R&D Plan Outcome 3: A culture that is inclusive and forward thinking

A fishing and aquaculture community that is cooperative, diverse and well equipped to enable growth and adaptability in a complex and uncertain world


Icon‘Culture’ describes an emergent pattern of behaviours and responses adopted by a group over time, which they consider to be the ‘correct’ way to perceive, feel, think and act. Culture reflects what a group stands for, what they consider to be right and wrong, and is shaped by the rules, systems and protocols of their surroundings.

Working to address the dynamics that affect fishing and aquaculture today — such as market volatility, evolving societal beliefs, climate-driven ecological changes and technological disruption — will require a culture that is focused on solutions, resourceful and willing to be collaborative.

To change culture, you must modify what shaped it in the first place. This means identifying the underlying beliefs, relationships and norms that are influencing decision making and challenging assumptions and expectations. this requires developing new ways of working together.

To assist, the FRDC will explore opportunities to invest in and manage adoption of R&D research to:

  • understand and address factors that hold back positive cultural and behavioural change,
  • promote greater inclusiveness, creative thought and solution seeking,
  • support sharing among stakeholders so that others can learn from those who are already producing promising results,
  • encourage openness to new ideas, approaches and ways of thinking and behaving, recognising that needs may differ among sectors,
  • strengthen collaboration across sectors to enable the full benefit of collaborative partnerships.


The FRDC will also aim to modify how it identifies and solves problems by engaging a range of collaborators to tackle ambitious challenges together. this may mean accepting new tolerances for risk and realising that experimentation can fail or come up with unexpected results, but will always provide opportunities for learning.

An image of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals this Outcome is aligned with: 5, 9, 10 & 14.

THE FUTURE: Playing it safe
Fatalities in fishing and aquaculture make it one of the most dangerous occupations and recreational pursuits in Australia. Changing the ‘culture’ so that safety is viewed as an investment rather than a cost will require reshaping current values, attitudes and behaviours. It will involve establishing an environment where some behaviours are ‘easy’ and others are ‘hard’. Rewarding ‘desired’ behaviours, discouraging those that are ‘negative’ will bring about incremental new ways of behaving and aim to ensure positive actions and practices are socially reinforced.

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