MISA Overview
Marine Innovation SA (MISA) aims to position South Australia as a world class centre for marine science, education and industry development.
Innovation – for the good of the State
In South Australia the fisheries and aquaculture industries comprise the State’s sixth largest export sector. In 2003-04 the seafood industry was valued at around $780 million. This encompasses aquaculture production of $187 million, wild catch worth $185 million and a value-added component of around $408 million.
The industry directly and indirectly provides around 6000 jobs, the majority of them being in regional areas. The SA Seafood Food Plan, announced in early 2005, seeks to increase the industry’s value to $2 billion by 2015. As well, an additional 3500 direct and indirect jobs are expected to be created by 2010. Innovation will drive this future. Research and development bodies, educational institutions and industry have joined with the State Government to help make this happen.
Marine Innovation SA (MISA) will expand SA’s marine research capabilities, technology transfer and education and training pathways, to foster substantial growth in the fisheries and aquaculture industries. The program has the potential to generate tens of millions of dollars in income for South Australia, particularly in regional communities.
It is predicted that investment in MISA will ultimately deliver around $700 million in commercial benefits through increased efficiencies in the seafood industries and in the development of new industries. MISA’s vision is to establish South Australia as the internationally recognised centre for excellence in southern temperate marine research and development.
Momentum through collaboration
The program is an initiative of the South Australian Government, representing a partnership between the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), Flinders University, University of Adelaide, the South Australian Museum, seafood industries and regional communities. By integrating existing expertise and infrastructure in the education and research sectors and providing a basis for better collaboration between the partners, MISA will deliver the best outcomes for South Australia’s seafood industry and protect its precious marine environment.
MISA will focus on four high priority research areas to support the ecologically sustainable development of South Australia’s fisheries, aquaculture and marine eco-tourism industries:
- Seafood product quality and value-adding
- Aquaculture innovation
- Ecosystem services
- Biosecurity
Benefits
The MISA partners will collectively spend $25.8 million on research over the next five years to 2009, with the State Government contributing $13.7 million. Activities will be focused at MISA’s two main sites - the South Australian Aquatic Sciences Centre (SAASC) at West Beach in the metropolitan area of Adelaide and the Lincoln Marine Science Centre.
The MISA program reflects the projected growth in the State’s marine industries and will have significant benefits for Eyre Peninsula and the Upper Spencer Gulf fisheries and aquaculture region, with flow-ons to the other South Australian coastal regions. MISA’s world class facilities will attract significant new marine education, research, eco-tourism and employment opportunities to the region, and underpin industry innovation and sustainable development.
Substantial MISA activities will be based at Australia’s major fishing port, Port Lincoln, on the Eyre Peninsula, with a planned $4.8 million expansion of the Flinders University’s Lincoln Marine Science Centre. The Centre already provides tertiary level education in marine biology, marine ecology, oceanography and aquaculture. The development will initially double the size of the current facility. It is envisaged that the size of the facility will increase six fold by 2020.
An increased concentration of high level scientists, leading edge research facilities and closer linkages between SARDI, Flinders University, and vocational training sectors will provide enhanced and more attractive higher education pathways and industry training courses. Direct employment in Port Lincoln related to the MISA initiative is forecast to rise more than five fold by 2020 to provide 250 positions for researchers and teachers.
A critical element of MISA will be the construction of a large aquatic biological containment facility at the SAASC to address biosecurity threats to our marine resources. This will be the most advanced facility of its type in the Southern Hemisphere and will position South Australia as Australia’s key provider of research into invasive marine species and fish diseases.
MISA moving forward
The way forward for MISA has been developed by research partners, industry and government. Together they have identified current capabilities and collaborative opportunities, and pinpointed research and capability gaps that need to be addressed.
The State’s marine research capability will be developed in key areas including:
- market science
- product development
- fish health
- plankton research
- risk analysis
- oceanographic and ecosystem modelling
- marine engineering.
By integrating SA’s research, education, technology and information transfer, MISA partners will focus on high priority research across four main areas:
Seafood quality and value-adding
Increasing the unit value of SA seafood opens the most significant opportunities for growth in the value of the seafood industry. This involves the creation of new products and processes, understanding both the domestic and export seafood markets, providing the best quality, healthy seafood and responding to consumers needs.
New capability to expand SA’s research potential and establish South Australia as a national centre for seafood product development will be established in the fields of:
- market science
- market analysis
- quality systems development
- supply logistics
- traceability IT
- food processing
- packaging engineering
- seafood technology and engineering
- seafood microbiology
- seafood biochemistry and physiology.
These research activities will be coordinated across a number of agencies including SARDI, Flinders University’s School of Biological Sciences, PIRSA’s shellfish quality assurance program and Food SA programs, TAFE, and the University of South Australia’s Marketing Science Centre as well as seafood producers and processors.
Aquaculture Innovation
Aquaculture is the controlled cultivation of fish or shellfish such as tuna, yellowtail kingfish, oysters and abalone, leading to a more intensive production of the fish than is possible in the wild. It is the area that offers the greatest scope for creating new industries and significantly increasing seafood production. MISA Aquaculture Innovation will find new ways to increase the value and volume of seafood aquaculture in SA, as well as improve its pre-harvest quality.
Substantial aquaculture research capability already exists within South Australia. MISA will help the State move forward by establishing new capability for both sea-based and inland aquaculture with an emphasis on:
- fish health
- marine engineering
- socio-economics
- ecosystem modelling
- market science
- nutrition
- genetics and biotechnology
- production efficiencies
- feed technology
New infrastructure including the substantial expansion of the Lincoln Marine Science Centre will be developed to support this research. MISA Aquaculture Innovation will complement and, where appropriate, support initiatives to diversify South Australia’s aquaculture farming enterprises. MISA will also help generate new industries based on inland aquaculture and integrated biosystems that exploit alternative streams such as saline groundwater and wastewater from other aquaculture systems, to produce new products.
Ecosystem Services
SA’s estuarine and marine waters encompass an enormous area and many diverse ecosystems including the Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth, SA’s unique gulfs, numerous off-shore islands and a large portion of the Great Australian Bight. MISA Ecosystem Services will establish the infrastructure and scientific capability to ensure that the interaction and effects of the fishing, aquaculture and eco-tourism industries on the marine environment are understood and managed appropriately.
MISA will provide the capability to establish large scale, ongoing, multi-disciplinary research that will involve broad-scale baseline monitoring, focused assessments of individual industries, investigations of ecological processes and data integration and modelling. Additional capability will be established in the areas of:
- ecosystems modelling
- oceanography
- marine chemistry
- biogeochemistry
- seagrass ecology
- plankton biology
- ecology of large vertebrates
- ecological monitoring
MISA will also work to establish several marine research platforms for work in coastal waters and shelf areas to 200 metres, including ocean sensor systems and high-resolution spatial data.
Biosecurity
Invasive marine species and fish diseases threaten our aquatic ecosystems, fishing industries, exports and even our lifestyle. The management of marine pests into our waters such as Caulerpa taxifolia, sabellid worm and toxic phytoplankton, is a relatively new area of marine research in SA. A critical element of MISA will be the construction of a large aquatic biological containment facility at the South Australian Aquatic Sciences Centre (SAASC).
MISA biosecurity research will cover:
- marine pests
- fish pathogens and parasites
- nuisance and toxic microalgae
Many research stakeholders already undertake research within these topics. MISA will ensure better coordination and collaboration, and expand research in the areas of:
- spatial risk analysis
- marine micro-algal physiology
- multi-disciplinary ecology
- invertebrate taxonomy
- biological control-design and development
- fish veterinary science
- genetics
- operational and marine engineering
DNA-based molecular diagnostic testing capabilities will be extended to provide a national facility for identifying and quantifying pathogens, parasites and marine pests in ballast water.
Contacts
Chief Scientist
SA Aquatic Sciences Centre
2 Hamra Ave
West Beach SA 5024
Phone: (08) 8207 5400
Fax: (08) 8207 5406
Director
Lincoln Marine Science Centre
Flinders University
Sturt Road
Bedford Park SA 5042
Phone: (08) 8201 5021
Fax: (08) 8201 3015
Lecturer / Manager
Lincoln Marine Science Centre
Kirton Point
Port Lincoln SA 5606
Phone: (08) 8683 2561
Fax: (08) 8683 2525