Stakeholders
South Australia's fisheries resources support significant commercial fishing activity, recreational fishing and some subsistence and traditional fishing. The nature of fish and their habitats means that fisheries resources are also of direct interest to a wide range of other stakeholders, including environmental groups, resource managers, researchers, indigenous and community groups.
SAFRAB works to ensure that the interests of all stakeholder groups are properly balanced when determining appropriate R&D programs that support sustainable development of the resources. The Board is also mindful of the terms of the Fisheries Act (2007) , notably Section 7, that states the principle objectives to:
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ensure, through proper conservation, preservation, and management measures, are to be implemented to protect the aquatic resources of the State from over-exploitation and ensure that those resources are not endangered.
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access to the aquatic resources of the State is to be allocated between users of the resources in a manner that achieves optimum utilisation and equitable distribution of those resources to the benefit of the community.
Thus, the role of Government, as custodian of the resources, is to ensure its long term sustainability, and, within this mandate, maximise the economic return to the community from the resources and share the resources equitably amongst all user groups.
Equitable sharing and deriving maximum economic, social & environmental benefits are the key elements that guide the operations of SAFRAB and the Board maintains close links with key stakeholder groups including:
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South Australian Fishing Industry Council (SAFIC);
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Seafood Council (SA) Inc (SCSA);
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South Australian Recreational Fishing Advisory Council (SARFAC)
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The Conservation Council of SA (CCSA);
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Marine and Coastal Community Network (MCCN);
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The Aquaculture Advisory Council (AAC);
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Fishery Management Committees (FMCs);
The Board also encourages broad collaboration between Regional Development Boards, Local Councils, Fishing and Aquaculture Sector Associations, and the community-at-large when defining R&D priorities and translating these priorities into effective projects that will deliver practical and timely outcomes.
A key stakeholder is the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), based in Canberra. FRDC influences about 60% of the cost of all fisheries and aquaculture R&D across the States and Commonwealth waters and funding decisions are strongly influenced by advice provided by the various Fisheries Research Advisory Bodies (FRABs). It is emphasised that FRDC will not formally consider funding applications until advice has been provided by the relevant FRABs.
