Fisheries Research and Development Corporation

Published: 30 June 2026 Updated: 1 July 2026 Back to News DATE 25 Jun 2026 FEEDBACK/STORY SUGGESTIONS Blair Ewart Communication Officer +61 2 6122 2129 [email protected] The Sydney Rock Oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) is one of Australia's great culinary icons, but also one of its most quietly vulnerable industries. For decades, oyster farmers along the New South Wales coast have managed their crops in the shadow of a disease that can appear without warning and devastate a season almost overnight.

Published: 27 January 2026 Updated: 29 January 2026 Back to News DATE 28 Jan 2026 FEEDBACK/STORY SUGGESTIONS Dempsey Ward Communication Coordinator +61 2 6122 2134 dempsey.ward@frdc.com.au L to R: IRG members Craig Aspinall, Shane Holland, Delahay Miller, Frank Procter, Dennis Ah-Kee, Ashley Perez, Bryan Denny, Samantha Coates, Bo Carne, a former IRG member and Stan Lui. Credit: David Maynard.

With Australia’s aquaculture sector growing, safety remains in equal focus. Australia’s strong food safety record depends on the skilled people at every level of the system, particularly in the case of bivalve shellfish (such as Mussels and Oysters), among the highest-risk foods globally. That challenge sits at the heart of an FRDC and Oysters Australia project led by the University of Tasmania’s (UTAS) Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) (Project 2021-053).

Published: 27 January 2026 Updated: 29 January 2026 Back to News DATE 28 Jan 2026 FEEDBACK/STORY SUGGESTIONS Dempsey Ward Communication Coordinator +61 2 6122 2134 dempsey.ward@frdc.com.au Narrow Sawfish (Anoxypristis cuspidata) is among one of world’s five sawfish species. Credit: CSIRO. Hot, balmy and tropical, northern Australia is not only a canvas for breathtaking natural landscapes, but it is also one of the last places on Earth where sawfish are found.

Southeast Australia is one of the world’s warming ocean hotspots. As water temperatures increase, fish grow differently, mature at new ages and turn up in new places. Given these changes in environmental conditions, some biological data used in stock assessments may need to be reviewed and updated.

Published: 27 January 2026 Updated: 27 January 2026 Back to News DATE 28 Jan 2026 FEEDBACK/STORY SUGGESTIONS Dempsey Ward Communication Coordinator +61 2 6122 2134 dempsey.ward@frdc.com.au For decades, Pipe Clay Lagoon in southern Tasmania was one of the state’s most productive areas for Pacific Oyster (Magallana gigas) farming. Sheltered, well-flushed and reliable, it supported local growers and their livelihoods. Then, gradually, things began to change. Oyster leases in Pipe Clay Lagoon.

Like most Australian summers’ there have already been some extreme weather conditions. In January alone, most of Australia has experienced soaring temperatures, with experts anticipating the worst heatwave since the devastating black summer bushfires in 2019-20. Sadly, our marine ecosystems have not been immune with significant marine heatwaves extending around our coastline over the last twelve months.

Fisheries Technician Nick Stratford, who was involved in FRDC project 2019-062, holding an egg-bearing and satellite tagged female Giant Mud Crab in Missionary Bay, northern Hinchinbrook Island, Queensland. Credit: Department of Primary Industries (DPI). A top tier catch in Australia’s north, Giant Mud Crabs are revered for their rich, sweet, full-bodied flavour. Over the last decade the true stock mass of this species has fluctuated, so in 2021, Queensland introduced a formal harvest strategy.

In a sector where timing, visibility and efficiency are vital, finding schools of Southern Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) can often be a challenge for South Australian (SA) Tuna fishers. As waters warm and conditions shift, Tuna can move further offshore and surface for shorter periods, often disappearing before fishers can reach them.

The Victorian commercial Pipi (Donax deltoides) fishery has traditionally been smaller than the South Australia’s Coorong region Pipi fishery. However, over the past two decades it has expanded, as demand for fresh, locally caught Pipis for human consumption has grown. To better understand the fishery’s scale, needs and long-term future, researchers surveyed pipis populations in Discovery Bay and Venus Bay as part of FRDC project 2018-056.