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R&D NewsR&D NewsVolume 12, Edition 4FRDC SUBPROGRAM LEADERS REPORTAbalone aquaculture INTERNATIONALLY, Australia is at the forefront of abalone aquaculture. We currently produce $12m worth a year and growth is expected to run at 20 per cent annually. Already a number of individual growers are producing significant volumes and making significant profits. The supply of wild-caught abalone continues to decline and the improving affluence of Asian nations, particularly China, is fuelling demand and underpinning the future of the sector. In a sign of a maturing industry, growers have established a national association and have agreed to fund a voluntary R&D levy linked to output. They have also started a national marketing initiative that seeks to persuade all members to sell under a single system that can ensure volume, consistent supply and quality product. The abalone aquaculture Subprogram is in its 12th year. Over that time industry has always driven and managed its R&D. In the early days the aim was to develop basic technology and husbandry, such as tank systems and feed. Now the research concentrates on more technically advanced objectives, with issues such as selective breeding, genetics, health and nutrition seen as the research areas most likely to result in reduced production costs and dramatically improved growth rates. Project highlights The Subprogram gained funding for one new project in 2004: Investigating the immunology of stressed abalone (Haliotis species), Principal Investigator Robert Day. Robert Day’s team will specifically examine how some stresses affect the immune system and thus determine the likelihood of disease under farm handling and environmental conditions. The FRDC Board also funded Brian Jones of Fisheries Western Australia to develop a national translocation policy using abalone and prawns as a template for other aquatic species. This project is critical to the success of our selective breeding program as current translocation policies do not allow cross-breeding of pedigree stocks between states. This year will see the first crosses to produce the first generation of selectively-bred stock. We will begin to assess the degree of gains that can be achieved - a very exciting stage. Participating industry members are developing a business plan and establishing a management group for the breeding program. Diet software Rob van Barneveld has been contracted by the Subprogram to develop feed formulation software for growers and feed suppliers. He and others have developed similar software for finfish feed producers that incorporates all known nutrition and ingredient parameters in a simple Excel program, ensuring that formulations meet nutritional requirements and any other specifications that the formulator may want to factor in. A developmental abalone version presented at our annual Subprogram workshop has a comprehensive database of all past FRDC diet information and other relevant abalone nutrition information collated into a single source. The release version will allow farmers and feed companies to formulate diets and make economic assessments of costs versus animal performance. Disease survey Within our survey of abalone disease project 200 wild abalone and 178 farmed abalone have been sampled so far, representing six wild sites and five farms. Preliminary examination shows no evidence of Perkinsus infection or other infections of translocation concern. We have found vibriosis (Vibrio harveyi, V. splendidus or mixed), mudworm infestation, bloat and one non-bacterial abscess in a wild abalone. Annual workshop Our annual workshop in Hobart in July attracted 70 delegates. As always, people gained both from the presentations and the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas. Farm tours included Cold Gold at Dunalley, and Abalone Farms Australia at Bicheno, both state-of-the-art facilities recently expanded to full capacity. Website Our website www.frdc.com.au/research/programs/aas/ provides detailed information on the Subprogram, current and past research, publications, news and events and the Australian industry. Materials now available there include:
Soon to be added:
One new R&D proposal will be submitted to FRDC this year. It will seek to continue the R&D component of the selective breeding program. Ann Fleming – Subprogram Leader phone/fax 03 9397 4948 email annflem@bigpond.net.au web www.frdc.com.au/research/programs/aas/
Aquaculture nutrition MANAGEMENT of the Subprogram has been funded for a further three years by FRDC and the Grains Research and Development Corporation. Our new objectives are:
New projects Core projects relevant to the Subprogram funded this year concentrate on the evaluation of value-added grain products for salmon and prawns, further progress towards commercialisation of marine fish larval feeds and assessment of the growth performance of salmon under environmentally limiting conditions. In recent weeks the Subprogram co-hosted a workshop on hatchery feeds and technology in conjunction with the Australasian Aquaculture Conference in Sydney. This workshop reviewed existing hatchery research infrastructure in Australia and defined a three year strategic research plan for larval feed development. Delivery has been delayed, but we still plan to publish a methodology manual for industry and researchers. This manual will provide detailed descriptions of preferred procedures for aquaculture nutrition research and protocols for the development of manufactured feeds for emerging aquaculture sectors.The Australasian Livestock Feed Ingredient Database has been re-programmed and will be on sale from the Grains Research and Development Corporation later this year. The Subprogram developed nutrition optimisation software for manufactured diets for abalone aquaculture. This NOMAD software is similar to FORMU-BAIT, developed for the tuna farming sector. Robert van Barneveld Subprogram Leader phone 07 5547 8611 email rob@barneveld.com.au.
Aquatic animal health It hardly feels like three years have gone by, but the Aquatic Animal Health Subprogram in its current form has come to the end of its lifespan – it was set up to be completed by June 30 2004. However the Subprogram will continue in a second phase with some modifications to its management processes. Looking at the past three years, the output is impressive:
Other resources produced include the Aquatic Animal Health Subprogram: exotic disease training manual, the Australian Aquatic Animal Disease Identification Field Guide (2nd edition) and the Aquatic Animal Disease Emergencies Video And Training Kit Disease Watch - Play your Part. Training simulations culminated in Exercise Tethys, a world-first multi-jurisdictional disease simulation exercise in the aquatic area. Subprogram projects also supported a training course on exotic diseases of aquatic animals, education and training on the Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases process and training through the AAH Subprogram Scientific Conference on Emergency Disease Response Planning and Management. Links to other interested parties such as the Aquafin CRC and Australia’s National Aquatic Animal Health Technical Working Group were enhanced and the conference provided an opportunity for younger aquatic animal health specialists, the newcomers in the field, to develop their networks. Stakeholder comments show that a key strength of the Subprogram has been its strategic focus and the establishment of a network of aquatic animal health experts and research providers. It also has provided an industry-based structure to develop and maintain a strategic direction for investment in aquatic animal health. Over now to new Subprogram Leader Michael Crane of the CSIRO’s Australian Animal Health Laboratory. Eva-Maria Bernoth Subprogram Leader phone 02 6272 4328 email eva-maria.bernoth@daff.gov.au www.frdc.com.au/research/programs/aah/index.htm
Atlantic salmon aquaculture ALL project objectives up to June 2004 have been met. With assistance from former leader Stephen Battaglene and former executive officer Jenny Cobcroft there has a smooth transition to new team and a modified Subprogram structure. Our mission, post-modification, is to coordinate research that will underpin the further development of a sustainable Atlantic salmon and trout farming sector in Australia. The objectives are to:
Projects The Subprogram continues to target research needs identified by industry and government stakeholders. Consultation at SAIC meetings, research beneficiary meetings and industry representative meetings produced proposals for new projects that all gained funding in the 04/05 round. They include: 2004/074 A whole-of-ecosystem assessment of environmental issues for salmonid aquaculture, Principal Investigator: John Volkman, CSIRO 2004/210 Use of immunomodulation to improve fish performance in Australian temperate water finfish aquaculture, Principal Investigator: Barbara Nowak, TAFI 2004/213 Commercial amoebic gill disease and salmon health, Principal Investigator: Mark Powell, TAFI 2004/214 Effects of husbandry on amoebic gill disease, Principal Investigator: Barbara Nowak, TAFI 2004/215 Establishment of challenge model for AGD, Principal Investigator: Barbara Nowak, TAFI 2004/217 Development of an AGD vaccine – phase II, Principal Investigator: Chris Prideaux, CSIRO 2004/218 Molecular assessment of resistance to AGD in Atlantic salmon, Principal Investigator: Nick Elliott, CSIRO Besides these, the Subprogram has eight active projects. Four come under the Health Program, three under the Environment Program and one under the Production Program. The Health Program focuses on amoebic gill disease (AGD), a major issue for industry. One of these projects concentrates on vaccine development, with the final report due next February. The other three target pathophysiology and epidemiology of AGD and host-pathogen interactions. All will be complete this year. Results from the three environment projects investigating sustainable aquaculture are also due this year. The production project, examining the control of maturation, has been delayed because of a change of principal investigator. A final report is due next October. Implementation committee The first meeting of the Salmon Aquaculture Implementation Committee was held last February to complete the budget for the 2004/05 R&D proposals. An informal industry meeting in August discussed Mark Powell’s results from the Inhibition of Maturation study and directed further research for his CASH project. The Subprogram is managed with recommendations and advice from the SAIC, whose primary tasks are to:
These tasks are consistent with those set out in the Aquafin CRC agreement. The SAIC also has a role in the strategic planning process and currently is helping update Tasmania’s five year strategic plan. Pheroze Jungalwalla Subprogram Leader Phone 03 6227 7268 email jungalwalla@tsga.com.au
ESD reporting and assessment THE Subprogram has been funded by FRDC for a further three years. I hope by the end of this period it will have completed its task and no longer be needed. In the past year we have published an ESD Framework and ‘How To’ Guide for aquaculture. This document has been approved by both the Australian Fisheries Managers Forum and the Marine and Coastal Committee and has been sent to the Natural Resources Management Standing Committee for its endorsement. An initial ESD framework for wild capture fisheries will soon be published in Fisheries Research. A social assessment handbook being produced by the Bureau of Rural Sciences will be published by the end of this year. A short paper aimed at standardising terminology within the ESD area has been drafted and will be submitted for publication shortly. The paper’s terms and meanings have been endorsed by MACC and the NRMSC. FRDC has funded a new project to survey all jurisdictions to determine how their ESD needs have changed. Principal Investigator for 2004/101 Research review of the scope, assessment methods and management responses for fisheries ESD and EBFM in Australia is the CSIRO’s Helen Webb. Our latest newsletter discusses many of these issues in greater detail. The next meeting of the ESD reference group will be held in Melbourne on November 5. Finally, we have revamped our website. Check it out at www.fisheries-esd.com. Rick Fletcher Subprogram Leader phone 08 9482 7333 email rfletcher@fish.wa.gov.au
Effects of trawling In the latest funding round FRDC approved two new projects. An investigation of two methods to reduce the benthic impact of prawn trawling (2004/060) will compare new ground gear and new otter board design with existing traditional designs to gauge improvements in bycatch composition, seabed impact and operating efficiency. Traditional catch comparisons will determine the effectiveness of the new designs in maintaining prawn catches, reducing bycatch and reducing prawn damage. Acoustic sensors will indicate differences in spread and load cells to assess warp tensions and underwater video will record the impact on seabed pants and animals. On deck ease of handling will also be determined. Evaluation of the effectiveness of reducing dolphin catches with pingers and exclusion grids in the Pilbara trawl fishery (2004/068) will use video cameras to see how dolphins react. Interactions with dolphins are a concern in this fishery because of their potential to jeopardise exports otherwise permitted under the Commonwealth’s Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Industry, in partnership with the Department of Fisheries Western Australia, will first assess the extent of interactions, then determine how effective pingers and grids are in reducing them. The coming National Prawn Industry Conference in Cairns will be followed by a workshop on December 1 to further develop the Subprogram and set priorities for prawn trawl R&D. The planned outcomes for the workshop will be to:
Themes will include bycatch mitigation, monitoring and management, performance management and future R&D directions. As end users, I urge industry operators to take part in the workshop to ensure that R&D is outcome driven and that fragmentation does not occur. Crispian Ashby Subprogram Leader phone 02 6285 0425 email crispian.ashby@frdc.com.au
Rock lobster enhancement & aquaculture CLOSING the lifecycle of spiny lobsters remains our major goal. The Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute and New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric have made significant progress, particularly in the maintenance of puerulus health. At present, TAFI has more than 50 stage XI phyllosoma ready to settle as puerulus, a remarkable achievement given that the current focus of the research is to produce big quantities of phyllosoma to stage V. Outcomes from this research to date provide strong evidence that culture of southern rock lobsters may be a commercial possibility in the not too distant future. Similar progress is being made by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries, MG Kailis and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, which are working together to culture the tropical lobster P. ornatus. Research underway in Townsville, Cairns and Broome has fine-tuned broodstock conditioning, and significant numbers of Stage V phyllosoma can be cultured as required. The Department of Fisheries in Western Australia continues to investigate the potential to grow western rock lobsters from puerulus to marketable size. Research to date has focused on systems design, stocking densities and water temperature and the subsequent influence on growth rate, feed conversion and survival. Other WA research is examining ways to enhance the natural settlement of puerulus using artificial substrates. This may lead to practical ways to increase the level of recruitment to the wild fishery and the capacity to collect puerulus for grow-out in aquaculture systems. Future pointers Recently-completed projects have made useful advances in nutrition, re-seeding, propagation and health. Manufactured diets that support growth of P. ornatus have been developed by the CSIRO, high levels of survival have been achieved for re-seeded J. edwardsii juveniles by TAFI and NIWA and AIMS has shown that the hormones triggering moults in P. ornatus are similar to those involved in the moult cycles of insects. The Subprogram Steering Committee recently assessed preliminary R&D proposals to further develop enhancement and aquaculture systems and was particularly supportive of proposed research to investigate:
Subprogram management In July, FRDC agreed to fund the Subprogram for a further three years. Initially, management by an expertise-based Steering Committee will continue. Depending on the progress of research during this three year period - and interest from additional investors - the Subprogram will continue to examine other options for management of research and commercialisation of research outcomes. We are fielding inquiries from potential overseas research investors and are maintaining close links with an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research program involving the CSIRO and research institutions in Vietnam. A successful workshop and associated meeting were held in Port Lincoln in conjunction with the Rock Lobster Post-harvest Subprogram. Next year’s workshop will be held in conjunction with Seafood Directions in Sydney in October. Have you visited the RLEAS website at http://www.frdc.com.au/research/programs/rleas? It contains details of all aspects of the Subprogram including current R&D projects, research outcomes, coming events and newsletters. Robert van Barneveld Subprogram Leader phone 07 5547 8611 email rob@barneveld.com.au
Rock lobster post-harvest THE objective of the Subprogram is to ensure that Australia maximises the value of its rock lobster catch. Our annual workshop was held last month at Port Lincoln together with that of the Rock Lobster Enhancement and Aquaculture Subprogram. There we released a code of practice for southern rock lobster - Best Practice in the Southern Rock Lobster Industry. It is available in hard copy and on video and DVD, as is Best Practice in the Western Australian Lobster Industry, released last year. The hard copy is a folder that contains information that could not be provided on the video and DVD. It is loose-leaved so new information can be inserted when available. Copies of the codes and workshop proceedings are available from Subprogram secretary Emma Phillips, email emmaphil@ozemail.com.au. The full range of publications available from the Subprogram is:
All newsletters and other Subprogram information are available at www.frdc.com.au/research/programs/rlph/index.htm, or by contacting Emma Phillips or me. Bruce Phillips Subprogram Leader phone 0417 189 956 email b.phillips@curtin.edu.au
SET industry development WE are continuing to use a whole-of-supply-chain approach to achieve the complementary outcomes of fisheries sustainability and economic benefits to South East Trawl stakeholders. As highlighted below, the projects undertaken through the Subprogram are based on, and benefit from, strong links and support between different sectors of the chain. Waste to fertiliser Main focus during the past year has been continued work with Australian Seafood Co-products (ASCo), a company formed to add value by using fish products not traditionally utilised or marketed. Shareholders include FRDC and major seafood companies and associations in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. ASCo decided that turning fish waste into fertiliser was the most feasible way to use the thousands of tonnes of fish processing residues produced each year. As a consequence, ASCo Fertilisers was formed – a partnership between ASCo and Sieber, a New Zealand company that has proven technology and experience in processing fish wastes into organic fertilisers. ASCo Fertilisers will produce the fish-based solid phosphate fertiliser Biophos, a product with proven benefits to agricultural crops, that can be certified for organic farming. ASCo Fertilisers is working with major fertiliser producers Incitec-Pivot and Yates on piloting, commercialisation and marketing. Pilot plants have been set up and commercial production and sales are planned to begin in December. FRDC and the Department of Primary Industries (Victoria) are funding scientific trials of Biophos on crops including tomatoes and dry and irrigated pasture. Preliminary results indicate it is as effective as superphosphate in improving yields and may have other benefits for soil quality. Rapid cooling The Subprogram is also looking at other ways to improve technologies, catch utilisation and value-adding. We have obtained a National Food Industry Strategy (NFIS) grant to trial Flo-Ice plants on trawlers to demonstrate the potential of high-quality trawl-caught fish to alternative markets. This method of rapidly cooling bulk catches opens new opportunities by producing high-quality fish suitable for modified atmosphere packaging and other value-adding techniques. In these ways we hope to improve returns from bulk low-value species such as redfish and spotted warehou. Discussions are underway on a NFIS Food Chain Program project to link the supply chain for these lower value south east Australian fish to retail outlets in Australia and overseas. This project will require catchers to re-position themselves - from suppliers of a low value commodity to members of a supply chain partnership that adjusts food handling methods to deliver quality products tailored to customer expectations. Skills development and training continue across the fishery’s supply chain, especially in areas such as product handling, food safety and OH&S. Specific opportunities to fund projects to address these issues are being sought. Funding potential The through-chain approach adopted by the Subprogram has attracted interest from a range of stakeholders and thus will continue to attract funding not usually available to the seafood industry. The benefits of establishing the SEF Industry Development Subprogram are starting to be realised through the number of projects we have initiated targeting the ‘D’ of fisheries R&D. Presently, we have industry development projects worth about $1m up and running, with others getting underway. More than 60 per cent of the funding is from sources other than FRDC. I expect project outputs to deliver many millions of dollars of value to the South East Fishery during the next few years. Ian Knuckey Subprogram Leader phone 03 5258 4399 email Fishwell@datafast.net.au
SBT aquaculture OUR new website www.sardi.sa.gov.au/pages/sbt/public/welcome_sbt.htm: is giving Subprogram clients much better access to research information. The site is partitioned into public, SBT industry and Subprogram Steering Committee areas, the latter two having restricted access. Progressively, we have posted there our Tuna-briefs newsletters, final R&D reports, company environmental monitoring reports, telemetry based environmental research data, news items, Steering Committee briefing papers and meeting dates. The Subprogram’s major 2004 gatherings - industry workshop, scientific meeting and Steering Committee meeting – are being held on three consecutive days at the end of October. Research farm Even though the success of the industry-based seacage Tuna Research Farm will not be formally reviewed for a month or so, it is already clear that the survival and growth of research SBT have been greatly improved. The key factor to address for the future is that companies and, in particular, researchers need to vary the annual operating plan as unplanned circumstances occur or new research opportunities arise. New projects During the past year a significant number of new Aquafin CRC research projects were developed, submitted and approved for funding: 2004/085 Detection of SBT pathogens in environmental samples. Principal Investigator: Kathy Ophel-Keller, SARDI. 2004/204 Aquafin CRC-SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: variation to FRDC projects 2001/103, 2001/248, 2001/249 and 2003/228 to address existing research requirements due to the move to a commercially based seacage research platform. Principal Investigator: Jeff Buchanan, SARDI. 2004/205 Aquafin CRC-SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: provision of research platforms for projects requiring Port Lincoln based R&D support. Principal Investigator: David Ellis, Aquaculture Management Consultants Pty Ltd. 2004/206 Aquafin CRC-SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: management of food safety hazards in farmed southern bluefin tuna to exploit market opportunities. Principal Investigator: David Padula, SARDI. 2004/207 Aquafin CRC-SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: integrated farm support system (IFSS) for tuna aquaculture. Principal Investigator: Chris Jackson, CSIRO. 2004/209 Aquafin CRC-SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: application of the use of dietary supplements for improving flesh quality attributes of farmed SBT. Principal Investigator: Philip Thomas, Flinders University. 2004/212 Aquafin CRC-FRDC - SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: assessment of alternative platforms for southern bluefin tuna research. Principal Investigator: Wayne Hutchinson, SARDI. 2004/216 Aquafin CRC-SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: coordination, facilitation and administration. Principal Investigator: Steven Clarke, SARDI. One potential project is being reviewed prior to the Aquafin CRC and FRDC Boards making a final decision. This is 2004/211 Aquafin CRC-FRDC SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: nutritional profiles of baitfish 3: effects of harvest and post-harvest processes on quality of local pilchards for feeding SBT. Principal Investigator: John Carragher, SARDI. R&D progress A gap analysis to benchmark research progress against the Southern Bluefin Tuna Aquaculture Strategic R&D Plan 2001-2006 and the Aquafin CRC Commonwealth Agreement is nearly complete. Generally research progress has been good, other than in SBT propagation, where a major project to identify revised research priorities was closed by the Aquafin CRC at the request of the Tuna Boat Owners Association. SBT health research has progressed further than envisaged and SBT product quality and environmental and physiological research are on track. SBT nutrition has continued to progress slowly due to the challenges of working with this species in an open ocean environment, but the recent inclusion of a postgraduate student project and the use of a surrogate species should mean greater advances in the coming year. As a result of our gap analysis two important new project proposals will soon be submitted to the Aquafin CRC Board and FRDC to bring together and broaden the outcomes of earlier research. These are Aquafin CRC-SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: activity metabolism in live-held southern bluefin tuna 2 and Aquafin CRC-SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: risk and response. Steven Clarke Subprogram Leader email clarke.steven@saugov.sa.gov.au
New sponge species foundABOUT 30 bath sponge species have been identified in a survey of the Torres Strait, many of them new to science. The survey was the start of a two year collaboration to explore the potential for bath sponge culture there by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, CRC Torres Strait and the Torres Strait Regional Authority. This follows the identification of three commercial species in Arnhem Land in FRDC project 2001/255, the results of which are being used by five Aboriginal communities in a pilot farming project. Declining production of bath and cosmetic sponges from traditional Mediterranean and Caribbean sources has created a world shortage in a market estimated to be worth about $57m a year. AIMS says at least one of the Torres Strait species appears to have great commercial potential. MORE: Alan Duckworth, Applications approved for 04-05FRDC will fund the following projects in 2004-2005. They were approved after the previous R&D News went to press.
Crowdy confronts social issuesIN most ports around Australia, commercial fishing families tend to bottle up the stress caused by low prices, high charges, reduced access, fisheries management policy and actions. But on the New South Wales coast, the fishing families of Crowdy Head have got together to deal with the problem. Their decision was sparked by Cathy Keppie, wife of fisherman Lester and mother of three adult children, who asked clinical and neuro-psychologist Geoffrey Fox to hold a counselling session for affected families, hers included. After talking with 16 commercial fishers at the group session Geoffrey Fox said he was left with the impression that they were “very frustrated, feeling helpless in the face of the odds and looking for a way to resolve issues that are important to them.” Cathy Keppie now intends to talk to fishing families in other New South Wales ports and organise further counselling if it is needed. She will follow this with a report to NSW Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPIF) that she hopes will become the basis for a departmental study of the impact of government and bureaucratic decisions on families whose living is fishing. NSW DPI was represented at the meeting by Jan Bruce who gained a first hand insight into the situation. Jackie Schirmer at the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS), understands that social issues do impact on the well being of the fishing industry. Jackie is speaking to people, such as Lester, to gain a better understanding of the social issues involved in fisheries. BRS is in the process of finalising a social assessment handbook co-funded with the FRDC for use by Australian fisheries managers in ESD assessment and monitoring. Industry response The Crowdy Head initiative is drawing support beyond New South Wales. “I applaud Cathy for taking on this critical issue,” said Ted Loveday, former CEO Queensland Seafood Industry Association and fisherman. “I’ve seen it first-hand several times and it’s been virtually impossible to have it taken seriously into the decision-making process, largely because we’ve had only anecdotal information.” Ted Loveday said he believed the Crowdy Head families’ decision to document what was happening to them had the potential to spark a significant industry response. Faced with factual case study information, politicians were less likely to make decisions that had serious social consequences without first considering ways to minimise damage to fishing families and their communities, he said. MORE: Cathy Keppie, email ckeppie@tsn.cc;
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Last Updated: March 28 2007 13:43:41