Provision Of Strategic Advice To Oysters Australia - Identifying Opportunities And Associated Value For The Australian Oyster Industry In Carbon Neutral Accreditation And Environmental Accounts.
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$17,200.00
Summary
Through consultation with Oysters Australia (OA), NineSquared feels that the oyster industry would significantly benefit from a targeted understanding of what opportunities exist in the carbon neutral and environmental accounting space and how they specifically apply to the industry, the benefits, and path to implementation. This approach would include: • Development of strategic advice for the industry as a whole • Outline current options available to industry and accreditation pat ....Through consultation with Oysters Australia (OA), NineSquared feels that the oyster industry would significantly benefit from a targeted understanding of what opportunities exist in the carbon neutral and environmental accounting space and how they specifically apply to the industry, the benefits, and path to implementation. This approach would include: • Development of strategic advice for the industry as a whole • Outline current options available to industry and accreditation pathways • Summarise value to the industry as well as the individual farmer and identify/discuss any limitations. • Understand any existing research limitations in progressing towards accreditation
This work aligns with the objectives of Oysters Australia Strategic Plan- Program1,2 and 4 as well as the FRDC Blue Carbon Report in progressing investigations into opportunities for sustainable and carbon neutral aquaculture Objectives: 1. Provide strategic advice to Oysters Australia - identifying opportunities and associated value for the Australian Oyster Industry in Carbon Neutral Accreditation and Environmental Accounts. 2. Produce communication material for use by Oysters Australia that succinctly communicates opportunities in the carbon neutral and environmental accounting space to growers in an engaging format Read moreRead less
Energy Use And Carbon Emissions Assessments In The Australian Fishing And Aquaculture Sectors: Audit, Self-assessment And Guidance Tools For Footprint Reduction
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$98,500.00
Summary
As identified in the EOI scope and from previous FRDC and other research, there are multiple needs for further information on energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Australian fisheries and aquaculture sectors (F&A). Firstly, at the top-level, a national account of these sector’s performance is necessary to provide a clear determination of the overall F&A contribution within the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing Industry classification (AFF Industry) classification within Nationa ....As identified in the EOI scope and from previous FRDC and other research, there are multiple needs for further information on energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Australian fisheries and aquaculture sectors (F&A). Firstly, at the top-level, a national account of these sector’s performance is necessary to provide a clear determination of the overall F&A contribution within the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing Industry classification (AFF Industry) classification within National Inventory Data. The AFF Industry is second largest emissions sector and there is a need to disaggregate the F&A sector from the broader agricultural data, and to also develop industry baselines against which further performance can be measured (and potentially benchmarked against other sectors). Second, there is a need for sub-sectors (specific managed fisheries or industry groups) as well as individual companies to be able measure, assess and then potentially manage their own energy use and emissions. Finally, once companies, subsectors and the F&A sectors have data, there is a need for education and tools to assist them to improve energy efficiency and profitability, lower emissions and related risks but also importantly how to create positive engagement with stakeholders, particularly customers becoming more discerning in product selection based on carbon footprint, to maintain competitiveness in consumer protein selection decision-making. Objectives: 1. Program 1: Establish energy use and GHG profile of Australian F&A sectors 2. Program 2: Develop and self-assessment tool for Australian F&A sectors energy efficiency and GHG 3. Program 3: Develop a toolbox and examples for emissions reduction opportunities in the fisheries & aquaculture sectors Read moreRead less
The need for this project is to activate and engage industry in viable options towards climate resilience by 2030. This includes the need to demonstrate that immediate options exist and are viable and meaningful, while also gaining support for a clear plan to transform the industry and supply chain with support both internally and beyond the sector. The key needs are:
01 | Industry awareness of the problems and solutions around climate change and resilience is below where it needs to be ....The need for this project is to activate and engage industry in viable options towards climate resilience by 2030. This includes the need to demonstrate that immediate options exist and are viable and meaningful, while also gaining support for a clear plan to transform the industry and supply chain with support both internally and beyond the sector. The key needs are:
01 | Industry awareness of the problems and solutions around climate change and resilience is below where it needs to be to activate broad transformation. There is little action towards climate resilience (1 player) in comparison to other agricultural sectors.
02 | There will be increasing competition within the protein market to validate and promote sustainable practices and positive contributions to the environment/climate.
03 | Leaders and innovators in the industry are attempting to act in isolation with few resources to support industry and supply chain coordination and acceleration.
04 | Change around the edges that can be achieved by some stakeholders operating alone will not deliver the transformation at a scale or pace that is required to meet growing and broadly felt consumer expectations that indicate demonstrable action on climate change.
05 | There is a surplus of tools, resources and research around climate change and resilience, but to this point, little of that work has been translated into forms fishers find usable and valuable.
06 | There is a need to identify early adopters and innovators in the space to lead new ways operating into the future.
07 | There is an FRDC funded project to undertake a Lifecycle Assessment being concluded early November. This work has been preliminarily identified fuel, transport, and refrigeration as key challenges requiring new solutions/opportunities for industry.
08 | Propulsion and fuel have been identified as key challenges in wild catch fisheries achieving climate resilience and reducing carbon emissions, and will be the focus of this project. Objectives: 1. To understand challenges facing the commercial wild-harvest sector relating to a changing climate 2. To determine opportunities to respond to those challenges, and validate solutions 3. To engage with industry leaders and innovators to explore and validate viable, feasible and scalable options towards climate resilience 4. To demonstrate rapid and practical progress towards climate resilience and elements of SIA’s Our Pledge 5. To build partnerships and relationships with global leaders to enable advancement of prioritised solutions that will enable improved climate resilience Read moreRead less
Know & Show Your Carbon Footprint - Discovery Phase
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$35,000.00
Summary
This project will be an initial discovery phase to inform scoping of overall approach.
Deliverables include: Consultation across fishing and aquaculture stakeholders at least 38 key fishing and aquaculture stakeholders. • Identification of the functional and non-functional requirements to create K&S functionality for the included sectors. • Identification of the data and modelling requirements to create K&S module/functionality for the included sectors. • Assessment ....This project will be an initial discovery phase to inform scoping of overall approach.
Deliverables include: Consultation across fishing and aquaculture stakeholders at least 38 key fishing and aquaculture stakeholders. • Identification of the functional and non-functional requirements to create K&S functionality for the included sectors. • Identification of the data and modelling requirements to create K&S module/functionality for the included sectors. • Assessment of any current solutions/calculators provided relative to the market requirement. • Evaluate current reference and benchmarking data versus what is required to support accurate, automated carbon accounting, and, ultimately inform decision-making that enables productivity whilst reducing carbon emissions. • Understand the gap between knowing your carbon footprint and being able to make informed decisions that lead to reductions in emissions. • Identification of the data and modelling requirements to create a module and/or functionality for the included sectors. • Identification of the missing calculators, features, functionality and underlying data and research required to enable all sectors to participate and benefit from the platform. • Documented solution design for creation of functionality identified during discovery for addition to the core infrastructure. • Report detailing the results of the carbon footprint calculation drivers / needs / existing knowledge, tools & data, gap analysis, and solution design. This will inform the Contributor and AIA in respect of further investment in the K&S solution.
Objectives: 1. Complete discovery phase to inform scoping of 'Know & Show', for consideration Read moreRead less
National Seafood Emergency Plan - Western Australia Trial Workshop
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$5,000.00
Summary
Failure to deal quickly and effectively with a real or perceived food safety incident may result in costly trade disruption and threaten the commercial viability of seafood suppliers, processors, wholesalers, retailers and food service providers.
SSA has developed the national SEP as part of it's strategic plan for the national seafood industry.
This workshop is another step in the developmental phase of the SEP. Objectives: 1. Test the draft manual plan in a des ....Failure to deal quickly and effectively with a real or perceived food safety incident may result in costly trade disruption and threaten the commercial viability of seafood suppliers, processors, wholesalers, retailers and food service providers.
SSA has developed the national SEP as part of it's strategic plan for the national seafood industry.
This workshop is another step in the developmental phase of the SEP. Objectives: 1. Test the draft manual plan in a desk top exercise. 2. Introduce all the nominated team members and alternates to the plan and train them in the use of the plan 3. Use learned experience to develop the manual further in W.A. and nationally Read moreRead less
Pathogenic Vibrio Parahaemolyticus In Australian Oysters
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$13,995.00
Summary
In 1999, Seafood Services Australia (SSA) initiated a risk-based approach to assessing and managing hazards. Regarding oysters, two risk assessments were undertaken, one on viruses and one on vibrios. Focusing on the latter hazards, the risks associated with the three main species: V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus and V. cholerae were assessed. It was noted that V. parahaemolyticus (Vp) has recently caused major outbreaks in USA from consumption of oysters due to a “new” pathogenic type O3:K6. ....In 1999, Seafood Services Australia (SSA) initiated a risk-based approach to assessing and managing hazards. Regarding oysters, two risk assessments were undertaken, one on viruses and one on vibrios. Focusing on the latter hazards, the risks associated with the three main species: V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus and V. cholerae were assessed. It was noted that V. parahaemolyticus (Vp) has recently caused major outbreaks in USA from consumption of oysters due to a “new” pathogenic type O3:K6. For Australia, no work on pathogenic Vp in oysters could be found, which introduced a great deal of uncertainty to the assessment. The RA noted that there had been two Vp poisonings in NSW from prawns imported from Indonesia, the clear inference being that pathogenic Vp exists in neighbouring waters.
In March, 2002 the FAO/WHO team will develop a global risk assessment of Vp in oysters. The RA will utilise the US risk model and insert data from the oyster industries of Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan. If no Australian data are available on levels of Vp the modellers will make assumptions which may well be disadvantageous to the Australian industry. This could happen if the north American mitigation strategy (rapid icing) to control of Vp is adopted as a prerequisite for export.
Failure to input Australian data into a Codex global risk assessment could have serious consequences for the industry. At best it would lead to protracted negotiation between Australia and Codex. These negotiations would need to be science-based and a research program would need to be funded. It is probable that the scale of this investigation would be at least a log scale larger than the present application.
Among the strategies to mitigate V. parahaemolyticus risk is chilling oysters as early as possible after harvest. In the case of the Canadian industry in British Columbia, the strategy has been used successfully in the summers of 2000 and 2001. This strategy is directly opposed to current summer handling practices by the NSW industry which allows product to remain as warm as 25°C for up to three days.
This project is designed to provide evidence of the occurrence and prevalence of pathogenic and non-pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus in Australian oysters. This knowledge will be invaluable to the NSW industry in particular - in case the FAO/WHO assessment recommends chilling of oysters as a pre-requisite for market access.
Effect of not doing the proposed study
If the work is not done and Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) recommend a mitigation strategy of rapid icing, the local industry has a number of choices:
1. Ignore the CCFH recommendation on the grounds that we don’t export large volumes of oysters. The problem with this approach is that Codex has just as much application and force for domestic production as it does in the export arena.
2. Undertake a study to try to show that there is no problem with V. parahaemolyticus from Australian product. This would probably be a larger study than the present one and would be mounted to attempt to gain exemption for Australia. It’s always difficult to unwind global hygiene edicts.
The present project, for a relatively modest investment, effectively places Australian data into a global risk assessment. As such the data will have great force in the modelling phase. xbad Objectives: 1. Obtain total Vibrio spp. and total V. parahaemolyticus counts from oysters from NSW, SA and Tasmania. 2. Determine prevalence of pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus amongst these isolates. 3. Compile and analyse data for potential inclusion in the FAO-WHO global risk assessment of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in oysters. Read moreRead less
Revision Of The AQUAVETPLAN Operational Procedures Manuals For Disposal And Decontamination
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$31,500.00
Summary
The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources is seeking expressions of interest for the revision of the following AQUAVETPLAN Operational Procedures manuals: 1. Decontamination 2. Disposal The Australian Aquatic Veterinary Emergency Plan (AQUAVETPLAN) is a series of manuals that outline Australia’s approach to national disease preparedness and propose the technical response and control strategies to be activated in a national aquatic animal disease emergency.
The Decont ....The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources is seeking expressions of interest for the revision of the following AQUAVETPLAN Operational Procedures manuals: 1. Decontamination 2. Disposal The Australian Aquatic Veterinary Emergency Plan (AQUAVETPLAN) is a series of manuals that outline Australia’s approach to national disease preparedness and propose the technical response and control strategies to be activated in a national aquatic animal disease emergency.
The Decontamination manual was first published in 2008, and the second version of the Disposal manual was published in 2009. Both manuals require revision to reflect new scientific knowledge, and to ensure that decontamination and disposal procedures used for disease control purposes reflect current ‘best-practice’ approaches. Objectives: 1. Review and deliver updated AQUAVETPLAN Operatinal Procedures Manuals for decontamination and disposal. Read moreRead less