1. Your return on R&D
investment

2. In 15 min . . .
Post election funds & post CRC R&D budget scene
Hard nosed priorities!
Disease, morts, improving productivity
Your investment working
Oyster retail
POMS resistance breeding (& ‘operation ASI’) – Matt C
Norovirus
Benchmarking future
News
Future

3. Post election funds & post CRC R&D budget scene
2007 - 2014
Pooled $565k pa
post 2014
Pooled $451k pa
pre 2007
Separate $420k pa
Each state applying for
FRDC $ via cross
sector advisory Board
CRC
FRDC
NSW SA Tas Others NSW SA Tas
States pooling most
R&D $ via CRC & to a
strategic plan
States pooling R&D $
via FRDC & to a
strategic plan
FRDC
Grower levy /ha or $/1000 seed Grower levy /ha or $/1000 seed
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0
NSW SA Tas

4. FRDC’s budget cuts
Oysters Australia leverage from FRDC reduced and under pressure
FRDC to lose approx $1.2m pa to pay for the cost of Australian
Government “regional fisheries management organisations” (RFMOs) – a
potential loss of up to 7% on oyster’s $ match
Australian Government has asked the FRDC to consider moving to a
regional location – but at its own (significant) cost.
FRDC’s Tactical Research Fund

5. FRDC’s draft 2015-2020 RD&E plan priorities
1. Public confidence in the fishing and aquaculture community, and the
government’s role
2. Reduce regulatory burden
3. Industry potential, growth and markets
4. Resource access and allocation
5. Workforce development
6. Habitat/ecosystem health and climate change

6. Oyster priorities – time to get hard nosed!
NSW ($) SA ($) Tas ($) National
average
Protect ability to farm 15 7 8 9
Tenure security & ability to borrow
capital against assets
8 7 7 8
Reducing costs of farming 11 10 9 11
Availability of labour & training 2 5 3 4
Breeding better oysters 27 32 24 24
Manage & protect against disease 14 23 31 22
Ensure shellfish safety & market
5 7 12 8
access
Improved path to market 2 5 3 4
A better returning market 16 5 4 10
100 100 100 100
On
farm
Off
farm
R & D
. . . achieved via use of technology

7. Priorities - managing & protecting against disease
Background info or ‘baseline’ Prevent & reduce
What is normal mortality?
What environment /
husbandry contributes to
mortality and good
growth?
Measure of stress
Alert of stock stress & poor
growing conditions
High priority investment areas >2014

8. Your investment working – oyster retail
Stage 2
• Sept - November
• Pre commercialisation
• 20 independent national retail stores
• Brochure (redesigned), posters (a series), tray fronts, store run demos, stickers

9. Your investment working – oyster retail
Oyster retail – stage 2
– Australia
trial locations

11. SURVEY OF FOODBORNE VIRUSES IN
AUSTRALIAN OYSTERS
Norovirus (NoV) levels need to be
contextualised against a baseline
•EU moving towards mandatory virus
monitoring (in UK 76% of production areas are
positive for NoV).
•To avoid similar regulation we need to show
we don’t have a problem
USA, UK, France and China have done NoV
surveys (reported prevalence ranges between
4 – 76%)
Determination of Australian NoV baseline
• Could provide an argument against mandatory testing
i.e. if baseline < 2% prevalence
• Could be used to inform improved management where required

12. SURVEY OF FOODBORNE VIRUSES IN
AUSTRALIAN OYSTERS
Survey Design
– Oysters sourced at the production area level
– Main oyster producing states: NSW, SA, TAS & Qld
– Sampling reflects states productivity
– 150 samples collected each in winter/spring and summer/autumn
(n=300)
• This will enable detection of viruses if present at < 2% prevalence
– Viruses investigated are Norovirus (GI & GII) and Hepatitis A virus
using the international standard for testing (ISO/TS 15216)
Fact sheet on the project can be found at:
http://oystersaustraliablog.org.au/green-light-for-new-rd-projects/
Or contact Dr. Valeria Torok (valeria.torok@sa.gov.au) for more information

13. SURVEY OF FOODBORNE VIRUSES
IN AUSTRALIAN OYSTERS
Number of oyster samples collected from
various Australian Oyster production areas per
season (winter/spring or summer/autumn)
• Winter/spring sampling
commenced in July and
will finish in September
• Sample numbers
assigned to harvest
areas were determined
by production data
• Sample collections
within harvest area has
been randomly
determined

14. Your investment working – benchmarking
Profit (before tax and after imputed
labour)
Profit as % income
2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13
All states $ 89,746 $ 76,643 $ 194,863 -5.6% 6.0% 13.2%
SA $ 37,087 $ 71,838 $ 325,960 4.7% 16.8% 41.9%
TAS $ 71,060 $ 113,754 $ 183,053 5.5% 10.6% 5.2%
NSW $ 17,848 $ 34,421 $ 15,332 -29.5% 12.2% 11.8%
+ 2 years info prior
Total participants 2012/13 = 12
Program still open
Benefit is individual
Collective co-investment questionable – to be decided

15. Your investment working – news
By email & housed at
http://oystersaustraliablog.org.au/
Short video versions by phone &
housed at
http://oystersaustraliablog.org.au/
Want news 4 x/yr on your phone?
Sms your name to 0425 237 566

16. Future
In 2013, we talked about a national levy to
replace state R&D levies including a non RDE
component for Biosecurity, OA overheads,
marketing
Coincidentally, in 2013, the PIRD Act was also
changed which now enables FRDC to “Undertake
marketing relating to the products of primary
industries” in addition to its normal RD&E role.
In June 2014, Oysters Australia Board decided it was too early to make a
change to a national levy now. OA agreed to:
• aim for 2017 to run the ballot process and lodge a submission under
the PIERD Act
• provide more detail to growers on mechanisms and how they work
• provide costed proposal on any non R&D activities to growers

17. FRDC

19. What is FRDC doing about marketing?
FRDC is about to begin a formal consultation with industry on
marketing – your feedback will be vital
FRDC wants to build a long term platform for marketing which
includes both research, development and market activity.
FRDC wants to make sure any marketing investment is:
strongly linked to enterprise level investment
overseen with strong governance
strategically focused
disciplined in approach
effective in delivery
able to quantify its success

20. Marketing Function Advisory Committee
(advises the FRDC board)
Brett McCallum (Chair)
Tim Hess
Arthur Raptis
Peter Fare
Nathan Maxwell-McGinn
Gus Dannoun
Anthony Ciconte
Andrew Puglisi
Jules Crocker
Shane Geary
John Susman
Sam Gordon
David Caracciolo
Rachel King
Katherine Winchester
Dallas D'Silva
Jonas Woolford
Anthony Mercer
Len Stephens

21. Some market related questions FRDC might ask you
What areas do you think the seafood industry should focus on?
Where should the seafood industry work together?
What are the priorities for the seafood industry?
What areas of marketing are priorities for you?
What areas of marketing would you invest your money in?
What results would you expect/like to see from marketing activities?
Do you support seafood industry undertaking marketing? (If no why?)
Would you contribute to seafood marketing?

22. & partner R&D providers
Thank you
and
thanks to . . .

23. ADVERTISMENT BREAK
Sydney Royal Aquaculture Competition
 Held twice per year – February (SRO) and
September (Pacifics)
 NATIONAL competition!
 Judging according to visual, flavour &
condition
 Feedback given
“It’s a cheap and
effective way of
marketing your name
so that buyers buy
your stock over
someone else’s“
Hazelgrove Oysters