Who We Are At The Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre

Did you know that the seafood industry is the sixth most valuable of Australia's food-based primary industries?

It has a gross value of production of $A2.05 billion in 2006-07, down from fourth ranking two years previously. Unfortunately the Australian seafood industry has longstanding "weaknesses" at many places along the value chain, stemming from market and institutional failure. A national approach to 'fixing the gaps' in the value chain was needed.

The Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre is Australia's first entity to stimulate and provide comprehensive seafood related research and development and industry leadership on a national basis. Its competitive advantage is:

• It has the support of the industry's major wild-harvest and aquaculture sectors, key companies and industry leaders throughout the value chain, and the nation's leading fisheries, aquaculture and seafood research institutes
• It is improving on the succesful collaboration and knowledge gained from other Cooperative Research Centre's and programs such as those of the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
• It is building on exisiting industry and government infrastructure investments to address institutional and market failures in the seafood industry and it will more efficiently achieve outcomes needed by end-users and other beneficiaries
• It is attracting and developing research and vocational capabilities required to support the value chain beyond production

These advantages enable the Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre to advance research in seafood well beyond what is currently being undertaken. The planned outcome for the Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre as a whole is to increse profitability and value of the Australian seafood industry as well as, increase access to premium markets and increase demand for Australian seafood.

A $140 Million Initiative with $2.4 Billion in Benefits

Independent economic modelling has predicted that during the ten years from July 2007, the Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre will aim to directly and indirectly add $2.4 billion to the Australian ecomony and will generate a significant number of jobs with two thirds of them in rural and regional areas.