Welcome to the October 2023 update from the Blue Economy CRC where we highlight the news, project updates, events and achievements over the last quarter.
Recent Announcements
2023 Webinar Series
Project Updates
Upcoming Events
Outreach & Participation
Publications
Latest PhDs & Postdocs
Senator the Hon Murray Watt, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry joined Angela Williamson and Greg Johannes from the Blue Economy CRC and Veronica Papacosta and Clayton Nelson from Seafood Industry Australia (SIA) and Janie Finlay MP in Hobart at some of Australia’s most innovative aquaculture sites.
Starting with a look at how Tassal Group feed their fish in Tasmania (and a peak at their prawns in QLD and barramundi in WA) as well as monitor health, welfare and environmental factors on water all from their Hobart HQ Feed Centre. Then jumping on a Pennicott Wilderness Journeys boat to see the BE CRC kelp research farm near the mouth of the River Derwent, joined by project partners Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) and Huon Aquaculture learning how this industry-leading seaweed research is going four months in.
The team finished off at Mures Tasmania with friends from the wild, aquaculture and feed sectors where the 'Futures of Seafood' collaboration between SIA, BE CRC and the Australian Government was launched.
This collaboration will profile and map Australia’s seafood footprint, provide evidence-based insights and chart a course for Australia’s 'Futures of Seafood' alongside other ocean uses for the coming 10-15 years. We look forward to sharing more seafood adventures as our collaboration with SIA and our partners continue to support the journey toward a resilient, sustainable, and thriving domestic seafood industry.
We wish Jon Brown all the best as he leaves the Blue Economy CRC in early January 2024.
As Chief Operating Officer and Company Secretary, Jon has worked behind the scenes tirelessly for the last four years and we will miss him greatly. Thank you Jon for all that you have brought to the Blue Economy CRC.
We look forward to welcoming Donna Wilson who will commence in the COO and Company Secretary role in January 2024.
Thank you to Dr Nagi Abdussamie
We thank Dr Nagi Abdussamie (Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania) for his contribution to the Blue Economy CRC as Deputy Program Leader for the Offshore Engineering and Technology program. Nagi joined the team at the start of the Blue Economy CRC in July 2019. Nagi has taken a new role heading the Marine Engineering program at the University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) in Qatar.
On behalf of the Blue Economy CRC team and partners, we extend our best wishes to Nagi and his family and our heartfelt thanks for his exceptional contributions over the past 4.5 years.
Blue Economy CRC 2022/23 Annual Report Now Available
The Blue Economy CRC 2022/23 Annual Report is now available for viewing.
The Annual Report provides a record of the highlights and achievements, research progress and outcomes, case studies, education and training and communications carried out by the Blue Economy CRC over the year.
We'd like to take the opportunity to thank our Participants for your involvement over this past year. The work of the Blue Economy CRC would not be possible without your valuable input, dedication and support.
ICOE 2024 Registrations & Call for Abstracts Opening Soon
The 2024 International Conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE 2024) will bring together in Melbourne, ocean energy leaders, decision-makers and researchers from every corner of the globe for a rich and exciting programme of sessions, workshops, networking, technical site visits and insight into Australasia’s rapidly evolving ocean energy activities.
Australia has moved from a target of 26% carbon emissions reduction to a 43% reduction by 2030 and net zero by 2050. The ocean energy sector has a pivotal role to play and ICOE 2024 will bring together all the key players in the sector to meet this transformational shift.
This global marine energy event, expecting to attract between 700 and 1000 delegates from across Europe, North and South America and Australasia, will share recent experiences from research and demonstration efforts in ocean energy.
Early Bird Registrations and Call for Abstracts will open on Monday 6th November.
Seafood production systems are traditionally characterised by intensification, specialisation and geographic concentration, potentially leading them to have negative anthropogenic impacts. Introducing layers of seafood production through multispecies systems, and integration within and between production and other users, could bring increased productivity, efficient resource-use, and increased farm resilience.
This recently launched project led by Sarah Ugalde from the University of Tasmania will focus on identifying which multispecies systems can be viably and sustainably integrated for offshore seafood and marine production. It will address the unmet needs of end-users by focusing on emerging aquaculture species and novel systems to prioritise sustainable and integrated seafood and marine products.
Project lead Sarah Ugalde states, “This is an exciting opportunity to explore and unlock the potential of offshore food production while making the most of our shared space, resources, and efforts”.
The seaweed mariculture platforms project aims to enhance seaweed farming using Marine Permaculture, a technique that utilises submersible platforms to access deepwater nutrients, ensuring seaweed growth despite warming temperatures.
The project will model and validate the structural resilience and hydrodynamic behaviour of Climate Foundation’s 0.1-hectare prototype platform deployed in the Western Pacific and provide solutions to scale the platform to support a 1-hectare offshore mariculture production.
The successful implementation of this innovative solution will revolutionise seaweed mariculture, offering a sustainable and scalable response to the challenges of climate change.
Project leader Brian Von Herzen from Climate Foundation states:
"We are enthused to be working on this key modelling project that can help guide the way to sustainable offshore seaweed mariculture with deepwater nutrients and its ability to regenerate primary productivity in disrupted oceans, with application to mariculture, ecosystem service regeneration and the measurement of carbon export. "
This month the Practitioners Summary I 'Blue Economy Ethical Values and Principles' was released for the 'Ethics, values and Social License in the Blue Economy' project, led by Professor Charles Sampford and Dr Hugh Breakey from the Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law (IEGL) at Griffith University.
A webinar was held in October discussing the findings of the project with the recording and Practitioner's Summary now available for viewing.
A Framework for Evaluating and Guiding Ocean Energy Technology Developments
Wednesday 15th November
4pm - 5.30pm AEDT
The International Energy Agency (IEA) Ocean Energy Systems (OES) Technology Collaboration Programme published an International Evaluation and Guidance Framework for Ocean Energy Technology.
The document intends to support international efforts by presenting a framework for technology evaluation and guidance of engineering activity, ensuring that decision-makers have consistent information available to them.
The invited presentations and speakers will provide:
Information about the IEA-OES Technology Collaboration Programme;
The objectives, content and benefits of the IEA-OES Evaluation and Guidance Framework, and the experience of national and international funders in its adoption.
An application of the framework in the development of Carnegie Clean Energy’s CETO technology toward commercialisation in the EuropeWave programme.
Presentation 1: About the Ocean Energy Systems (OES) Technology Collaboration Programme Presented by Professor Irene Penesis.
Presentation 2: Objectives, content and benefits of the IEA-OES Evaluation and Guidance Framework Presented by Jonathan Hodges.
Presentation 3: Development of the CETO technology toward commercialisation in the framework of the EuropeWave programme Presented by Dr Alexandre Pichard.
October: Ethics, Values and Social License in the Blue Economy
This webinar discussed ethics, integrity and social acceptance in the Blue Economy, delving into the nature of ‘integrity systems’ and their importance along with exploring the social license to operate. <View Recording>
August: Hydrogen as a Marine Fuel Opportunities and Challenges
In June 2023, the International Maritime Organization set revised targets in the 80th session of the Marine Environmental Protection Committee to decarbonise the global fleet. The implementation of alternative fuels to conventional fossil-based fuels is key to the decarbonisation of the global maritime and shipping industry. <View Recording>
July: Offshore Engineering & Technology: Blue Economy Symposium
The Blue Economy Symposium was organised for the first time within the 42nd OMAE 2023 conference in from 11-16 June. In addition to Prof Irene Penesis’ keynote lecture on Challenges of the Blue Economy for Sustainable Offshore Development, the symposium featured 32 lively presentations covering many aspects of the Blue Economy CRC research activities. <View Recording>
We are excited to report on the following progress updates across a selection of our current projects.
Novel Offshore Fish Pen Design: Phase 1 (Conceptual Development)
A patent was filed in August for an innovative modular Aquaculture Construction Kit made from High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), a popular choice for coastal aquaculture structures such as fish pens. The modular nature of this system not only provides flexibility in design but also offers cost-effective production and transportation, as well as rapid assembly and disassembly, both on land and in water.
These coastal and offshore structures have the ability to float or submerge, depending on the requirements. As a result, they may find application in various scenarios, including fish pens, shellfish cultivation, algae and kelp farming, and even as floating platforms to support aquaculture operations. <More on this project>
Data Infrastructure Design for the Blue Economy
Two successful data infrastructure stakeholder needs workshops were held over August to gather as much feedback and information from industry, researchers and end-users to help inform and support the design of the concept map and demonstration prototype of a data infrastructure platform for use in future projects. Next phase workshops will be held in October where Participants have the opportunity to provide feedback on selected infrastructure requirements, workshop web interface design mock-ups and have a go at creating interface design features. <More on this project>
Exploring opportunities for regenerative aquaculture on the NSW South Coast
A series of research workshops and information sessions were held in Bermagui and Eden NSW in late July and September with community, Indigenous rights holders and other marine estate users to understand what matters to them when it comes to growing the blue economy, and what is needed to address community sentiment and grow community support for regenerative aquaculture opportunities in the local area.
“Our role in this collaboration is to conduct research which will explore how communities feel about these new activities, and identify how these businesses can work with local residents to share the benefits of the developments and address any areas of concern,” said Project Lead Dr Michelle Voyer from UOW. <More on this project>
The 15th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference
The premier biennial conference in offshore renewables, the European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC), took place in Bilbao, Spain on 3-7 September 2023.
The BE CRC had a strong presence showcasing the M4 project and Carnegie’s CETO device developments. Three papers covering PTO modelling, wave basin testing in operational and survival conditions were presented – all underpinning the upcoming ocean deployment of the M4 wave energy converter in Albany, Western Australia.
The conference was wrapped up with the Research Director Prof Irene Penesis delivering an invitation to the sister conference, the International Conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE 2024), which will be hosted by the BE CRC in Melbourne on 17-19 September 2024.
Professor Chris Carter, Program Leader of the Seafood and Marine Products program, led a successful Blue Economy CRC workshop on Atlantic salmon skeletal structures in relation to offshore aquaculture in August with participants from Huon Aquaculture, Tassal, Petuna & Skretting in attendance.
The workshop provided expert information about salmon skeletons and current R&D activities to industry and research attendees with opportunities for industry to engage in identifying opportunities for future Atlantic salmon R&D.
“The workshop was very rewarding for all who attended, it was great to see such strong support from our industry participants from Atlantic salmon aquaculture and to be part of the enthusiastic and lively discussions happening in the room. We were particularly pleased to welcome two of the world's foremost scientists Prof Eckhard Witten and Prof Ann Huysseune, from our Participant Ghent University, working on fish skeletons and look forward to planning a second workshop for wider BECRC participation.” said Chris Carter.
The workshop also provided an opportunity for our PhD students to present their research to industry with the team heading into preparations for an upcoming webinar on fish skeletons in relation to aquaculture. Stay tuned for details! <More on this project>
Latest Publications
We'd like to take the opportunity to congratulate Dr Hugh Breakey on his publication of Social Licence and Ethical Practice (Research in Ethical Issues in Organizations.
Nikki joins the team as Administration Assistant after a 20+ year career working in the agricultural industry. Nikki is thrilled to be part of the Blue Economy CRC team and contribute to sustainable ocean management through innovative research programs for future generations.
In Nikki’s spare time if she isn’t riding her mountain bike on some of Tassie’s world-famous MTB trails, she will be with her young family on the East Coast beaches of Tasmania. On behalf of the Blue Economy CRC, welcome to the team Nikki.
The BE CRC places heavy emphasis on Education & Training, with an unprecedented scale of research opportunities on offer, including fully funded Higher Degree by Research (HDR) PhD scholarships across its five research programs. We are pleased to introduce some of ourlatest PhD scholars and PostDoctural Research Fellows who have recently joined us.