Taxonomy Of Northern Australia's Commercially Important Ostreidae
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$70,000.00
Summary
This project is directly aligned with the FRDC’s national research priority ‘Developing new and emerging aquaculture growth opportunities’. The demonstrated interest from a number of parties in tropical oyster aquaculture makes them well placed as candidates for the FRDC’s target of advancing ‘two or more emerging aquaculture species’. However, the lack of robust scientific names is problematic for the developing tropical rock oyster industry in several ways.
Firstly, it creates problem ....This project is directly aligned with the FRDC’s national research priority ‘Developing new and emerging aquaculture growth opportunities’. The demonstrated interest from a number of parties in tropical oyster aquaculture makes them well placed as candidates for the FRDC’s target of advancing ‘two or more emerging aquaculture species’. However, the lack of robust scientific names is problematic for the developing tropical rock oyster industry in several ways.
Firstly, it creates problems for regulation, for example, with permits and licences being issued under species names that are likely incorrect. For example, the tropical black-lip oyster is often referred to as Saccostrea echinata, however this name almost certainly correctly designates a smaller, spined oyster that also exists within Australia, but with a much broader range than the tropical blacklip. This issue needs to be resolved urgently to avoid confusion between farmers and regulators in the future.
Secondly, it impedes industry development, i.e., in Queensland, where there is reluctance to allow farming of new species until their true species identity and distribution is ascertained (John Dexter, Fisheries QLD, pers. comm.).
Thirdly, confusion regarding species may also lead to inefficiencies in improvement of production, as hatchery practices developed for one species may be incorrectly applied to another that is mistakenly thought to be the same.
Therefore, a revision of the taxonomy of these oyster species is urgently required.
Objectives: 1. To determine the correct species names for Australian tropical oysters of commercial interest 2. To evaluate the genetic diversity present within existing tropical oyster populations Read moreRead less
Understanding The Feasibility Of Close Kin Mark Recapture For Scalloped Hammerhead In Australia, SE Asia And The Western Pacific
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$144,462.00
Summary
As a species listed under CITES Appendix II, SHH are harvested under a total allowable catch of 200t, which was implemented for Australia to meet its obligations under non-detriment findings. Further, the conservation status of SHH is currently being reassessed under the EPBC Act. A recent SHH stock assessment undertaken using data poor methods highlighted the paucity of data available for the species and, importantly, that informative data will almost certainly not be available in the foreseeab ....As a species listed under CITES Appendix II, SHH are harvested under a total allowable catch of 200t, which was implemented for Australia to meet its obligations under non-detriment findings. Further, the conservation status of SHH is currently being reassessed under the EPBC Act. A recent SHH stock assessment undertaken using data poor methods highlighted the paucity of data available for the species and, importantly, that informative data will almost certainly not be available in the foreseeable future. Therefore there is no expecation that current uncertainty will resolve with status-quo data collection strategies.
New approaches, such as CKMR, are required to gather informative data to better understand stock status and verify that the 200t catch limit is appropriate. The project proposed here aims to explore likely scenarios to determine the sample size, budget, and required sampling logistics in order to obtain either an estimate of spawning abundance of SHH stocks found in northern Australia, or to determine that the current catch limits will not be detrimental to the sustainability of the species. This project intends to utilise available fisheries observer data and the current understanding of population trends and demographic information to evaluate
(1) whether the species is a viable candidate for close-kin mark-recapture assessments, and
(2) the extent of sampling required to produce a precise estimate of population abundance and/or other population metrics useful for management. Objectives: 1. Expand recent stock assessment work to parameterise plausible alternative population models for the Australian/SE Asian region, accounting for uncertainty in catch history and stock structure 2. Explore sampling avenues for Australian as well as international jurisdictions, including stakeholder consultation on the feasibility of potential sampling scenarios 3. Estimate sampling / logistical costs of various sampling schemes. This would include information on achievable rates of sample accumulation and sequencing costs to deliver estimates of abundance with acceptable uncertainty (e.g. a coefficient of variation < 20%). 4. Determine the feasibility of CKMR for Scalloped Hammerhead in Northern Australia and the Indo-Pacific. Read moreRead less
Pioneering Tropical Rock Lobster Raft Grow-out For Northern Australia
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$500,000.00
Summary
This project will undertake the critical science required for the next step of closed-cycle Tropical Rock Lobster production, the grow-out of hatchery-produced juvenile lobsters in sea raft enclosures, with research trials in the pristine waters of northern Western Australia. There are multiple gaps in knowledge that must be investigated to support the development and evaluation of this production technology to meet market demands. The project partners bring expertise across the production-to-ma ....This project will undertake the critical science required for the next step of closed-cycle Tropical Rock Lobster production, the grow-out of hatchery-produced juvenile lobsters in sea raft enclosures, with research trials in the pristine waters of northern Western Australia. There are multiple gaps in knowledge that must be investigated to support the development and evaluation of this production technology to meet market demands. The project partners bring expertise across the production-to-market pipeline and we will focus on six research areas: environment; raft design; translocation, lobster health and biosecurity; feeding strategies; lobster growth performance; and, premium diverse market acceptability. We will evaluate production systems, comparing sea raft productivity with onshore culture, to de-risk and attract quality investment in a brand-new grow-out aquaculture industry by current and new aquaculture businesses.
All aspects of the production research will include training of personnel and documentation of procedures that will be made available to new lobster grow-out producers in Australia through project participants. The project team will regularly communicate progress with stakeholders, including government (national, state and territory, local), jurisdiction agencies, Traditional Owners in research trial areas, community, aquaculture producers, training and research providers. At the end of the project a Field Day event will share the current status and production models for consideration by existing and new businesses. Industry value of $160 million is projected by 2030, with future potential of over $500 million p.a. that creates 1,000 direct jobs, 900 of those in Northern Australia, for people in feed manufacture, grow-out, downstream processing/distribution and marketing.
The project outcomes are directly aligned with the Food & Agribusiness Growth Centre’s (Food Innovation Australia Limited-FIAL) vision to grow the share of Australian food in the global marketplace – as it captures a unique opportunity for growing tomorrow’s food and contributing to the $200 billion possibility for Australian agri-businesses by 2030. Objectives: 1. Successfully translocate hatchery-produced tropical rock lobster juveniles from northern QLD to northern WA 2. Evaluate an innovative sea raft grow-out production system for lobsters suited to the environment in northern WA 3. Develop production techniques including feeding strategy, stocking density and biofouling management for sea raft culture of lobsters in WA 4. Compare performance, quality and market acceptance of lobsters in sea raft systems in WA and onshore culture in QLD 5. Create production models for industry scaling and Indigenous-led business engagement, including contract growing and supply services Read moreRead less
Assessment Of The Inflamark Method As A Sensitive And Cost-effective Measure Of Oxidative Stress In Cultured Fish
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$156,177.11
Summary
An indicator of oxidative/metabolic stress in fish has long been sought after as a means of providing a simple measure of health and as a tool for assessing the outcomes of research trials including those on diet formulations. The FRDC have invested heavily in health & nutrition research, yet a simple, sensitive and cost effective method of assessing health following such trials is still lacking. Most analytical methods such as haematology, blood biochemistry, flow cytometry, histology and bacte ....An indicator of oxidative/metabolic stress in fish has long been sought after as a means of providing a simple measure of health and as a tool for assessing the outcomes of research trials including those on diet formulations. The FRDC have invested heavily in health & nutrition research, yet a simple, sensitive and cost effective method of assessing health following such trials is still lacking. Most analytical methods such as haematology, blood biochemistry, flow cytometry, histology and bacterial challenges all have limitations in terms of sensitivity, repeatability, cost and simplicity.
Inflamark has potential to be developed into a rapid, point-of-care device that could be used on-farm as well as in research trials. There is a need to validate its usefulness as a diagnostic tool in commercially relevant farmed fish species prior to its development as a routine diagnostic tool.
Objectives: 1. Optimise field methods to ensure blood is collected and preserved appropriately for shipment and analysis 2. Determine the range of baseline oxidative stress values for healthy and moribund fish from four species across the full range of sizes and culture temperatures under commercial growout conditions. 3. Obtain data from fish in various FRDC and industry funded research projects investigating health and nutrition. Read moreRead less
Shark Depredation In Australian Fisheries: Understanding The Scope Of The Issue And Identify Potential Mitigation Options
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$25,510.00
Summary
Shark depredation of catches have been nationally acknowledged as an issue for all stakeholders – however, much of the information is anecdotal and there is a lack of clarity on where efforts need to be prioritised to find possible solutions. In response, the FRDC will facilitate up to two national workshops to understand the scope of depredation and approaches to mitigate and manage this source of mortality.
Objectives: 1. Define key dimensions of the shark depredation ....Shark depredation of catches have been nationally acknowledged as an issue for all stakeholders – however, much of the information is anecdotal and there is a lack of clarity on where efforts need to be prioritised to find possible solutions. In response, the FRDC will facilitate up to two national workshops to understand the scope of depredation and approaches to mitigate and manage this source of mortality.
Objectives: 1. Define key dimensions of the shark depredation issue in Australian fisheries (across all relevant sectors) in terms of (i) relevant characteristics of the shark species and populations involved, (ii) relevant traits of the fisheries involved, (iii) potential impacts of shark depredation, from economic, ecological, stock assessment, and social perspectives 2. Clearly identify and discuss potential mitigation options 3. Facilitate a national approach to collaborate cross-jurisdictional knowledge and efforts to define the scope of shark depredation in Australia and potential next steps Read moreRead less
Development Of Resources And Equipment To Enable Best Practice In The Humane Dispatch Of Sharks Caught By Commercial Fishers In The NT
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$148,400.00
Summary
The so called pragmatic approach to the welfare of aquatic animals (Arlinghaus et al. 2007) measures welfare status using a variety of well-established, un-controversial physiological and functional parameters (Rose et al. 2014, Browman et al. 2019). For example, all finfish, crustaceans and cephalopods can experience stress, which can lead to poor welfare outcomes (Rose et al. 2014). From an animal welfare perspective, the overall aim to maximise fish welfare during capture is to minimise stres ....The so called pragmatic approach to the welfare of aquatic animals (Arlinghaus et al. 2007) measures welfare status using a variety of well-established, un-controversial physiological and functional parameters (Rose et al. 2014, Browman et al. 2019). For example, all finfish, crustaceans and cephalopods can experience stress, which can lead to poor welfare outcomes (Rose et al. 2014). From an animal welfare perspective, the overall aim to maximise fish welfare during capture is to minimise stress within the constraint of practices inherent to the relevant fishing sector (Mazur and Bodsworth 2022). Using this pragmatic approach, the Aquatic Animal Welfare Working Group (AAWWG) which was formed under the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy (AAWS, 2005-2014), developed a range of Overarching Welfare Principles which related to finfish harvested from the wild in commercial fishing industries. Out of the eight Overarching Principles developed by the AAWWG, as pointed out by Mazur and Bodsworth (2022) the three that are most relevant to the commercial wild harvest industry are: 1. Timely handling from capture to death is essential to minimise stress; 2. Capture methods should be designed to minimise the capture of unwanted species 3. Any fish selected for harvest should be killed as rapidly as possible, by humane means suitable for the species. To address the legislative issues under the new Act, meet current and future fish welfare challenges, and maintain their social license to fish, commercial fishers targeting sharks in the NT need to develop workable and effective standards for handling and dispatching sharks which can be recognised and prescribed under the new Regulations. Since shark fisheries are specialist fisheries which were not covered by the AAWWG during the AAWS, there is a need to develop specific resources to assist the industry with humane dispatch of sharks. Science shows that brain destruction by pithing or “iki-jime” is the fastest way to dispatch finfish, resulting in the lowest levels of stress and maximising the quality and shelf life of the resulting fish product (Poli et al. 2005, Diggles 2015). However, the brains of sharks are small and vary in location between species, which is why this project is being proposed and is necessary to determine the brain location of the sharks most commonly captured in the NT shark fishery, and then examine various methods of rapidly destroying the brain, in order to develop guidelines and best practice protocols for their humane dispatch. Importantly, it should be noted that this is an industry driven project.
References
Arlinghaus R, Cooke SJ, Schwab A, Cowx IG (2007). Fish welfare: A challenge to the feelings based approach, with implications for recreational fishing. Fish and Fisheries 8: 57-71.
Browman HI, Cooke SJ, Cowx IG, Derbyshire SWG, Kasumyan A, Key B, Rose JD, Schwab A, Skiftesvik AB, Stevens ED, Watson CA, Arlinghaus R (2019). Welfare of aquatic animals: where things are, where they are going, and what it means for research, aquaculture, recreational angling, and commercial fishing. ICES Journal of Marine Science 76: 82–92. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsy067
Diggles BK (2015). Development of resources to promote best practice in the humane dispatch of finfish caught by recreational fishers. Fisheries Management and Ecology DOI: 10.1111/fme.12127
Mazur N, Bodsworth A (2022). Practicing aquatic animal welfare: Identifying and mitigating obstacles to uptake and adoption by the Australian Seafood Industry. Final Report for FRDC Project No 2019-023, March 2022. 60 pgs.
Poli BM, Parisi G, Scappini F, Zampacavallo G (2005). Fish welfare and quality as affected by presaughter and slaughter management. Aquaculture International 13: 29-49.
Rose JD, Arlinghaus R, Cooke SJ, Diggles BK, Sawynok W, Stevens ED, Wynne CD (2014). Can fish really feel pain? Fish and Fisheries 15: 97–133.
Objectives: 1. Obtain all relevant permits. Review of literature (primary and grey) and current NT industry practice to inform Objective 2. 2. Collect at least 3 representative specimens (small, medium large) of each of the main shark species (up to 12) encountered by the commercial fishing industry in the Northern Territory (NT), and precisely identify their anatomical brain location. 3. Assess the effectiveness of various different tools and techniques for dispatch of small and large sharks (percussive stunning (blunt trauma inflicted using a baseball bat) vs spinal section vs shooting vs pneumatic captive bolt gun vs cartridge powered captive bolt gun vs spring loaded captive bolt gun vs (depending on OH&S requirements) electrical stunning. 4. Update the existing code(s) of practice adopted by the commercial fishing industry in the NT to include the best practice information on dispatch of sharks as prescribed under the new Regulations (Animal Protection Act 2018 (‘the new Act’) and the Animal Protection Regulations 2020 ‘the new Regulations’ in the NT. 5. Update existing electronic extension resources (www.ikijime.com, Ikijime Tool phone applications) to include the new information on location of shark brains. 6. Extend this information to the commercial fishing industries in the NT. Read moreRead less
The Emerging Billfish Fishing Grounds Of Northern Australia: Fisheries Description, Movements, And Hot-spots
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$442,416.00
Summary
There is a need to increase economic growth of environmentally sustainable industries in northern Australia and this project aims to increase recreational billfish fisheries tourism and facilitate management of this emerging resource. The tourism industry in Australia including recreational fisheries and associated travel sectors have been severely impacted due to Covid-19. With an estimated economic value of $3185AUD per charter fishing trip, recreational billfish fisheries represent a high-va ....There is a need to increase economic growth of environmentally sustainable industries in northern Australia and this project aims to increase recreational billfish fisheries tourism and facilitate management of this emerging resource. The tourism industry in Australia including recreational fisheries and associated travel sectors have been severely impacted due to Covid-19. With an estimated economic value of $3185AUD per charter fishing trip, recreational billfish fisheries represent a high-value and sustainable option to help develop post-Covid-19 fisheries tourism in northern Australia.
There is an emerging recreational billfish fishery in Northern Territory waters but growth, participation and management of a sustainable fishery has been hampered by a lack of data and public awareness. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a recent increase in catches of sailfish and black marlin in waters off northern Australia may have been facilitated by the closure of Taiwanese Gillnet fisheries which operated in Australian waters between 1972 and 1986. However, there has been little scientific evaluation of past or current billfish fisheries resources in the region, and better quality fisheries data and information on the spatial distribution and seasonal movement patterns are required to guide development and management of sustainable fisheries. The catch-and-release billfish fisheries of northern Australia are likely to be sustainable but stocks are likely to be affected by fisheries in the broader Indo-Pacific region and further information is needed to inform assessments as part of the Status of Australian Fish Stocks Report. As is this a developing fishery there is a need to form a ground up educational programs on the best practices for responsible handling of billfish in the NT recreational fishery. Objectives: 1. To provide a description of the emerging recreational fishery for billfishes in northern Australia, including analyses of historic and ongoing conventional tagging data, historical records of billfish larvae (1956−1981) to map spawning areas, and evaluate whether historical commercial catch data on billfishes is available from Taiwanese gillnet fisheries (1972-1986). 2. To evaluate the movement patterns and hot-spots of billfish habitat-use in emerging recreational fishing grounds of northern Australia using pop-off satellite archival tags. 3. To conduct a pilot study evaluating the feasibility of tagging billfishes with pop-off satellite archival tags,internally and externally implanted acoustic tags for long-term monitoring of billfish residency and site fidelity on fishing grounds. 4. To collect tissue samples from northern Australia for later analysis in a separate project examining the genetic population structureand trophic ecology of billfish (Sailfish and Black Marlin) 5. To engage recreational fishers in citizen science evaluation of billfish movements and increase growth and economic development of sustainable billfish fisheries in northern Australia through a top end billfish sprint and fisher education. Read moreRead less