable Seaweed Alliance	Lindsay Hermes
2022-187	National Seafood Industry Leadership Program 2023/2024 (NSILP)	Affectus Pty Ltd	Jill Briggs
2023-020	Developing skills and capabilities of middle-management and supervisory staff on Australian prawn farms (pilot program)	Australian Prawn Farmers Association (APFA)	Jackson Taber
2022-071	Assessing the efficiency of alternative bait options for the Southern Rock Lobster (Jasus edwardsii) fishery	Flinders University	Lachlan McLeay
2022-175	Communication of 2019-051 "Seismic impacts to octopus" results at OceanNoise 2023 conference in Barcelona	Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) Hobart	Ryan Day
2022-192	Australian Rural Leadership Program FRDC scholarships (2023-25)	Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF)	Philippa Woodhill
2023-004	Post-graduate support to develop science to support Red Sea Urchin fisheries	University of Sydney (USYD)	Maria Byrne
2023-061	Reciprocal working group visit to France for oyster farming and hatchery technology transfer	Hexcyl Systems Pty Ltd	Garry Seidl
2022-188	Tasmanian Seafood Awards: RD&E Category sponsorship	Seafood Industry Tasmania	Julian J. Harrington
2023-079	World volunteer fishtag summit	Infofish Australia Pty Ltd	Bill Sawynok
2022-198	To evaluate the possible impacts of the proposed South Coast Marine Park on commercial fishing	Western Australian Fishing Industry Council Inc (WAFIC)	Carli Telfer
2023-026	Biosecurity threats and vulnerabilities of the Southern Rock Lobster Fishery	AusVet Pty Ltd	Brendan D. Cowled
2023-072	Educational travel trip for Ocean Trap and Line industry development to explore alternative fishing practices which help prevent TEP species interactions and ghost fishing	OceanWatch Australia Ltd	Kristin Hoel
2022-155	Field based trials and risk assessment of new species to enhance the value of tropical and subtropical impoundment fisheries	Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Bribie Island	Michael Hutchison
2023-066	Southern Ocean IPA (Austral Fisheries only) - Metal Detector installation on Toothfish vessels to improve PIT tag recovery rates	Austral Fisheries Pty Ltd	Rhys Arangio
2023-031	Post graduate support for novel governance for a changing ocean	University of Tasmania (UTAS)	Andrew Sullivan
2023-071	Development of an Experimental Aquaculture Facility (EAF) specific Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD) challenge model that can reliably evaluate treatment interventions to support industry focused AGD studies	Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) Hobart	Mark B. Adams
2023-062	Methods to account for climate impacts in fishery models and management: Case study example of environmental contributors that affect Tiger Prawn population dynamics	CSIRO	Eva Plaganyi-Lloyd
2023-068	Understanding the feasibility of close kin mark recapture for Scalloped Hammerhead in Australia, SE Asia and the Western Pacific	CSIRO Environment	Toby Patterson
2022-204	Filling the knowledge gaps to recover Tasmania's favourite recreational fishery - Southern Sand Flathead	Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) Hobart	Sean Tracey
2022-135	Minor use permit for Chloramine-T in marine and freshwater finfish	University of Adelaide	Marty R. Deveney
2022-136	Minor use permit to sedate marine or freshwater crustaceans using registered products containing isoeugenol	University of Adelaide	Marty R. Deveney
2022-044	Characterising the impacts of warm water and other stressors on the boom-and-bust cycle of the Commercial Scallop	Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) Hobart	Ryan Day

Final Reports received since last update 1 August 2023

Note that some of these final reports are currently not available on our website.

Project Number	Title	Applicant	Principal Investigator
2019-151	Application of a machine learning approach for effective stock management of farmed abalone	James Cook University (JCU)	Jan Strugnell
2021-034	Identifying mechanisms and data collection options to aid socio-economic analysis of the NT seafood industry	Northern Territory Seafood Council (NTSC)	Katherine Winchester
2020-121	Indigenous Branding in the Fishing and Seafood Industry - Economic Creation and Capture	Ridge Partners	Ewan A. Colquhoun
2022-092	Seafood on Spencer - showcasing Spencer Gulf seafood	Seafood on Spencer Inc	Christy Barnes
2022-014	FRDC sponsorships for 24th International Seaweed Symposium 19-24 Feb 2023, Hobart	Conference Design Pty Ltd	Catriona Hurd
2019-089	Evaluation of point of care (POC) tests for White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV)	CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory	Stacey Valdeter
2021-050	Maintaining cultural practices and building knowledge and capacity to support sustainable fishing of the Gynburra on Narungga Sea Country	Southern Fishery and Ecosystem Solutions (SFES)	Garry E. Goldsmith
2019-051	Examining the potential impacts of seismic surveys on Octopus and larval stages of Southern Rock Lobster	University of Tasmania	Jayson M. Semmens
2019-165	Design aspects of well-functioning ITQ markets	CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Hobart	Ingrid van Putten
2018-094	CRC Northern Australia - Biosecurity in northern Australian prawn aquaculture	Australian Prawn Farmers Association (APFA)	Dean Jerry
2019-172	RRD4P: FRDC Contribution: Closing the Loop: Black Soldier Fly technology to convert agricultural waste	Australian Pork Ltd (APL)	Denise Woods
2022-181	Attendance and participation at the Governing Changing Oceans Workshop and PICES-5th International Symposium on the Effects of Climate Change on the World’s Ocean - Bergen Norway	Fish Focus Consulting	Andrew Sullivan
2022-105	Know & Show your Carbon Footprint - Discovery Phase	Agricultural Innovation Australia Ltd (AIA)	Sarah Castellanos
2021-117	A global review on implications of plastic in seafood	University of Adelaide	Bronwyn M. Gillanders
2022-038	Valuing WA smaller commercial fisheries across the supply chain	BDO EconSearch	Anders Magnusson
2020-040	Aquatic animal welfare – a review of guidance documents and legislation	Panaquatic Health Solutions Pty Ltd	Paul Hardy-Smith
2022-132	Asparagopsis R&D review and implementation plan for a national seaweed hatchery network	Australian Sustainable Seaweed Alliance	Jo Kelly
2022-051	Mapping the aquaculture engagement and aquaculture literacy landscape	Seafood Industry Australia (SIA)	Julie Petty
2017-006	Informing adaptive management of Portunid fisheries in New South Wales	NSW Department of Primary Industries	Matt D. Taylor
2019-169	Southern Ocean IPA: Environmental and ecosystem drivers of catch efficiency within Australia’s subantarctic Patagonian Toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) fisheries	CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Hobart	Ryan Downie
2021-051	Preliminary evaluation of electro stunning technology for farmed Barramundi	Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Brisbane	Brian Paterson
2023-022	Developing capability and improve access to Chairperson capacity in fishing and aquaculture (bursary)	KAL Analysis	Kate J. Brooks
2022-183	Seafood employment and training platform (build - structure and design)	Prime Motive	Brendan Michel
2017-151	Innovative Pipi harvesting based on real time biological and economic data	Goolwa PipiCo	Tom S. Robinson
2020-105	Development of a Stock Status Report Card for Rays and Sharks	University of Tasmania (UTAS)	Colin Simpfendorfer
2023-030	Rapid benefit cost analyses for inclusion in the FRDC 2022-23 Annual Report	ACRE Economics	Talia C. Hardaker
2022-100	Sponsorship of the 11th International Abalone Symposium, held in Auckland New Zealand at Auckland University of Technology from 27 February to 2 March 2023	Auckland University of Technology	Andrea Alfaro
2020-110	Fish and Chips Awards 2021	Seafood Industry Australia (SIA)	Veronica Papacosta
2017-123	The role of the recreational fisher in the stewardship of the Southern Bluefin Tuna fishery	University of Tasmania	Sean Tracey
2022-133	Sponsorship of World Aquaculture 2023	Associated Advertising and Promotions Pty Ltd	Natalie Bell
2022-112	Sponsorship of the Wooden Boat Festival Hobart Feb 2023	Seafood Industry Tasmania	Julian J. Harrington
2022-096	NPF Tiger Prawn Fishery Adaptation Strategy workshop	NPF Industry Pty Ltd	Annie Jarrett
2021-114	Water abstraction impacts on flow dependent fisheries species of the Northern Territory, Australia - a synthesis of current knowledge and future research needs	Griffith University Nathan Campus	Kaitlyn O'Mara
2018-027	Integrated approach to improving stock assessment of Black Jewfish	Charles Darwin University (CDU)	Joanne Randall