Oral Presentation Australian Society for Fish Biology Conference 2024

Sea Change Australia: Co-developing Climate Adaptation Pathways for Australia’s Fisheries and Aquaculture (111237)

Gretta Pecl 1 2 , Rachel Kelly 1 2 , Liam Fullbrook 1 2 , Julia Santana Garcon 1 2 , Jess Melbourne-Thomas 2 3 , Fred Bailleul 4 , Arani Chandrapavan 5 , Katie Cresswell 2 , Maree Fudge 2 , Aysha Fleming 2 3 , Klaas Hartmann 1 2 , Jason Hartog 3 , Gary Jackson 5 , Gabi Mocatta 2 , Emily Ogier 1 2 , Sean Tracey 1 2 , Beth Fulton 2 3
  1. Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania (UTAS), Sandy Bay, TAS, Australia
  2. Centre of Marine Socioecology (CMS), University of Tasmania (UTAS), Sandy Bay, TAS, Australia
  3. CSIRO, Hobart, Australia
  4. South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  5. Western Australian Fisheries & Marine Research Laboratories, Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), Perth, Western Australia, Australia

This presentation introduces the Sea Change Australia project, a nationwide initiative aimed at co-developing climate adaptation pathways for fisheries and aquaculture in Australia. Despite the availability of extensive information on marine climate change, the uptake of planned adaptation responses within most sectors has been slow. Sea Change Australia addresses this gap by engaging stakeholders to understand autonomous adaptations and identify barriers to further adaptation. The project employs a two-way knowledge exchange between industry representatives, operators, managers, and the marine climate change impacts and adaptation research sector. This approach ensures that climate solutions for fisheries and aquaculture are co-designed, usable, and adoptable. The project also assesses the agility of industries to respond and adapt constructively to climate change and extreme events. Sea Change Australia will work with 12 case-study fisheries and aquaculture operations from around the country to systematically assess the agility of industries to respond and adapt constructively to climate change and extreme events. This approach will help identify key factors that influence resilience and adaptation in fisheries and aquaculture, thereby promoting industry agility to adapt to climate change. By sharing success stories of adaptation, Sea Change Australia aims to motivate action and create a sense of optimism and agency within the Australian seafood sector. This project represents a significant step towards building climate-ready communities and stimulating economic resilience in the face of a changing climate.