About Us

The Aquafin CRC is a research and education provider for the sustainable aquaculture of finfish in Australia. The main research emphasis is on Atlantic salmon and southern bluefin tuna. The Aquafin CRC is a joint venture of a large group of research institutions, universities, industry associations, companies and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. The Centre's effectiveness depends entirely on the collaborative efforts of these partners.

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Operating The Aquafin Cooperative Research Centre (CRC)

The organisation of the Aquafin CRC is built on and incorporates structures set up by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) to manage research on tuna and salmon, while also meeting the governance standards required under the Commonwealth CRCs Program.

Industry has a strong voice at every level in the organisation, to influence research planning, implementation and technology transfer. Research Program Leaders in the scientific disciplines (Production, Value Adding, Health, Environment and Technology Transfer/ Commercialisation) and the Education Program Leader provide for cross-species and inter-institutional co-operation throughout the CRC.

Aquafin CRC Reviewers take a tour of TAFI in Hobart

The FRDC has also provided the mechanism for tracking project progress and disbursing funds. This is based on the achievement of milestones and is underpinned by a general agreement between the FRDC and the CRC, which sets out the contributions made from the CRC grant and from the FRDC's funds, and by Project Charters between the CRC, FRDC and the research institution leading each project. The Project Charters not only document the project and its resources, but also the reporting, publication and commercialisation requirements of the CRC.

The CRC has prepared and distributed written policies to cover most aspects of CRC operations. These can be found by clicking on the "Policies & Procedures" link in the left hand menu.

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Structure And Management Of The Aquafin Cooperative Research Centre (CRC)

The Aquafin CRC is an unincorporated joint venture. It has an adjunct company, Aquafin CRC Pty Ltd, to act as the Contracting and Commercialisation Agent for commercially valuable intellectual property. The South Australian Research and Development Institute acts as the Centre Agent, providing the office, infrastructure and corporate financial systems.

The management structure comprises the Governing Board, Joint Management Advisory Committee and two Aquaculture Implementation Committees relating to the tuna and salmon industry sectors. The Board sets policy, approves strategies and ensure high quality performance of the CRC.

A quorum is more than one half of all members and most decisions are by a simple majority. The Chair has a deliberative and if necessary, a casting vote.

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The Aquafin Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Board

The Board currently comprises eight members, with an independent Chair. They are as follows:

Back (L to R) - Tim Moltmann, Peter Dundas-Smith, Peter Montague, Pheroze Jungalwalla and Anthony Cheshire

Front row (L to R) - Colin Buxton, Patrick Hone and Brian Jeffriess

Peter Dundas-Smith	Chair. (Independent)*.
Brian Jeffriess	Appointee of Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association. (User of CRC research).
Pheroze Jungalwalla	Appointee of Tasmanian Salmonid Growers Association. (User of CRC research).
Dr Patrick Hone	Appointee of Fisheries and Research Development Corporation. (Investor in R&D).
Prof Medhi Doroudi	Appointee of Minister of Agriculture, Food & Fisheries, SA. (Research provider).
Prof Colin Buxton	Appointee of University of Tasmania. (Research provider).
Tim Moltmann	Appointee of CSIRO. (Research provider).
Dr Peter Montague	Chief Executive Officer of the CRC. (Independent).

* Peter Shelley from Tasmanian Quality Foods was the Chair of the Aquafin CRC from 2001-2005.

For the Board's meeting timetable, please click here

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Aquaculture Implementation Committees ( AIC)

The AIC's for southern bluefin tuna and for Atlantic salmon are essentially existing committees formed under the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation subprograms for these species. There are some additional members nominated by the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) to enable them to meet specific needs. This provides a close integration of the CRC with existing structures and avoids duplication. It provides for a high level of industry input into our management.

AIC's are responsible for involving the industry Participants in the design, conduct and evaluation of CRC activities and for advising on technology transfer to users, and meet at least twice annually. The CRC has not yet found it necessary to form additional AIC's to service other finfish sectors.

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Researching the pathophysiology of amoebic gill disease in Atlantic salmon

Joint Management Advisory Committee (JMAC)

JMAC comprises the Cooperative Research Centre's (CRC) Program Leaders of Production, Value-Adding, Health, Environment and Education and Training, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation's (FRDC) Program Manager, two industry members, and one representative of the smaller Participants in the CRC. The committee is chaired by the Aquafin CRC Visitor Professor Malcolm Oades.

JMAC's role is principally to encourage collaboration throughout the CRC, by linking scientific disciplines and industry sectors together, to manage projects on species other than salmon and tuna, and to support the education and training activities of the CRC.

Some of the Aquafin CRC JMAC Members

Currently, the JMAC members are:

Professor Malcolm Oades	Aquafin CRC Visitor and Chair
Dr Peter Montague	Chief Executive Officer of Aquafin CRC
Steven Clarke	Aquafin CRC's Production and Value-Adding Program Leader
Prof Barbara Nowak	Aquafin CRC's Health Program Leader
Dr John Volkman	Aquafin CRC's Environment Program Leader
Professor Chris Carter	Aquafin CRC's Education and Training Program Leader
Dr Stewart Fielder	Member from New South Wales Department of Primary Industries
Dr Patrick Hone	Member from the FRDC
Daryl Evans	General Manager from Marnikol Fisheries Pty Ltd
Dr Harry King	Operations Manager from Salmon Enterprises of Tasmania Pty Ltd (SALTAS)

For JMAC's meeting timetable, please click here

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