June 2024
Quarterly Update
Seafood Industry Australia and the Blue Economy CRC appreciate the time and efforts of the Australian aquaculture, post-harvest, and wild-caught seafood industry, recreational and First Nations, other ocean industries and managers.
Together we are mapping, modelling, and describing Australia’s seafood industry and the wider activities in the ocean estate. This collaborative approach is fundamental to ensure the Futures of Seafood study achieves its ambitious suite of outputs while representing the experiences, insights and data with respect and integrity.
Mar - Sept 2024
- Engagement through workshops, surveys, interviews
- Data collation and analysis
- Technical research, analysis and profiling
Sept 2024
First pass of
- State of Play of Australian Seafood – Atlas, Profile, Insights Reports
- Future Estate of Ocean Uses – Atlas, Profile, Insights Reports
Sept 2024 - Feb 2025
- Futures scenarios workshops
- Futures scenarios modelling
Feb 2025
First pass of
- Futures Scenario Impact Reports and dashboard
Feb - Jun 2025
- Research & analysis & consultation
- Roadmap development
Jun 2025
- Synthesis of Study
- Futures of Seafood Roadmap
Second pass of
- State of Play of Australian Seafood – Atlas, Profile, Insights Reports
- Future Estate of Ocean Uses – Atlas, Profile, Insights Reports
- Futures Scenario Impact Reports and dashboard
WORKSHOPS
SEAFOOD INDUSTRY
We have held workshops in WA, NT, Tasmania, SA for members of the commercial seafood industry. We will hold workshops in NSW, Victoria and QLD in July. These are providing information, expertise and first-hand experiences to help shape knowledge and experiences to inform the study. We are asking: What’s working, and what isn’t? What are the industry’s aspirations? What is needed to support them? And, what are the barriers?
OCEAN USERS
We are delivering a series of four workshops for users of the ocean estate including researchers, regulators, managers, and estate user groups. One workshop has been held to date in the margins of the Blue Economy CRC Participants Workshop, and we have three on-line opportunities in July and August. These allow us to explore the current and future uses of the ocean estate along with strategies to support sustainable and equitable access and the management of ocean resources.
Mapping & Profiling
We have also requested datasets from each jurisdiction to support mapping available data from 2002 – today. This will allow us to show today’s footprint, but also show change.
SEAFOOD
(~1000 maps)
- Fisheries, aquaculture, first nations, recreational access + patterns of use
- Supply chain + post-harvest flow of seafood to consumers
Other ocean users
(~600 maps)
- Infrastructure + installations (current & proposed)
- Management areas (parks, TEP, other)
- Marine & Coastal Infrastructure
We are profiling the seafood industry and ocean uses as we ask what, where, why, how, what’s ahead.
Contemporary seafood profiles
- over 200 fisheries & aquaculture
- 10 gear types
- supply chain
Contemporary ocean user profiles
- reserves
- shipping
- oil & gas
- wind
Technical & expert input
We welcome FoodMinds, BDO, CSIRO and Alantis Fisheries to the team as they take on important roles in this study.
- Input into Australian Seafood Atlas, Profile and Insights Reports
- Map and model the seafood supply chain, production to consumption
- Apply a nationally consistent framework to support data collection and estimation of the contribution of Australian seafood to the Australian economy.
- Design a dynamic national and jurisdictional dashboard for post-harvest and socioeconomic data
- Data management and mapping input into Australian Seafood Atlas, Profile and Insights Reports
- Scenario modelling (e.g. climate change, changes in ocean access, emerging conflicts, divergent policy / regulatory directions, evolving markets and consumer trend, biosecurity threats)
- Web-based impact dashboards to be developed
Deliver an Australian sea Foodscape report:
- Nutrition and cultural contributions – the essential nutrients Australian seafood provides, its rich heritage and contributions to the economy.
- Barriers and drivers of consumption - economic forces, regulatory pressures, distribution channels, consumer behaviours & case study.
- Consumer and societal trends - global seafood consumption fast facts infographic, 2-3 profiles of mega-trends, case study
- UN Sustainable Development Goals – role in supporting population health and well-being, economic opportunity, and thriving marine ecosystems
- Future Directions and recommendations - forecasts and how industry can meet the needs of consumers, innovate and collaborate
- Input into Australian Seafood Atlas, Profile and Insights Reports
- Develop >200 profiles: for each fishery and aquaculture sector, and major gear types
- Contribute investor insights and trends analysis
- Case studies of ocean estate negotiations
Futures of Seafood:
Commercial Industry Survey
We’re calling on all members of the Australian aquaculture, post-harvest, and wild-caught seafood industry to participate in the Futures of Seafood: Commercial Industry Survey. Your unique insights and experiences are vital as we capture a comprehensive overview of our current landscape and project the future trends up to 2040. We are looking to understand current successes and challenges in the seafood industry, future aspirations and the necessary support to achieve them, and barriers that may hinder progress within the industry. By participating, you’re not just providing data—you’re ensuring that the voice of the industry is heard in influencing the future of the industry.
For Further Information
General Enquiries:
tomorrow@futuresofseafood.com.au
Funding & Support
“Futures of Seafood. Wild. Aquaculture. Recreational. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders” is supported by Seafood Industry Australia and funding from Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Blue Economy CRC, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Department Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water, and Parks Australia.
“The work being done by the Futures of Seafood team is now more important than ever as the industry faces a multitude of new and old challenges. This project offers industry the chance to review these challenges and look to ways to ensure that our place as providers of low environmental impact, highly nutritious seafood for Australian and international consumers.”
‘The WA Futures of Seafood workshop was well attended by a healthy cross section of industry and other stakeholders. The presentations included heartfelt pleas from smaller fishers wrestling overwhelming pressures for more marine parks to optimism around investment and growth opportunities for aquaculture. It was also comforting to meet with local ‘stay afloat’ team and to hear of their important work and to reflect more deeply on what needs to be done to secure seafood for the future.”
