Cooperative Linkages

The Centre continues to build cooperative links with industry, reef managers, policy makers, researchers and community groups in Australia and overseas. While opportunities to apply research results and to involve skilled staff in Centre activities are major drivers, effort to widen participation in the development of tasks and information transfer remains an imperative against which the Centre is demonstrating significant achievements.

Members of the volunteer Order of Underwater Coral Heroes (OUCH), who took part in a mooring and marker buoy program in the Whitsundays.

In-Centre Cooperation

Effective links with different organisations and key individuals has resulted in strong internal cooperation within the Centre and has enhanced ownership of the Centre and its activities by external users. We have further harnessed expertise, information and experience in the delivery of research and contributed to strategic development, planning and operational capability by industry (Cairns sector Reef Tourism - RT2005) and management agencies (management plans developed by GBRMPA and Queensland Department of Environment).

Fisheries links to the Queensland Commercial Fishermen's Organisation, SUNFISH and Queensland Fisheries Management Authority have been strongly enhanced this year. Alliances are being forged with six other CRCs where there is a capacity to apply our collective specialist skills to Reef issues. Association partnership arrangements are being pursued to formally link the Centre into a number of key agencies and peak bodies which have major or long-standing cooperative association with the Centre.

Peak industry groups and management agencies are a focus for much of our collaborative activities. Through these, the Centre has developed close working relationships with many individual operations - mostly small to medium business enterprises (SMEs). Increased relevance and effective information transfer is resulting from deliberate efforts to forge close working relationships between individuals over issues-tasks-outcomes alignments. Mentoring cooperative links is fundamental to the successful action and performance of the Centre. Without these developments our research effectiveness would be lessened and the value-adding of the Centre partnerships would be diminished.

Briefings on the application of Centre and CRC Program research were given to federal and state parliamentarians, senior policy makers and industry leaders. In addition, the Centre has been involved in submissions and meetings with parliamentary committees and inquiries. In November and February, federal Members were briefed on the Effects of Line Fishing experiment. In April, several federal members and senior portfolio administrators were briefed on the new screw anchor mooring system for coral reefs. In June, Queensland parliamentarians and industry groups were briefed on research outcomes which have enhanced the Reef tourism industry and its sustainability. Plans are underway to increase parliamentary and industry briefings on key science issues in association with other CRCs.

A number of regional workshops has strengthened collaborative linkages with client groups during the year. For example, tourism industry training workshops to present a database that helps segment different domestic, international and special interest visitor groups to the Reef have linked more SMEs to the Centre. Similarly, Centre science briefings to regional advisory groups and state management agencies have cemented strong professional working relationships.

The Centre provides information and products to more than 1000 SMEs in tourism, fishing and engineering, mostly through peak associations such as AMPTO and QCFO. Some 115 SMEs are directly involved in our research enterprise with wide support in field work given by operators, for example, the tourist operators in COTSwatch, consultant engineers and marine surveyors in engineering guideline development and the commercial line fishing fleet in the Effects of Fishing experiment.

The Centre has continued to receive strong operational support from industry in the form of logistics and personnel. Product and equipment companies are contributing to our ability to carry out cost effective research by providing instrumentation and consumables. In particular, Yamaha Australia and Bob Littler Agencies have assisted the Effects of Fishing experiment by supplying fully equipped fishing dories.

To recognise significant collaboration and support by private companies to Centre research, special Research Affiliate certificates were developed and presented to companies in Port Douglas and Cairns region. Eight tourist operators and one marine engineering company each received Research Affiliate awards during an industry function in February. The Chairman, Sir Sydney Williams, presented the certificates to Great Adventures, Sunlover Cruises, Wavelength, Ocean Spirit Cruises, Quicksilver Connections, Rum Runner, Captain Cook Cruises, Quicksilver Diving Services and G.A. Glanville & Co. in recognition of their support to Centre projects in the form of travel, accommodation, technical expertise and use of facilities by researchers and postgraduate students. Awards are being made to companies in other regions.

External Collaboration

Nationally, the Centre was associated with more than 115 organisations, including:

• fourteen Australian Universities & TAFE colleges
  (Australian National University; Central Queensland University; Curtin University; Griffith University; James Cook University of North Queensland; Newcastle University; Southern Cross University; University of Adelaide; University of New England; University of New South Wales; University of Queensland; University of Sydney; University of Western Australia and Queensland TAFEs).

• sixteen CRCs, CSIRO & Marine Research Agencies
  (Australian Institute of Marine Science; Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation; Australian Geological Survey Organisation; CRC for the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Environment; CRC for Aquaculture; CRC for Sustainable Sugar Production; CRC for Sustainable Tourism; CRC for Tropical Rainforest Ecology & Management; CRC for the Sustainable Development of Tropical Savannas; CSIRO HERBERT; CSIRO Land & Water; CSIRO Marine Research; CSIRO Tropical Agriculture; CSIRO Wildlife & Ecology; Lizard Island Research Station; One Tree Island Research Station).

• fifteen State Government Departments and Corporations
  (Bureau of Sugar Experimental Stations; New South Wales Fisheries Institute; Ports Corporation of Queensland; Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries; Queensland Department of Environment; Queensland Department of Natural Resources; Queensland Department of Tourism, Industry & Small Business; Queensland Fisheries Management Authority; Queensland Fishing & Boating Patrol (Cairns - Rockhampton); Queensland Premier's Department; Queensland Tourism and Travel Corporation; ReefMAC; South Australian Research & Development Institute; South Australian Environmental Protection Authority; Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority).

• sixteen Commonwealth Departments and corporations
  (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics; Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research; Australian Marine Science & Technology Ltd; Australian Bureau of Statistics; Australian Quarantine Inspection Service; Australian Tourist Commission; Bureau of Tourism Research; Coastwatch; Commonwealth Department of Tourism; Department of Environment Sport & Territories; Department of Industry Science & Tourism; Energy Research & Development Corporation; Fisheries Research & Development Corporation; Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority; INTROMARC; Office of National Tourism).

• sixteen local Government & consultative organisations
  (Alliance for Sustainable Tourism; Australian Coral Reef Society; Australian Marine Science Association; Cairns City Council; Ecotourism Association; Federation of Australian Science and Technology Societies; Gladstone Port Authority; Herbert River Catchment Management Centre; Order of Underwater Coral Heroes; Rockhampton City Council; Regional Marine Resource Advisory Committees; SUNFISH; Townsville Enterprise; Townsville Port Authority; Trinity Inlet Management Program; Zonal Advisory Committees).

• forty two private companies and industry groups
  (Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators; Captain Cook Cruises; FantaSea; Frankland Island Tours; Great Adventures; Hamilton Island P & O Resort; Hayman Island Resort; Lindeman Island Resort; Ocean Free; P & O Cruises; Pure Pleasure; Qantas Australian Resorts; Quicksilver Connections; Quicksilver Diving Services; Rumrunner; Sunlover Cruises; Undersea Explorer; Bob Littler Agencies; BP Australia; Canegrowers; Cape Flattery Silica Mines; Dames & Moore Consultants; GME Electronics; Kinhill Engineers Pty Ltd; Kinhill Riedel & Byrne; Kodak; Memtec; Pacific Marine Group; Prominent & Fluid Controls Pty Ltd; QEST Consultants; Robe River Iron, WA; SEA Consultants; UVS Ultraviolet Pty Ltd; Watertec Engineering Pty Ltd; Woodside Petroleum WA; Yamaha Australia; Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association; Commercial fishing operators; Consultant engineers; Queensland Charter Vessels Association; Queensland Commercial Fishermen's Organisation; Reef Tourism 2005).

Internationally, the Centre was closely associated with:

• ten organisations and programs
  (Food and Agriculture Organization; IBM International Foundation; International Panel on Climate Change; International Union of Biological Sciences; Pacific Asia Travel Association Foundation; US Geological Survey (Sirenia Project); Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone; ROPAC; TOPEX/Poseidon, NASA; TROPICS).

• eighteen universities and research institutions
  (CROBE, French Polynesia; Danish Hydraulic Institute, Denmark; Honam University, Korea; Institute of Nuclear & Geological Science, New Zealand; Jemboa University, Indonesia; North Carolina State University, USA; Purdue University, USA; Scottish Universities Research & Reactor Centre, UK; Texas A & M University, USA; University of East Anglia, UK; University of Genova, Italy; University of Hawaii; University of Perpignan, France; University of South Carolina, USA; University of Waikato, New Zealand; Virginia Polytechnic, USA; Vrije University, Netherlands; Xi'an Foreign Language University, China).

The Centre continued to implement an international strategy comprising two approaches. First, the Centre has focussed on strengthening its alliance with the Australian Marine Science and Technology Ltd (AMSAT) consortium and INTROMARC for delivery of research skills and training into the international arena. Contracted research and project design have been Centre products with the alliance particularly in Indonesia. The second approach is to facilitate the opportunity for Centre partners to build dialogue and contracted work opportunities based on Centre skills, notably in Korea with Honam University (JCU) and in the Maldives and Réunion Island (AIMS). Researchers have maintained substantial collaborative links with various institutions and are represented on a number of international working groups. In addition, Centre researchers maintain a wide network of informal global collaboration; an indication of these links is contained in the publication and presentation information in Sections 8 and 9.

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