FRDC in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | Product/service

FRDC

Locality: Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

Phone: +61 2 6285 0400

Address: 25 Geils Court, 2600 Canberra, ACT, Australia

Website: http://www.frdc.com.au

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25.01.2022 It is estimated more than 85 per cent of the world’s shellfish reefs have been lost. Over-harvesting, deteriorating water quality and increased siltation have all contributed to the decline. But around the world, including in Australia, there are renewed efforts to restore shellfish reefs, driven by the many benefits they provide as building blocks in healthy estuarine and coastal marine ecosystems (see the 2013 FRDC-funded report, Revitalising Australia’s Estuaries, which id...entified shellfish reefs as a priority for estuarine habitat restoration: https://www.frdc.com.au/project/2012-036). The shellfish that grow on these reefs filter large volumes of water and can improve water quality, while the reef structures themselves help to stabilise shorelines and provide habitat and food for fish and crustaceans. For more than three decades, oyster shells recycled from restaurants have been used around the world to restore degraded shellfish reefs. Oyster shells are considered an ideal material to help rebuild reefs as they provide the appropriate chemical signals that tell wild shellfish spat to leave the plankton they are floating in and settle on the reef. The shells also offer a substrate to which shellfish may attach to restart reef formation. Now, as Australia embarks on efforts to restore its own lost shellfish reefs, the FRDC is investing in research to assess the biosecurity risks of using recycled oyster shells for this purpose. Ben Diggles, of the consultancy DigsFish Services Pty Ltd, is conducting the assessment, looking specifically at whether recycled shells are likely to spread shellfish pests and diseases. You want to get all the benefit from the restoration with none of the drawbacks. Read the article at FISH Magazine: https://www.frdc.com.au//Creating-a-shellfish-reef-from-sc Photo: Cleaned and sanitised oyster shells are bagged up, ready for use in reef resoration. Ben Diggles, DigsFish Services.

25.01.2022 Stock assessments are a key tool for managing sustainable fisheries and have often been done with expensive bespoke software tailored to a single fishery. But a new website released by the FRDC provides a detailed guide to various off-the-shelf stock assessment software packages, for a potentially more efficient and cheaper option for stock assessments in some fisheries. http://www.frdc.com.au//A-strategic-approach-to-stock-asse

24.01.2022 Marinate is just one of the many great ways to cook and eat fish, unlocking new tastes to go with whatever your favourite fish species are. Check out this great recipes for African spiced fish with pap and silverbeet on SBS.com.au food: https://www.sbs.com.au//african-spiced-fish-pap-and-silver

23.01.2022 The FRDC Board is meeting with its Representative Organisations via a mixed delivery method. Great to see some people face to face (for a change this year), and still being able to connect with those who cannot travel.

23.01.2022 Engaging with consumers on the topic of responsible aquaculture is becoming an increasingly important role for the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), which stepped up its promotional campaign efforts in the latter months of 2020, as it celebrated its 10th anniversary. https://www.seafoodsource.com//asc-expands-think-fish-week

23.01.2022 Our thoughts are with the residents and fishers of Kalbarri in WA at this difficult time. https://www.abc.net.au//cyclone-seroja-leaves-ka/100064564

22.01.2022 Calling all people currently working across the seafood supply chain If you work across any area of the Australian seafood supply chain with ready-to-eat p...roducts, we need your help! It takes only 10 minutes to complete this survey (conducted on behalf of SafeFish), which will provide valuable and anonymous information to help identify where the industry is at currently, in terms of food safety practices and associated risks in the Australian ready-to-eat seafood sector, and where the opportunities are for improvement. Your feedback will be used to better assist the industry from primary producers, processors, wholesalers, distributors, through to retailers and delivery companies to reduce the risk of food safety incidents that could have a detrimental impact on your business and brands. If you would like further information, please feel free to email us at [email protected] Please like and share this post so that we can support positive industry change. Click on the link below to complete the survey #SafeFish #australianseafood #foodsafety #collaboration #SARDI #FRDC #RTE

21.01.2022 Happy World Fisheries Day! Australian waters are home to a vast variety of fish and other seafood species. One of the most sustainable fisheries in the world, there is no better way to participate in the global celebration than by supporting our local Aussie fishers by grabbing a bite of some great Aussie seafood.

21.01.2022 Laser technology has uncovered a previously unrecorded 115-metre aquaculture network of the Budj Bim, one of Australia’s oldest and most extensive Indigenous aquaculture sites. Created by the Gunditjmara people, and set within volcanic lava flows and marsh in Victoria’s south-west, the network uses weirs, dams and stone channels some hundreds of metres long and dug out of basalt lava flow to divert water, kooyang (Southern Shortfin Eel, Anguilla australis) and other fish ...to holding ponds and wetlands. The discovery has expanded the already extensive fish trap complex, and has revealed more groups of stone huts. The discoveries were made using light detection and ranging technology, conducted from a plane flying in multiple directions over the landscape, to scan thick scrub and bush to reveal what lay beneath. "We’ve been able to extend our knowledge and awareness of quite a lot more about the site in terms of stone hut bases," said Terry Garwood, deputy secretary of the Victorian Department of Environment Land Water and Planning. The mapping data has now been given to Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation. First of all, it's really just important to know where they are and then look at management requirements," Gunditjmara traditional owner Denis Rose said. "It's great that we can use this technology to improve our management of these important places." https://www.smh.com.au//more-ancient-wonders-revealed-at-b Last year, the ancient aquaculture network received global-recognition on UNESCO’s World Heritage List of sites of significance to all humanity. It is the first Australian site listing to be recognised exclusively for its Aboriginal cultural values. Read about the Heritage Listing in FISH Magazine: https://www.frdc.com.au//Aquacultures-ancient-roots-recogn

17.01.2022 Here is an interesting research paper on the expansion of big data into aquatic ecosystems; how using iEcology, culturomics and other related approaches such as citizen science may have potential to provide valuable insights into the sustainable management and conservation of ecosystems: Jari I, Roll U, Arlinghaus R, Belmaker J, Chen Y, China V, et al. (2020) Expanding conservation culturomics and iEcology from terrestrial to aquatic realms. PLoS Biol 18(10): e3000935. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000935 https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article

14.01.2022 Have you taken a squiz at the free FRDC cookbook yet? The cookbook is a great resource for delicious recipes, providing an easy 'how to' guide for cooking great fresh or frozen fish. The FRDC’s cookbook, Fish Fresh + Frozen, can be downloaded for free at Fishfiles.com.au, the FRDC-owned website that aims to provide advice on buying, handling, storing, and cooking seafood: https://www.fishfiles.com.au/media/cook-books... You can help support Aussie fishers by checking that your seafood purchase is produced in Australia You can do this by asking in store or by checking the back of the packet.

14.01.2022 Saturday, March 20th is National Prawn Day and we salute all the prawfessional fishers who bring this Aussie icon to our tables. We'll be up at the crack of pra...wn this Saturday to tear the heads off some Tigers, live like Kings, go a little Bananas and be rewarded for our Endeavours. However you decide to enjoy your prawns, National Day is one to tick off your bucket list. See more

13.01.2022 Around the country in fish and chips shops Launceston, Tasmania Fraggles Fish and Chips, Chris Fragoulis Business is good. In Tasmania we’re lucky. We got off fairly lightly. Obviously, there’s no tourism, so that has slowed things down a little bit. But we’re pretty much back to how it was before.... We shut for five or six weeks. We just thought, ‘we’re going to do the right thing for everyone’. We started up about three months ago with modified hours, and built up from there. When we reopened, we noticed that people had changed their habits a bit, were more aware of distancing. The community had changed the way they went about their everyday life. We were doing online orders and deliveries before. We noticed that side of things picked up, probably doubled. It’s stayed higher too, because I think people have changed their habits. Especially in winter, they think getting a delivery is a good idea. Queenscliff, Victoria Trident Fish Bar, Fonda Tzaninis We’re struggling. We rely on tourism, on people staying in the caravan parks and taking the ferry to Sorrento. Queenscliff is tiny, only 1200 people. We rely a lot on people from Melbourne and surrounding suburbs and they’re all stuck at home [under stage 4 lockdown]. We can’t survive on only feeding the locals. They’re doing their bit but there’s just not enough of them. Queenscliff is so small, and there are three fish and chip shops here. The prices are going through the roof and I’ve had to pass that on; customers aren’t happy. These are challenging times. We can’t do much when our hands are tied. Even if we have got the best view in Queenscliff. Post 4 of 4 Read the article at FISH Magazine: https://www.frdc.com.au/media//FISH-Vol-28-2/What-we-value

13.01.2022 "It's reconnected me with the ocean," Yuin elder Nook Webster says. "It is not only a fishing adventure, it is story telling and knowledge." For Mr Webster and his sons, becoming qualified skippers with plans to open Gadu Fishing charters is more than a 'sea change'. It is about returning to their saltwater heritage. Find the article: https://www.smh.com.au//more-than-a-job-indigenous-saltwat

13.01.2022 Greater control over breeding processes is producing faster growing, fatter and more resilient Sydney Rock Oysters, helping the native species gain ground in the marketplace. The rewards plentiful, breeding new and improved oysters is not without its challenge. Resistance to QX, a disease that can ravage oyster farms in affected estuaries, is one of the priorities the Industry is working to deliver to oyster farmers. Short for ‘Queenslandunknown’, outbreaks of QX disease were... first recorded in the 1970s. By 1976, scientists had identified the culprit: the single-celled parasite Marteilia sydneyi. When outbreaks do occur, mortality rates in affected estuaries can run as high as 98 per cent. If stock on farms is not disease-resistant it can spell the end of Sydney Rock Oyster production in that estuary. QX outbreak first hit the Georges River in Sydney in 1994. Researchers now use it as a testing ground for resistance to QX disease. Each year the oyster research team at New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (DPI) takes its selectively bred oyster families to Georges River to test for resistance to QX disease, as part of a field challenge to identify the most resistant families for breeding the next generation. We are very fortunate that QX survival is a heritable trait that’s passed on through breeding quite effectively, says Matt Wassnig, a former oyster farmer who chairs the board of the Select Oyster Company. That meant we were able to have a really solid breeding goal in a reasonably short period of time. That goal, to have 70 per cent of selected oysters resistant to QX disease, was achieved earlier this year. Find out more about how researchers are meeting the unique challenges of the species at FISH Magazine: https://www.frdc.com.au//Breeding-efforts-enhance-producti Photo: NSW DPI

13.01.2022 Are you interested in having a say about what FRDC funds? The FRDC is seeking applicants to sit on a number of Research Advisory Committees across Australia. The role is to assist the FRDC to identify priority areas for investment (in line with the FRDC R&D Plan 2020-2025) and assist with refining calls for applications (project descriptions) and disseminating project information. https://www.frdc.com.au/frdc-/research-advisory-committees

12.01.2022 FRDC Webinars: Community Trust in Rural Industries Year One Research Results Rural industries (fishers, farmers and foresters) have collaborated to develop a pathway to proactive, transparent, long term engagement with the community via a three-year research program into the drivers of community trust. You can learn more about the program here https://www.agrifutures.com.au/national-ru/community-trust/ Please join the Community Trust in Rural Industries team and FRDC via a w...ebinar to hear and discuss the year one research findings as they relate to the seafood industry, how trust has changed through the current upheaval, and what the seafood industry can learn from other rural industries, from lead researcher, Dr Kieren Moffat. The webinar will be hosted by FRDC’s Matt Barwick. Webinars will be held on Wednesday 18th November, 1pm AEDST and Tuesday 24th November, 1 pm AEDST: When: Wednesday 18th November, 1pm AEDST Where: Via Webinar pre-registration is essential via this link - https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RnlN6p0XQkii3D8G6uKypA When: Tuesday 24th November, 1pm AEDST Where: Via Webinar pre-registration is essential via this link - https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_olVYTMTSTrO1980azsK5yA

11.01.2022 The Victorian Fisheries Authority's sixth annual Talk Wild Trout Conference will be delivered this year across three days, 24, 25 and 26 November, 7 9pm, via Zoom. Find out how to register: https://vfa.vic.gov.au/recreational-//talk-wild-trout-2020

10.01.2022 A great resource, by the Victorian Fisheries Authority, for families as we head into summer: Virtual kids fishing club, how to handle and measure a fish.

10.01.2022 To facilitate restoration efforts of shellfish reefs while protecting both local environments and oyster industries, the FRDC has commissioned a new project to assess the biosecurity risks of recycling domestically sourced native bivalve shells to create reef cultch. We now realise oyster reefs are a keystone habitat for our estuaries and inshore areas, says Ben Diggles, of the consultancy DigsFish Services Pty Ltd, who is conducting the assessment. Investigating whether re...cycled shells are likely to spread shellfish pests and diseases, Ben’s analysis uses qualitative disease risk assessment methods. The process involves collating scientific information about oyster pests and diseases, then comparing it against various methods used to treat shells to mitigate these risks. It will determine best practice biosecurity principles such as sanitisation methods including desiccation, heat treatment, or exposure to fresh water or acetic acid (vinegar). His findings will be used to inform the various regulatory frameworks across all the states dealing with treatment of the shells before their use in aquatic environments. The document will help reassure managers that if the shells are recycled the right way, there’s no risk of spreading pests and diseases while the reefs are being restored, says Ben. You want to get all the benefit from the restoration with none of the drawbacks. The success of several small shellfish reef restoration trials using recycled oyster shells, undertaken around Australia in the past five years, indicate these benefits may be substantial. These trials include the community-driven restoration project in Pumicestone Passage on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Over three years, the site saw successful multi-year recruitment of juvenile oysters to reefs made from recycled oyster shells. The Pumicestone Passage restoration project has seen an over 16-fold increase in harvestable fish numbers in an area that is open to recreational fishing, he says. The biosecurity assessment report is expected to finalised before the end of the year. Read the article at FISH Magazine: https://www.frdc.com.au//Creating-a-shellfish-reef-from-sc Photo: Ben Diggles, DigsFish Services

09.01.2022 Great Australian Seafood, Easy As This week, Australia’s first national industry wide seafood consumption campaign was launched. The Easy As campaign aims to get more Aussies to tuck into Australia’s spectacular seafood. There’s nothing to it. You can barbie a barra, seas[on] some snapper, or open up some oysters. So come on Australia, let’s eat more seafood. It’s easy as.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BKdqqKTS1Q&feature=emb_logo To launch the campaign, Veronica Papacosta, CEO of Seafood Industry Australia (SIA), joined special guest Jonno Duniam, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries, Assistant Minister for Regional Tourism, in the 5th webinar in The Sundown Series to speak about how the Easy As campaign will roll out over the next 12 months. You can catch up on the recorded webinar here: https://queenslandseafoodmarketers.com.au/seafood-marketin/ SIA's website for the "Easy As" campaign: http://www.greataustralianseafood.com.au/

08.01.2022 The Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment is calling on applications for the Biosecurity Innovation Program. The Department is looking to fund projects that could improve: biosecurity screening of goods and passengers biosecurity risk detection (e.g. drone surveillance, artificial intelligence, robotics)... initiatives to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our national biosecurity. Applications close 12 February 2021. Find out how to apply at: https://www.agriculture.gov.au//research-innovation/program

08.01.2022 Around the country in fish and chips shops South Coast, NSW Pelican Rocks Seafood Restaurant and Café, Sam Cardow It’s been a rough year. First the bushfires, and then we’ve had two floods since Christmas-time, and then COVID hit.... We had eight really goods weeks, where, with everyone not allowed overseas and some amazing weather here, lots of Sydney people came down the coast for day trips. Now it’s slowing down a little bit. We’ve had to employ someone to be a safety marshal, we had to reduce our seating from 130 to 70 people because we’ve got to keep a distance. The challenges are sticking with the guidelines and keeping everybody happy at the same time. As long as we don’t go into another lockdown, I think we’ll be OK. Or if a meteor hits or aliens invade. Capalaba, Queensland Costa’s Seafood, Jason Tapinos It’s been a bit strange. I can never pick whether it’s going to be busy or quiet, day to day. We did see a decline in sales at the start. But once we adapted to online ordering, home delivery and contactless delivery, we found the demand was there. We just had to work out how to meet it. Post 3 of 4 Read the article at FISH Magazine: https://www.frdc.com.au/media//FISH-Vol-28-2/What-we-value

08.01.2022 Rec fishing in SA? Help researchers assess recreational catch for sustainability by taking part in this survey.

05.01.2022 Plastic pollution is a major challenge to the health and well-being of our oceans and those who depend on them. In 2019, the Ocean Cleanup announced the launch of the Interceptor River Cleanup System https://www.youtube.com/watch. The Interceptor is designed to 'turn off the tap' to the source of plastic polluting the ocean - the rivers. An interactive map which tracks the amount of plastic entering the oceans through rivers helps to understand the scale of the problem https://theoceancleanup.com/sources/ Recently the organisation has tested several of the systems and is now manufacturing them in Malaysia. https://theoceancleanup.com//interceptor-series-productio/.

04.01.2022 Tonight join Matt Barwick giving insight into what Fishing could look like in Australia when we invest our efforts. Tonight 7 pm! https://www.facebook.com/events/126653315968580?acontext=%7B%22action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22page_admin_bar%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22page_id%5C%22%3A438119056279995%7D%22%7D%2C%7B%22surface%22%3A%22events_admin_tool%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22recommended_actions%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A%22[]%22%7D]%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D

02.01.2022 PhD Opportunity on a global problem: Helping fish migrate over dam walls with the Tube Fishway The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is inviting applications for a project that aims to create reliable fish passage around water retention barriers in Australia. The PhD project will involve field testing of the UNSW’s Tube Fishway on different weirs to improve migration of native fishes such as silver perch, Murray cod, Australian bass, and catfish.... There are two key elements to the Tube Fishway: fish attraction into a transfer chamber; and safe fish transport through a sloping or vertical riser. Researchers will experiment with the practicalities of site location and with other species and different sizes of fish and pipe diameter, and will test the team’s ideas for a parallel pipe downstream migration. Find out more about the Tube Fishway: https://www.wrl.unsw.edu.au/research/tube-fishway-project The project is a collaboration between the Centre for Ecosystem Science (Faculty of Science) and the Water Research Laboratory (Faculty of Engineering) at University of New South Wales. https://www.ecosystem.unsw.edu.au/ https://www.wrl.unsw.edu.au/ http://www.famerlab.com.au/ Applicants should have a strong quantitative background in ecology or civil engineering and be confident with statistics, R and spreadsheets. Applicants with First Class honours (or good 2A honours with publication) are encouraged to apply for an RTP at UNSW, starting in early or mid-2021. Interested students should send a brief CV and statement of interest to Professor Iain Suthers [email protected], and Dr Stefan Felder [email protected]

01.01.2022 For National Prawn Day we salute all those who ensure Australians have access to high quality, sustainable Australian prawns, farmed and wild caught. From the fishers to the scientists, managers and retailers, it’s a great day to celebrate your work!