DoctorLouise Adams

Project Total: $138,867; Adaptations to educational programs are necessary as relying more heavily on seafood and marine energy production will reshape the economy and training programs of the future workforce. One of the BE CRC objectives is to educate a new generation of engineers and scientists with detailed cross-disciplinary knowledge to work in future Blue Economy industries that include sustainable aquaculture industry, offshore wind and wave energy industry, green hydrogen industry and remote and autonomous technology. Funded by: Blue Economy CRC Co - General Projects; University of Queensland; University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $1,210,073; The principle aim is to build a translational experimental approach to identify and address critical knowledge gaps in Atlantic salmon aquaculture production by working closely with industry partners. This will consider the impact of key environmental variables, relevant to current and future offshore expansion, on commercial salmon performance. Strong engagement by the project team and students with partners, including placements with commercial organisations, will ensure their capability and career development will meet industry needs. Successful outcomes will come from establishing and validating the translation of data at the research-commercial nexus to support the industry in managing a rapidly changing climate. Funded by: Blue Economy CRC Co - General Projects ($1,210,074); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $1,012,000; This project aims to assess the global and local consequences of changing feeds in aquaculture by developing a new interdisciplinary sustainability assessment framework. The project expects to generate new methods to understand and predict local farm-to-ecosystem changes and global environmental footprints under contrasting feed and climate scenarios by integrating field data with novel experiments, modelling techniques and global mapping of terrestrial and marine feed raw materials and their impacts. Expected outcomes include new methods to assess ecological, social and economic trade-offs under different feeds to inform decision making in support of an ecosystem-based approach to aquaculture spanning global to local scales. Funded by: Australian Research Council - Grant-Linkage Projects Round 1 ($720,000); BioMar Ltd ($292,000); University of Tasmania ($98,322).

Project Total: $25,000; The Tasmania Smart Seafood Partnership will support IMAS research programs with existing cash or in-kind sponsorship from Tasmanian industry research partners (industry) or the Sustainable Marine Research Collaborative Agreement (SMRCA). The funding is being made available to extend financial support through a series of small grants for 12 month research programs at honours and masters level or components of PhD programs, with the aim to add value and extend outcomes from existing marine biodiversity and Tasmanian seafood industry research. Funded by: Southern Regional Natural Resource Management Association Inc (NRM South) ($25,000); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $59,309; Offshore aquaculture initiatives are increasing globally but relevant production biology research may or may not be aligned with technology, commercial needs or offshore environments. The aim is to identify knowledge gaps and prioritise BE CRC research by scoping research relevant to key production biology challenges and to available and emerging technology. The benefits will be directly relevant to offshore salmon farming in Australia and NZ. Salmon farming is more advanced than other systems and sectors so knowledge gained will be transferable to other production systems including IMTA and components and to systems for sub-tropical and tropical regions. Funded by: Blue Economy CRC Co - Scoping Study Projects ($59,309); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $49,972; The ecosystem of a future blue economy (BE) consists of sectors including offshore aquaculture, offshore engineering, marine transport, ports, marine construction and supply, and marine renewable energy. The co-locating and/or integrating of aquaculture and marine renewable energy offshore requires an efficient, effective and coordinated logistics system to support its sustainability. The multiple sectors in the BE system complicates the logistics network and could result in business challenges in relation to, for example, shipping, transport infrastructure, storage design, policy (e.g. marine management protection), and regulation (e.g. safety and security). To address the above-mentioned challenges, it is important to understand the end-to end supply chains within the BE. Therefore, this project, firstly, aims to identify and map the supply chains within the BE. This will help companies better operate along their supply chains for performance improvement; appreciate customer demand patterns and customer preferences to optimise production plans and maximise revenue; and respond to sustainability requirements and therefore better engage with customers by providing demonstrable evidence, such as sustainable practices along these supply chains. Secondly, this project explores potential challenges of the offshore co-location of aquaculture and energy business development to develop an integrated and planned approach to managing the integrated supply chains. As such, there are two research questions (RQ): RQ1: What type of general framework is suitable for mapping supply chains within the BE? RQ2: What are the potential logistics challenges and opportunities to developing offshore co-location of aquaculture and energy sectors? In answering the research questions, this project will achieve the following objectives: 1. Developing a general framework as for mapping supply chains within the BE, including process mapping approach and data collection tools; 2. Identifying the current challenges and opportunities in offshore aquaculture and energy supply chains; 3. Identifying current and emerging infrastructure/operations/people/technological solutions of adopting integrated and coordinated approaches by multiple firms in both offshore aquaculture and energy supply chains; and 4. Charting directions to prepare industry sectors for potential logistics challenges to the offshore co-location of aquaculture and energy business development. The outcomes of this project will inform further research in developing an integrated and planned approach to managing supply chains. This relates to the identification of potential synergies between marine and offshore energy and aquaculture systems, which is output 5.2 of program 5 of the BE CRC. This project is also relevant to the remaining 4 programs of the BE CRC as logistics management is a critical factor to the success of each sector within the blue economy (RPs1-4) for production and decision making. The context of this research project is based on international studies on offshore aquaculture operations and offshore energy operations within the BE. It also relates to international studies on co-existence between offshore aquaculture and energy sectors conducted mainly in Europe, such as Germany, UK, Belgian, and Spain (e.g. Karmakar & Soares, 2015; de Groot, Campbell, Ashley & Rodwell, 2014; Weiss, Ondiviela, Guinda, Jesus, Gonzlez, Guanche & Juanes, 2018). This research will provide incremental and pote Funded by: Blue Economy CRC Co - Scoping Study Projects ($49,972); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $5,856; In an aquaculture setting, female Tasmanian salmon (Salmo salar) broodstock may be managed using one of two strategies in the lead up to manual strip spawning (egg collection). The first strategy utilises indoor recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), which allows fine control of water quality parameters, including temperature. For the second strategy, fish are maintained in outdoor flow-through (FT) systems where it is not possible/practical to control water temperature. While there are many advantages to using RAS, the significant initial investment required, and the ongoing cost of maintaining these systems has been a barrier to achieving 100% RAS during the (freshwater) FW phase in Tasmania. While the running costs are lower for FT systems, the downside is that fish may be exposed to higher-than optimal temperatures in summer, which has a deleterious impact on physiology and subsequent reproductive performance. Despite the importance of egg quality for offspring survival and performance, egg content at spawning/stripping is a relatively under-explored area of fish biology. For example, significant differences in egg protein and fatty acid abundance and diversity have been noted for some fish species between batches of high and low quality eggs, yet there have been no studies characterising the impact of high maternal temperature on these parameters in fish. Without detailed information regarding deficiencies or imbalances in egg content, development of mitigation strategies (e.g. diet optimisation) would largely be guesswork. Therefore, the overarching aim of this project is to understand how culture conditions impact Atlantic salmon egg protein and fatty acid content. Funded by: Petuna Aquaclture Pty Ltd ($5,856); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $107,616; Skeletal deformities in cultured fish species are a recurrent production issue requiring further understanding to implement practical mitigation approaches. Skeletal deformities are a significant welfare concern given their disabling effect on affected fish which can lead to impaired growth and mortality. Product downgrades are associated with deformity where inefficient processing lead to reduced yield, and reduced saleability. Skeletal deformities (inclusive of spinal and jaw deformities), can affect up to 30% of farmed triploid Atlantic salmon populations. It was previously reported (FRDC project 2014-248) skeletal deformity of Atlantic salmon has a significant impact for the Tasmanian industry for the higher volume of triploid populations grown by Petuna Seafoods in Macquarie Harbour. It is critical that high quality triploid stocks can be grown rapidly and reliably to avoid significant economic losses imparted by poor performance, removal of deformed fish and product downgrades. It is equally essential that fish welfare is enhanced and maintained for these stocks. Triploid salmon have different requirements for dietary phosphorus (P) relative to diploids, during both freshwater and marine phases, and if fed a standard diploid salmon feed, triploids exhibit slower growth and higher occurrence/prevalence of skeletal anomalies. Furthermore, triploids have different gut morphology relative to diploids and it is suggested that triploid digestive efficiency, growth and welfare outcomes vary significantly from diploid salmon. These observations encouraged feed producers to develop new solutions to cope with these dissimilarities and assist Atlantic salmon producers to improve welfare and commercial output particularly in triploid stocks. A tank-based longitudinal study will enable empirical quantification of phosphorus requirements under standardised and hatchery-relevant conditions during the freshwater growth phase of triploid Atlantic salmon. The study will maintain separate groups of fish with different dietary histories from first feeding until pre-smoltification and assess the consequence of diet history upon the rate of growth and prevalence of skeletal deformity prior to seawater readiness. The trial is designed to establish the effect of improved diet design to reduce skeletal deformity and optimise growth performance in Tasmanian stocks of Atlantic salmon. The aims of this project are to: - Determine the effect of different phosphorus inclusion levels on performance and deformity in a Tasmanian population of triploid Atlantic salmon in an experimental RAS. - Establish phosphorus requirements for Tasmanian triploid salmon during the freshwater phase using an inclusion break point design Funded by: BioMar Ltd ($107,616); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $41,210; The project covers consultancy projects conducted for Skretting Australia across fish nutrition, growth and health performance, and ingredient assessment studies Funded by: Skretting Australia ($41,210); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $11,554; Funded by: Skretting Australia ($11,554); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $92,606; Funded by: Skretting Australia ($92,606); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $70,000; Funded by: DSM Nutritional Products France ($10,000); Skretting Australia ($45,000); Van Diemen Aquaculture Pty Ltd ($15,000); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $8,756; Funded by: Skretting Australia ($8,756); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $19,336; Funded by: South Australian Research and Development Institute ($19,336); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $6,300; Funded by: Leigh Atkinson ($6,300); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $37,131; This project provides an assessment of bioactive feed ingredients and immunostimulants to improve prawn health and growth performance. The project seeks to identify potential bioactive ingredients for use as feed supplements or nutrient sources that lower disease-related stress and provide enhanced growth performance in black tiger prawns (Penaeus monodon) when faced with challenge from viral or bacterial pathogens. Funded by: Marinova Pty Ltd - Agreement ($12,377); Australian Prawn Farmers Association ($12,377); Ridley AgriProducts Pty Ltd ($12,377); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $81,796; The overall aim of this project is to improve our understanding of prawn (black tiger prawn, Penaeus monodon) nutrition during suboptimal conditions. During late stages of prawn production, farms are often subject to high rainfall events which rapidly reduce both salinity and temperature for extended periods of time. Prawn growth rates are reduced when exposed to suboptimal water quality for a range of reasons including changed feeding patterns and stress to animals. Funded by: Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre - Scholarship-Postgraduate Research ($81,796); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $9,134; Funded by: University of Tasmania - Grant-Institutional Research Scheme; University of Tasmania ($9,134).

Project Total: $98,396; Funded by: Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre - Scholarship-Postgraduate Research ($98,396); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $42,996; Funded by: Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania - Institutional Partnership ($42,996); University of Tasmania.