Dr Roshni Subramaniam1, Dr Fabio Boschetti, Dr Eva Plaganyi, Miss Melodie Ruwet, Dr Peggy Schrobback, Dr Jessica Melbourne-Thomas
1CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere, Hobart, Australia
At CSIRO, she is investigating the resilience and sustainability of Australia’s seafood supply chains. As disruptions, or shocks, become more frequent across social, economic and ecological domains, building resilient and sustainable systems to better respond to these disruptions is critical.
Australian temperate reefs are vulnerable to environmental extremes that disrupt the functioning of the ecosystem and associated coastal communities. Impacts can cascade from inhabitant species to their connected fisheries and supply chains. These connections also make reef species vulnerable to socio-economic disruptions (such as pandemics or economic disruptions) that change the way humans interact with reef systems. Rock lobster fisheries in particular are important high-value fisheries in Australia that encompass both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. Rock lobster is supplied both domestically and internationally, with the export market providing significant financial benefits for the industry.
Remaining resilient under disruption, while also being sustainable, is essential for continued seafood supply in a changing world. However, despite the wide application of resilience thinking to sustainability research and the multiple dimensions of social-ecological sustainability (e.g. carbon and water footprints, biodiversity impacts, pollution, wellbeing, equity and economic sustainability), it can be difficult to ascertain how to make a supply chain both resilient and sustainable. Additionally, stakeholder experiences and perspectives of resilience and sustainability may differ from researcher perspectives, which needs to be addressed to arrive at robust management approaches.
This study uses co-design and co-production approaches for developing and testing models and indicators of supply chain resilience and sustainability by engaging with stakeholders along each stage of the rock lobster supply chain (producer, processor, wholesaler and retailer). We present results from interviews with stakeholders and preliminary results on model and indicator development.
Biography:
Roshni Subramaniam is a CERC Postdoctoral Fellow at CSIRO. She has a strong interest in the dynamics of marine social-ecological systems and has sought to understand how human pressures and environmental change are impacting Antarctic and temperate marine ecosystems. She has applied qualitative and quantitative models to detect, manage and predict spatio-temporal changes in ecosystem structure and function.
