Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC)

This year marks Australia’s first harvests of commercial-grade, farmed ocean seaweeds – the first in September, the second in November. Both harvests, in Tasmania, have occurred under the auspices of the Seaweed Solutions Cooperative Research Centres Project (CRC-P), funded through the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources.  

Natural capital accounting can help fisheries businesses assess the risks and opportunities associated with the ecosystem assets they rely on. 

A new study is looking at the prawn-producing habitat in the estuary – made up of saltmarsh, seagrasses and mangroves – with a view to understanding how this natural capital supports the fishery’s productivity and to value its contribution through the use of natural capital accounting.

An extension of the acoustic network around the Australian coastline is set to provide new information about tagged fish and other marine species, helping to improve fisheries management.

Dotted around Australia’s extensive coastline are hundreds of acoustic marine receivers – listening stations that form part of a national network, tracking the progress of tagged marine animals as they travel to feed, breed and play.

The remarkable story behind the recovery of Southern Bluefin Tuna from an endangered species to a globally sustainable fishery is told in a recently released Australian documentary. 

The combined efforts of Australian science, industry innovation and community education have been showcased in the documentary Life on the line − The story of the Southern Bluefin Tuna, which tells the story of how these highly prized, temperate ocean dwellers were brought back from the brink of commercial extinction.

A coalition of research, government and industry partners is working to bring invasive sea urchins under control in Tasmania, with a mix of biological and market solutions. 

The Shortspined Sea Urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma) occurs naturally in Tasmanian waters and exists in harmony with the local ecosystem. However, the Longspined Sea Urchin is an unwelcome visitor, and a badly behaved one at that.  

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. 

Real-time reports from sentinel oysters could provide an early warning of changing water conditions. 

Investigator Ashfaqur Rahman, who leads CSIRO’s data analytics team at Data61, explains that as the environment changes, the behaviour of animals – including oysters – changes in response.