aus china supply chain manual col bishop - english

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Australia

andThe People s Republic of China

Seafood Supply Chain -Opportunities for ImprovementTechnical Manual

Douglas McLeod

Alan Snow

Colin Bishop

2010


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Australia P. R. China Seafood Supply Chain Opportunities for Improvement Technical Manual

Published by: Seafood Services Australia Limited

Postal Address: PO Box 2188 Ascot Qld 4007

Telephone: 07 3633 6777 (International +61 7 36336777)

e-mail: [email protected]

Internet: www.seafood.net.au

Seafood Services Australia is not-for-profit industry development company that works with the Australianseafood industry and its stakeholders to:

generate new knowledge, processes and technology and facilitate their dissemination, adoption andcommercialisation;

acquire and disseminate technical information and advice from around the world that benefits theseafood industry;

develop and implement management systems and standards for seafood safety, quality and theenvironment; and

identify and capitalise on opportunities to develop the seafood industry.

All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of materials from this publication for educational or other

non-commercial purposes is authorised without any prior written permission from the copyright holdersprovided the sources are fully acknowledged. Reproduction of materials in this publication for resale or forother commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Requests forsuch written permission should be directed to the Managing Director of Seafood Services Australia Limited.

Copyright Seafood Services Australia Limited 2010

ISBN xxxx-xxxx-xxxx

Disclaimer:

While Seafood Services Australia Limited has compiled the information contained in this publication in goodfaith; it does not warrant that the information is free from errors or omissions. Seafood Services AustraliaLimited shall not be liable in any way for any loss suffered by the user consequent upon or incidental to theexistence of errors or omissions in the information


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Acknowledgements

Seafood Services Australia Limited would like to take this opportunity to thank the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and the Peoples Republic of China Ministry of Agriculture for the

financial support, expert advice and valued assistance they have provided throughout the production of thisdocument. This includes the direct funding provided under the Australia-China Agricultural TechnicalCooperation (ACATC) program as well as the relationship development provided previously under theAustralia-China Agricultural Cooperation (ACACA) program. Without the support of these Australia-Chinainnovative programs none of this work would have been possible.

Seafood Services Australia would also like to thank the following agencies and individuals for providing theirongoing support, technical expertise and willingness to work collaboratively and cooperatively throughout theproduction of this manual:

Ms Gao Jinghong, Deputy Division Director, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Peoples Republic of China.

Mr Zhao Bing, Deputy Director, Centre of International Cooperation; Ms Calen Jia Yan, Director, andMr Lin Luogeng, Division of International Cooperation, Centre of International Cooperation andService, Ministry of Agriculture, Peoples Republic of China.

Mr Li Qing, Deputy Director; Mr Li Zhenzhu; and their colleagues of the Administration of Ocean andFisheries, Guangdong Province , Peoples Republic of China.

Ms Chen Su Li, Director (and Associate Professor); Mr Huang Jian, Vice Director; Mr Hong Zhenbin;and their colleagues of the Administration of Ocean and Fisheries, Fujian Province, People s Republicof China.

Mr Liu Zai Jiang, Manager; Mr Andy Lin; and their colleagues of the Mandy Industrial Co. Ltd, AquaticProducts Market, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, People s Republic of China.

Mr Yeqiang Liu, Vice Market Manager; Huangsha Aquatic Products Market, Guangzhou, GuangdongProvince, Peoples Republic of China.

Ms Fancoise Berlandier, Mr Richard Perry and Mr Clayton Harrington of the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) for their administration of the Australia-China AgriculturalTechnical Cooperation (ACATC) program and for their guidance in Australia-China relations andcooperation throughout the production of this manual.

Mr Lin Luogeng, China Ministry of Agriculture for proof reading and translation

Also, the authors would like to acknowledge the valued support provided by the many private sector exportersand importers of fisheries products in Australia and the Peoples Republic of China who worked collaborativelywith us throughout the development of this manual.


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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 1

Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1

Australia China Trade in Fisheries Products ...................................................................... 3

Fisheries Products Australia to P.R. China .......................................................................... 3

Fisheries Products P.R. China to Australia .......................................................................... 5

Australia-China Trade in Fisheries Products Trends and Opportunities ............................. 6

Characteristics of the Australia-China Supply Chain .............................................................. 7

Supply Chain Management the Basics ............................................................................ 8

Background ............................................................................................................................ 8

Documentation and Continuous Improvement ..................................................................... 9

Mapping Your Supply Chain ................................................................................................... 9

Verification ........................................................................................................................... 11

Throughout Supply Chain Considerations ........................................................................ 13

Understand your Animals Needs ........................................................................................ 13

Survival over Time ................................................................................................................ 14

Holding Tanks ....................................................................................................................... 15

Water Quality ....................................................................................................................... 16

Temperature Control ........................................................................................................... 16

Handling of Animals ............................................................................................................. 17

Packaging and Packing Materials ......................................................................................... 18

Transport Logistics ............................................................................................................... 20

Risk Assessment of Your Supply Chain ............................................................................ 22

Quality from Production to Delivery .................................................................................... 22

Harvest (Wild Capture or Aquaculture) ............................................................................ 23

Holding Prior to Processing/Packing (on Vessel or at Premises) ......................................... 24

Transport to Processing/Packing Facility ............................................................................. 25

Packing for Transport ........................................................................................................... 25

Export Documentation ......................................................................................................... 28

Transport to Freight Forwarder ........................................................................................... 29

Transport to Customer (air freight) ..................................................................................... 29


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Border Inspection ................................................................................................................. 30

Product Recall Procedures ................................................................................................... 31

Supply Chain Validation ....................................................................................................... 31

Learning from Experience ............................................................................................... 33

Industry Involvement ........................................................................................................... 33

Summary of Trial Shipment Findings ................................................................................... 34

Case Studies ................................................................................................................... 38

Example Cool Chain No 1 ..................................................................................................... 38

Example Cool Chain No. 2: ................................................................................................... 45

Analysis of the data logger recordings: ............................................................................... 48

Summary: ............................................................................................................................. 49

Example Case Study No.: 3 ................................................................................................... 51

Useful Websites and References ..................................................................................... 57


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Introduction

This manual has been developed to enhance two-way seafood trade opportunities between Australia and thePeoples Republic of China by providing the technical knowledge to build industry capacity in both countriesrequired to achieve worlds best practice in supply chain management.

The development of this manual and its companion manual Australia and the Peoples Republic of China Food Safety and Import-Export Technical Manual represents the results a 15 month project that was fundedby the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Peoples Republic of China.

This manual, used in conjunction with its companion manual Australia and the Peoples Republic of China Food Safety and Import-Export Technical Manual , will open the door for increased trade in fisheries products(and product forms) between Australia and the Peo ples Republic of China by ensuring that fisheries productsfrom both countries better meet import-export requirements as well as consumer expectations regarding foodsafety and food quality. This manual is divided into five parts:

Part 1 Australia-China Trade in Fisheries ProductsProvides a brief overview of the significance of two-way trade in fisheries products between Australiaand China as well as identifying some of the market trends that are likely to influence futureopportunities in this important trading relationship.

Part 2 Supply Chain Management the BasicsIdentifies the basic elements of supply chain management as they apply to the seafood industry. Inparticular, the need to take an analytical approach at all of the steps and processes involved inmoving product from the point of harvest through to customer delivery. This includes the need toadopt a philosophy of continuous improvement in your supply chain management through goodrecord keeping, monitoring and verification, as well as h ow to map your supply chain

Part 3 Across Supply Chain ConsiderationsThis part of the Manual identifies the important parameters across your supply chain that you need tobe familiar with. They include: understanding the needs of the animal you are working with; thedesign of holding tanks; management of water quality; the importance of temperature control; theneed to minimise animal stress and mortality; packaging considerations and transport logistics. Youwill need to give serious consideration to all of these parameters before you can successfully optimiseyour supply chain.

Part 4 Optimising Your Supply ChainThis part of the manual shows you how to apply the Hazard and Critical Control Point (HACCP)technique in conducting a risk assessment of each step (link) in your supply chain to identify whatcould go wrong (typical hazards) and what procedures you may need to implement in order to

optimise each step in your supply chain (solutions) It also covers the importance of verification asthe driver for continuous improvement.

Part 5 Learning from the ExpertsFinally, we provide you with some tips from some of the experts in the seafood export/ importbusiness who, after many years of experience, has mastered the management of their seafood supplychain.


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Australia China Trade in FisheriesProducts

Fisheries Products Australia to P.R. China

In 2007- 08 the gross value of Australias fisheries production(aquaculture and wild harvest) was estimated at $AU2.19 billion. Thevolume of production was around 236,000 metric tonnes.

Over the same period, the gross value of fisheries product exports wasestimated at $AU1.3 billion. This equates to almost 60 percent of thegross value of production.

Importantly, the Peoples Republic of China (includi ng Hong Kong andChinese Taipei) has now overtaken Japan as Australias main export

destination for fisheries products. Given export trends in Australiasfisheries products over the past decade, it is most likely that the PR Chinawill remain Australias most important export destination for many yearsto come.

Table 1 identifies that over the past three years, the PR China accountedfor between 14,000 tonnes and 16,2 00 tonnes of Australias ediblefisheries product exports per annum at a value of between $AU496million and $AU556 million. This represents over 30 percent of Australias edible fisheries product exports by volume and almost 50percent by value.

*statistics sourced from Australian Fisheries Statistics 2008, ABARE (abare.gov.au)

Note: The data presented in this section of the Manual does not include all of Australias live seafood exports due to datacollection methods used. As live seafood represents arelatively large component of Australias exports to PR China,the figures presented here underestimate the significance of PR China as an export destination.

The Peoples Republic of Chinahas overtaken Japan as

Australias main export destination for edible fisheries

products.

The Peoples Republic of Chinanow accounts for 30 percent of our exports by volume and 50 percent by value.


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Table 1: Exports of Edible Fisheries Products from Australia to the Peoples Republic of China (Including Hong Kong andChinese Taipei).

Exports of Processed Product by Year ( Not Whole Weight )

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08

Products Tonnes $AU million Tonnes $AU million Tonnes $AU million

Total (PR China) 16,205 553.6 15,831 556.8 14,048 496.6

Total (All Countries) 52,307 1,197.2 48,010 1,117.1 43,998 1,022.6

Percent of Exports to PR China 31.0% 46.2% 33.0% 49.8% 31.9% 48.6%

Source: Australian Fisheries Statistics 2008, ABARE (abare.gov.au)

A comparison of the volumes and values of selected Australian fisheries products exported to PR China in overthe period 2005-06 to 2007-08 is provided in Table 2.

Table 2: Exports of Selected Edible Fisheries Products from Australia to the Peoples Republic of China (Including HongKong and Chinese Taipei)

Exports of Processed Product by year ( Not Whole Weight )

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08

Products Tonne $AU million Tonne $AU million Tonne $AU million

Rocklobster (whole, frozen, cooked, tails) 7,644 303.006 6,711 289.336 6,506 272.850

Crabs (whole , frozen, cooked) 1,097 12.755 1,058 12.875 1,037 11.191

Prawns (majority whole) 1,536 17.871 1,447 16.845 857 10.151

Abalone (whole, chilled, frozen, canned) 2,453 104.426 2,824 110.796 2,488 97.028

Scallops (fresh, chilled, frozen) 792 22.010 823 21.487 762 19.072

Other Molluscs (fresh, chilled, frozen) 1,083 10.257 1,015 8.952 609 3.869

Whiting (frozen - whole) 447 0.796 687 1.635 582 1.511

Atlantic Salmon (chilled whole) 17 0.140 54 0.402 90 0.647


When reviewing fisheries product export data by individual products the focus tends to be on comparison of aggregate volumes and values for each product (Table 2 above). However, in assessing the significance of destination countries from a market perspective it is also important to identify the proportion (or percentage)of total exports of each product that a destination country receives. Figure 1 (below) identifies that PR China isAustralias most important market for most of the key export species of edible fisheries pro ducts (theexceptions being tunas, prawns and salmon). Figure 1 identifies that PR China is Australias most important

market for: Abalone almost 80 percent by value and 70 percent by volume;

Crabs over 70 percent by value and by volume;

Rocklobster - almost 70 percent by value and by volume;

Scallops - almost 70 percent by value and by volume;

Other molluscs over 50 percent by value and over 60 percent by volume; and

Whiting over 50 percent by value and over 40 percent by volume.

Importantly, whil e the actual volume (tonnage) of Australias crabs and whiting exports to PR China arerelatively low (1,000 tonnes or less per annum), PR China is clearly a very important market for these species.


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It is also worth noting that while export volumes and values of most species have remained relatively staticover the past few years, there has been a notable growth in the volume of Atlantic salmon (chilled, whole)over this period. This is a reflection of the massive increase in demand for Atlantic Salmon (and Ocean Trout)that has occurred in PR China over the past decade (predominantly from Norway).

Figure 1: Percentage of Australian Edible Fisheries Product Exports that are destined for the Peoples Republic of China

(Including Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei) 2007-08.


Fisheries Products P.R. China to Australia

In 2007, PR Chinas fisheries production was estimated at around 47.728 million metric tonnes (31.740 m illiontonnes from Aquaculture sources and 15.988 million tonnes from wild harvest fisheries). On a comparativebasis, PR Chinas fisheries production is over 200 times that of Australias.

In addition to its domestic production, PR China imports just under $AU 5billion in edible fisheries products and exports around $AU 11.6 billion inedible fisheries products.

Source: FAO (2008) Yearbook of Fisheries

Based on these figure, PR China is reliant on Australia for around 12percent of its total imports by value but only 1.1 percent of its exports byvalue. This contrasts with Australias reliance on PR China for 12.5percent of its imports by value and around 50 percent of its exports byvalue.

Due to the strict biosecurity provisions that are applied in Australia, therange and form of edible fisheries products exported from PR China intoAustralia is limited primarily to frozen, preserved or prepared products.Live seafood products for human consumption cannot be imported intoAustralia. By contrast, Australias fisheries products exported into PRChina are predominantly in live form, although chilled and frozenproducts from Australia have gained in popularity in recent years.

A more detailed breakdown of edible fisheries products exported from PRChina to Australia is provided in Table 3 (below).

The production of edible fisheries products in PR Chinais estimated at around 47.7 million metric tonnes per annum. This is over 200 timesthat of Australia.

PR China is reliant on Australia for around 12 percent of its imports by valuebut only 1.1 percent of itsexports.

In contrast, Australia is reliant on PR China for 12.5 percent of its imports by value and astaggering 50 percent of itsexport by value.


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Table 3: Exports of Selected Edible Fisheries Products from P.R. China to Australia (2007-08)

Seafood Imports from P.R. China in 2007-08 Tonnes $AU Millions

Fish (whole, frozen) 720 2.645

Fish (fillets, frozen) 3,597 12.781

Fish (fillet & whole, dried, salted, smoked) 53 0.628

Fish (prepared or preserved) 2,509 10.071

Prawns (frozen, cooked) 2,310 12.944

Prawns (frozen, uncooked) 3,173 23.787

Prawns (prepared or preserved) 4,495 30.312

Scallops (frozen, uncooked) 1,114 11.195

Molluscs (prepared or preserved) 1,373 7.105

Squid (frozen, dried, salted or in brine) 5,673 13.155

Other products (all forms) 1,309 7.385TOTALS 26,326 132.008

Source: Australian Quarantine Inspection Service, AQIS (aggregated data)

Australia-China Trade in Fisheries Products Trends and Opportunities

The data presented previously demonstrates that the current trade relationship in fisheries products betweenAustralia and PR China is a very on e-sided partnership. PR China has now overtaken Japan as our mostimportant export destination for edible fisheries products, taking over 30 percent of our exports by volumeand 50 percent by value. In contrast, Australia currently takes just over one percent of PR Chinas totalseafood exports. This represents 12% of Australias imports of fisheries products.

PR China is undergoing significant cultural change as a result of its growing wealth and position in the globaleconomy. This change is now being reflected in the modernisation of PR China through the changing lifestylesof its growing wealthy and middle income population who are embracing the eating habits of western andother Asian trading partners. The rapid growth in supermarkets in the major cities has resulted in a significantgrowth in the appreciation of processed and frozen fisheries products for home consumption. In addition,greater exposure to other cultures has seen a rapid growth in western and Asian style restaurants, and withthis, a demand for other cuisines the growth in popularity in sushi/sashimi dining is just one example of this.Due to these trends, there is every possibility that PR China could very well become Australias most importantexport destination for fisheries products such as Tuna and Salmon/Ocean Trout in the not too distant future.Even with these emerging changes in tastes and preferences, PR Chinas preference for live fisheries productsand its high per capita consumption of these products is likely to remain prominent.

It is also worth noting that not all fisheries products destined for the PR China are consumed in the PR China.Over the past decade, PR China has invested an enormous amount of capital into processing facilities targetedat supplying food products (including fisheries products) to the global economy, particularly the USA, Europeand the Middle East. This surge in investment has been in response to very favourable financial incentives (taxoffsets) through the establishment of special economic zones aimed at generating employment and regionaleconomic activity by providing exemption from tariffs and other taxes where food products (including seafood)are imported, processed and re-exported. As a consequence, PR China has now become the wo rlds largestimporter and largest exporter of fisheries products (marine and freshwater).

This has implications for two-way trade in fisheries products between Australia and PR China:

Firstly, we are likely to see increased use of PR Chinas processing an d other value adding facilities byAustralian seafood enterprises even where fisheries products are destined for other markets(including re-importing back into Australia.


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Secondly, PR Chinas rapidly growing infrastructure and expertise in the food pro cessing arena willresult in a greater variety of value added fisheries products destined for export from P R Chinaincluding exports to Australia.

So while the rapidly changing tastes and preferences in the PR China will provide both opportunities andchallenges to Australian fisheries product exporters, PR Chinas position as the leading global processor and

supplier of value added fisheries products is likely to present even greater opportunities for PR China.

Characteristics of the Australia-China Supply Chain

The Australia-China supply chain for fisheries products has undergone significant changes in recent years,particularly in the P.R. China end of the chain. The supply chain is characterised as diverse and somewhatfragmented, due mainly to the variety of product forms (frozen, chilled, live), their unique transportrequirements and the remoteness of product sources to major transport hubs.

The supply chain for frozen product has undergone quite rapid change within P.R. China over the past fewdecades. P.R. China has traditionally had little need for the establishment of sophisticated refrigeratedinfrastructure and transport logistics as P.R. China has historically been focussed on domestic supply of foodand already has a very well established supply chain for live animal products including live fisheries products.While the aquaculture and live transport of fisheries products is a relatively new concept for the west, P.R.China mastered these techniques many thousands of years ago.

With P.R. China opening its doors to international trade andthe shift from a planned economy to a market economy ,P.R. China has had little choice but to embrace refrigeratedtransport and associated infrastructure. However, thetransition is not yet complete.

The major capital cities, particularly coastal cities, now havereasonably well established cold store facilities although

their capacity is somewhat limited, especially at -30oC and -

60 oC range. Transport logistics in these cities are stilldeveloping with limited availability of trucks withintegrated refrigeration systems (fridgemobiles), thepreference at this stage being for flat tray articulatedvehicles with refrigerated shipping containers similar tothat pictured on the left.

The availability of smaller refrigerated and insulated trucks for regional delivery is very limited. This lack of capacity is supplemented by pantechnicon type vehicles with ice. However, this lack of refrigerated capacityis rapidly being addressed and P.R. Chinas cold chain is c urrently undergoing change at the usual astoundingrate that only China seems to be capable of delivering.

Another notable characteristic is that P.R. Chinas supply chain for fisheries products is very flat. There is adistinct absence of wholesalers and middle men and once product arrives from international sources at itsdestination customer, it is rapidly whisked away directly to the end user. It is not unusual to encounterfisheries products being cleared by customs and transported vast distances to individual end users (retailer restaurants) in a matter of hours. This is particularly the case with chilled and live fisheries products.

So unlike Australia, a fisheries product importer in P.R. China is likely to have hundreds of customers eachtaking small daily deliveries, many of these customers being hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometres away.In short, the P.R. China component of the fisheries products supply chain is simple but very effective if notsomewhat chaotic by Australian standards.

Importantly chilled and live fisheries products can be transported from a relatively remote location in Australiato a relatively remote location in China within 30 hours.


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Supply Chain Management the Basics

Background

A supply chain can be thought of as a series of actions or operations thatcontribute to the process of delivering product from primary productionto the final consumer, a series of links in a chain. In the case of seafoodthis is mostly undertaken in a temperature controlled environment(usually cooler than ambient temperature) which is often referred to as acool chain.

It is estimated that global losses of perishable foods due to failures insupply chains is around $AU50 billion per annum. In Australia aloneannual losses are estimated at around $AU1 billion.

For the seafood industry, optimal supply chain management is essentialfor preserving product quality - starting at the point of harvest (whethercapture fisheries or aquaculture) and continuing through chilling,processing, packing, storing, distribution and final sale. Optimal supplychain management achieves:

less wasted product including fewer mortalities for liveproduct;

extended shelf life tank life for live product;

greater customer/buyer satisfaction - leading to repeatbusiness;

reduced costs including lower insurance premiums and fewerclaims for mortality losses; and,

increased sales and the potential for higher profits for all partiesinvolved in the chain.

Optimal supply chain management requires ongoing consideration of allof the variables in the production and delivery process. These variables(actions and processes) and their importance in managing your seafoodsupply chain are covered throughout this manual.

At the global level, supply chain management is becoming steadily moreprofessional for all perishable and temperature sensitive products,including live and chilled seafood products. The international Cool ChainAssociation (CCA) has developed a certificated and third party auditedstandard (published May 2004) for the transportation industry,applicable to perishable and temperature sensitive products, namedCool Chain Quality Indicators (CCQI).

The above standard and the contents of this manual will assist theseafood industry to improve its understanding of the temperature profilefor its exports/imports, enable the industry to raise the quality of product, and support the development of higher standards within thesupply chain.

A seafood supply chain canbe thought of as a series of actions or operations in atemperature controlled environment that contributeto the process of deliveringquality product from

production to the final consumer.

Remember that product quality can not improvethrough the supply chain; it can only get worse or at best,remain the same.

Your aim is to keep your product at the same quality throughout the chain. Toachieve this, you need to fully understand your supply chain.

Optimal supply chainmanagement requiresongoing consideration of all of the variables in the

production and delivery process, not just temperature.


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Documentation and Continuous Improvement

Good documentation and record keeping is critical if you are to maximisethe benefits your business can achieve through optimal supply chainmanagement. Failure to keep good documentation is where manybusinesses, particularly smaller businesses, let themselves down.

Optimal supply chain management of your seafood business is not goingto be achieved overnight. There is no set formula for success.Comparison between different enterprises supplying the same productsto the same markets will identify that each enterprise has their ownformula for managing product quality throughout their supply chain.Those seafood enterprises that have mastered the art of supplyingconsistently good quality products are hardly likely to reveal their tradesecrets to competitors, particularly if you are one of their competitors.

Optimal supply chain management cannot be achieved withoutcontinuous improvement and continuous improvement cannot beachieved without good documentation. The journey you are about toembark on will require you to review and re-assess all of the variablesassociated with your production and delivery processes. The difficultyarises in the fact that while you can easily divide your production anddistribution processes into a series of discreet steps (links in the supplychain), the processes or actions you employ at each one of these steps islikely to have product quality implications further along the supply chain.

A commitment to good documentation ensures that you take a welldesigned and analytical approach to monitoring the effects on productquality of the changes you make to processes along your supply chain.This commitment to documentation also ensures that you are regularly

monitoring your systems and processes to ensure a high degree of consistency in your production and distribution processes. Much of thework you undertake in optimising your supply chain will be based on trialexperiments where a number of variables are adjusted at a time. Youwill not be able to make conclusive judgements based on the outcomesof these trial experiments unless you take an analytical approach andthis requires good documentation.

If you are exporting you already have experience in this area through thedevelopment of your Approved Arrangements (AA) and associatedStandard Operating Procedures (SOP). Optimising supply chainmanagement is just an extension or supplement to this documentation.

Mapping Your Supply Chain

Before you can optimise your supply chain it is essential that you identifyand map all of the actions and processes in your supply chain so that youcan identify points where variations can occur along the production anddelivery chain these are usually y our critical control points.

This is best achieved by examining your production and deliveryprocesses and breaking this down into discrete and manageable steps -the links in your supply chain.

Optimal supply chainmanagement requires good documentation and record keeping and takes time.

You must encourage and

operational philosophy of continuous improvement and continuous improvement takes time its not going tohappen overnight.

A commitment to good documentation and record keeping ensure that you takea well designed and analytical approach.

Achieving optimal supply chain management should beseen by you as just anextension of your export

Approved Arrangements (AA)and your Standard OperatingProcedures (SOP).


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Of course, the steps in your supply chain will vary from those of other enterprises depending on your products(particular species), product form (live, chilled or frozen) and transport logistics associated with gettingproduct from your facility to its final destination. As such, some steps identified below will not be relevant toyour business processes, some may be more critical than others and, some may be repeated depending ontransport logistics. The steps (or links) in typical seafood supply chains can be broken down into the following:

Product harvest On board (or on-site) product storage Grading and processing; Product packing; Cold storage (for inventories); Transportation to freight forwarder; Holding and loading on to forward transport (road, air or sea); Unloading and holding at destination point; Re-loading and onward transportation (road, air)

Once you have identified the links in your supply chain, you then need to identify the extent to which you cancontrol or influence the processes or actions in each link. Remember, you are identifying your critical controlpoints so it is important you also identify the extent of control (or influence) you have over each link in thechain. So for each link in your supply chain you need to identify and apply one of the following categories:

Category 1 a link over which you have total control

Category 2 a link over which you cannot control but can inf luence ;

Category 3 a link over which you have no control and no influence

You will need to apply considerable thought when goingthrough the above process because people often believethey have identified a link over which they have nocontrol and no influence (category 3 above) when, infact, they can have a relatively strong influence (category2 above). For example, a processor/exporter thatpurchases product from an independent fishers maybelieve that they have little influence over theharvesting and on-board storage of that product.However, they can require that the fisher meets

specified product quality standards. Performanceagainst these requirements may be measured in anumber of ways, but for live seafood a good indicator may be the proportion of rejected animals dead, weak,outside of specification, etc that they land. Failure to meet your requirements may ultimately mean that youno longer take product from this source.

Similarly, you can place requirements on your freight forwarder in relation to the conditions under whichproduct must be stored during the period it is waiting to be loaded on-board the aircraft. Of course you willhave to undertake compliance checks against your requirements. This can be achieved quite easily throughthe use of temperature data loggers. Discussing non-compliances with you freight forwarder can often rectifyproblems in this area. If not, you may choose to find another freight forwarder.

Once you have completed the steps outline so far you should have a schematic diagram (or table) identifyingthe supply chain links (and the extent over which you have control or influence) similar to the one shown inFigure 2 (below).


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Figure 2: Links in a Supply Chain - Live Products

Verification

Verification involves both monitoring and testing of variables in your supply chain to determine if specificrequirements are being addressed or required standards are being achieved.

Verification is critical to achieving optimal supply chain management. Nothing stands still in business for long:.Processes, customer requirements, your staff (and their skills) and technology are continually changing.Therefore, your supply chain needs to be evaluated on a regular basis to ensure it is functioning to meet yourproduct quality objectives.

Typical verification activities include:

Internal auditing : this is your opportunity to evaluate whether your supply chain procedures are

being adhered to in accordance with your documented procedures; Review : You must continually monitoring your supply chain procedures, and evaluating whether any

changes you have implemented are achieving the desired outcome;

Validation: You must demonstrate that the critical elements (links) in your supply chain and theprocedures you have implemented are based on valid scientific and industry evidence.

The review process may require you to undertake trials to test the effectiveness of your current proceduresand to identify where you may be able to achieve some degree of improvement. This is particularly relevantwhere there has been a change to some aspect of your supply chain.

The frequency of internal auditing and validation is a business decision but your entire supply chain needs to

be audited and validated at least once a year. The usual approach is to schedule an audit and validation on a


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step by step basis throughout the year to provide an even spread in the work load (i.e. audit and validate onestep in the supply chain at a time).

If you are exporting from Australia, you will already have scheduled regular internal audits of your ApprovedArrangements.

Importantly, you must ensure that yourdocumentation is updated each timechanges are made to your supply chainprocesses, including changes madefollowing verification. A good approach isto use version numbers on yourdocumentation and, most importantly, letyour staff know when amendments to theprocedures or documentation have beenimplemented.

By adopting the approach outlined above

you will be well on the way to encouragingan operational philosophy of continuousimprovement through your business.


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Throughout Supply Chain Considerations

Understand your Animals Needs

You need to understand your animal and the conditions it requires toachieve optimum quality and survival throughout the supply chain.

If you are engaged in the supply of live fisheries products you will need toundertake some basic research and fully understand the physiologicalrequirements of the species you are dealing with.

This is particularly relevant for species that are held and transported inwater (finfish) and for species that are held in water and transported dry(crustaceans and molluscs).

Given that transportation of live fisheries products over extendedtimeframes has a reasonably long history in Australia (and a very longhistory in China) there has been a reasonable amount of researchundertaken in this area. A good starting point for Australian enterprises isto undertake a search of scientific publications on this subject throughwebsites such as the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) (www.frdc.com.au) as well as the various State fisheries agencies.

For seafood enterprises in PR China a good starting point is the ChinaAcademy of Fishery Science (www.cafs.ac.cn) where you will find links tothe appropriate fishery research institutions throughout P R China.

Understanding the physiological requirements of the species you arehandling is critical to optimising your supply chain because maximisingsurvival rates is a key driver for the systems and processes you adoptthroughout your supply chain. Your species has little difficulty surviving inits natural environment, but in an artificial environment the species ispotentially subjected to a whole range of conditions that will induce stressand this will impact adversely on product quality and ultimately, survivalrates.

With regard to holding tanks, your task will be to establish an artificialenvironment that, as closely as possible, reflects the species naturalenvironment. This becomes a trade-off because the very high stockingdensity and other conditions in the tank cannot fully reflect naturalconditions not cost effectively. However, there are methods you can

employ to minimise stress and the effects of stress on the species.

Transport to market adds further complications, especially for crustaceanand mollusc species that are transported in a dry environment. For thesespecies a good understanding of physiology under anaerobic conditions isessential. E.g. there is little point pumping in oxygen if the animal cannotexpel the carbon dioxide. You must understand the implications of balancing the animals requirements in relation to these two gasses and theimplications this has for meat quality and survival rates.

You will also need to gather information on a number of other life criticalparameters for the species you are handling, including ranges in salinity,

pH, total alkalinity, etc and susceptibility to variations in light.

Understand your animal and the conditions it requires tooptimise quality and survival throughout the supply chain

You will need to gain a very good understanding of thetime it is going to take to get your product (live or chilled)

from the point of harvest toyour customer in good condition.

If you are exporting frozen product, conduct freezingtrials to determine theoptimum freezing rates and times to reach the desired core temperature. After youhave optimised your

procedures, you can beconfident that if you repeat all of the parameters, you will achieve the required coretemperature.


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Survival over Time

All aquatic species can survive in an artificial environment for an extended period of time. In an aquariumsituation it is possible to keep aquatic animals for close to their maximum natural life span. However, you areunlikely to have the luxury of keeping your animals under such pristine conditions and, in particular, at suchlow stocking densities not cost effectively anyway. As such, time in the live and chilled fisheries productsbusiness is always going to be one of your greatest enemies.

When you map your supply chain, you will need to have a very good understanding of the time it is going totake to get your product (live or chilled) from the point of harvest to your customer in good condition.

For those dealing in chilled fisheries products, yourtimeframes are also likely to be very short. Evenunder excellent conditions your product will haveonly a limited shelf life.

The Sydney Fish Market, in conjunction with SSA andFRDC has developed a Seafood Quality Index formany key species that enables you to readily andeffectively identify quality changes in certain seafoodspecies over time. The Quality Index (QI) is anaccurate method for measuring changes in chilledfisheries products throughout the whole chain frompoint of harvest through transport, auction,distribution and sale. You should seriously considerusing this index to identify changes in the quality of your product over time and under varying conditions.If a QI has not been developed for your species, you can use the model to develop one for yourself.

For those dealing in live fisheries products, you will need to focus on the time required to get your product

from the holding tank to the customer without suffering unacceptable levels of mortality or reduced quality.Of course, this timeframe will also be impacted upon by factors such as the conditions under which yourproduct was captured, transported to your facilities and held in your tanks.

You will need to undertake some trials to determine the longest life span you can achieve with your animals inout of tank simulated conditions. This will obviously vary considerably with different species. Undertakingthese trials will give you a good indication of the limitations of your species during their journey through yoursupply chain. Experimenting over time will identify what changes are required to the conditions your animalsare kept under to extend their survival over time. As part of these experiments it is important that you re-tan k the live animals to replicate th eir likelihood of recovery and survival when they reach their destination.You will find that some species die quite quickly after being in simulated conditions for extended periods, evenwhen they look reasonably healthy just before being re-tanked.

Conducting these trials can be time consuming but they are critical if you are to optimise your supply chain.The results provide a very good indication of the extent to which the changes you make to your holding tankswork (and what changes do not work). You may also find variation in your results that indicate that survivalrates from certain fisheries are significantly different from those of others. If this is the case, and it often is,you need to document what the good fishers do and compare this with the others.

Table XXX provides a template for a typical supply chain mapping for live product but it still provides a usefultemplate for chilled or frozen product overestimate your time rather than underestimate it.


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Table 4: Supply Chain Template Live Product

Process step Time for step (hh:mm)

Bring product under required temperature control

Pack product in box in registered processing establishment

Bring packaged product under required temperature control(especially important for frozen product)

Keep product in cool storage awaiting transport to freight forwarder

Transport product to freight forwarder

Freight forwarder to pack product in ULD (Air Freight Container)

Transport ULD to airline freight terminal

Time delay while loading and awaiting departure

Time of flight including scheduled stopovers

Unload ULD on arrival for shipment to wholesaler

Transport product to wholesaler

Unpack animals and place in tanks

Total Time for Shipment

Holding Tanks

The design and materials used in the construction of your holding tanks is also an important factor in theoptimisation of your supply chain. Poorly designed tanks can create a number of ongoing problems thatcannot be easily rectified once the tanks have been installed without incurring high cost. If you areestablishing a new facility, you will need to undertake some research on what does and what does not workeffectively. Tank design can be species specific and what makes a good tank for some species may not be thebest option for other species.

The shape, size and depth of your tanks also requireserious consideration before you commit to theirconstruction. Dead spots in your tank caused by poorwater circulation are a common problem. D ontassume a round tank will necessarily solve thisproblem.

In most cases, you will need to chill the tank water andmaintain it within a set temperature range. This canbe expensive and money wasted if your tanks arelarger than your needs.

In addition to the physical design of your holdingtanks, you also need to ensure that the materials used

in their construction are appropriate as this has ongoing implications for water quality variations within thetank, particularly pH and total alkalinity. There are major differences in maintaining water quality betweentanks constructed from sealed concrete, glass reinforced plastic (GRP or fibreglass) and poly vinyl chloride(PVC).

Most importantly, you must have an adequate filtration system that is matched to the demands placed on thetank. This includes a system that can remove wastes as well as maintain oxygen levels at ideal levels.


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There is plenty of expertise available in this area in Australia, including a number of tank manufacturers thatspecialise in the installation of tank systems that are specifically designed for holding live fisheries products atindustrial and retail scales.

Water Quality

This one isnt rocket science but it is surprising the number of enterprises that do not pay due attention tomaintaining ideal water quality in their holding tanks. Ideally you should have systems in place that monitorand record all of the relevant water quality parameters on an ongoing basis. At the very least you should bemonitoring these parameters twice a day (even more regularly in densely stocked tanks). Gaining a goodunderstanding of the variations you achieve within these parameters will provide you with a good indication of the effectiveness of your tank design and the maximum stocking density you can achieve in your tanks. Youmay find that with the appropriate equipment installed, you can increase your stocking density with little, if any, adverse impact on the animals meat quality and survival rates. Critical parameters to monitor include:

Gasses dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc

Metals salinity and other trace metals

Water balance (pH, total alkalinity, nitrates,nitrites)

Solid materials - presence of silt, plankton, etc

In many cases exporters will hold (or stockpile) a smallinventory of live product in order to meet a broad rangeof customer demands in terms of size, colour and othercharacteristics. It is essential that the storage process becarried out under optimum conditions.

Temperature Control

Temperature needs to be controlled at all times throughout your supply chain - this includes temperaturecontrol during transport as well as in your holding tanks.

Maintaining your product within a specific temperature range is critical for live and chilled products. Variationsin temperature are a major cause of loss in product quality (quality of meat as well as mortality in live animals).There are a number of critical areas which will influence the temperature profile of the product duringtransportation:

Conditions at the point of harvest and transport to your facility

Product temperature after pre-packing chill down;

Density and thermal insulation properties of the EPS (expanded polystyrene) boxes;

Insulation and packing materials (wood shavings, wood wool, etc);

Size, temperature, gel quality and location of freezer packs;

Temperature of transport/storage environments;

Exposure of boxes to excessive heat/cold.

Remember that the optimum storage temperature range will vary from species tospecies.

Where you are supplying frozen raw or frozen cooked product, you need to carefully monitor the coretemperature of the animals throughout the chilling and freezing process. While your objective is to achieve afully frozen state in the shortest possible timeframe, you need to ensure that the core temperature of the


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animal has reached the desired level before it proceeds to the next level of freezing. You should be usingtemperature probes at each stage of the process, and do this every time you undertake the process. D ontassume the outside temperature of the animal is an indication of its core temperature, especially where youare chilling and freezing cooked product.

Alternatively, conduct some freezing trials to determine the freezingrates and times to reach the desired core temperature. After youhave optimised your procedure, you can be confident that if yourepeat all of the parameters, you will achieve satisfactory freezing.

There have been numerous instances where frozen product, wheninspected at its destination, has been condemned due to failure toimplement appropriate chilling and freezing practices. Whendealing in shipping container loads of product, this is an expenseyou can ill afford. The financial losses associated with a condemnedshipment are bad enough, let alone the ongoing losses due topermanent damage to your business reputation and the permanentloss of valued customers.

Tests have shown that some species of crustacean (e.g. Rocklobster and some crab species) still have asurprisingly high core temperature after cooking and being placed in ice slurry for over 30 minutes. If this isthe case, you should not proceed to freezing until the core temperature of the animal is below zero.

Handling of Animals

It is critical that animals are handled carefully at all times throughout your supply chain - starting at the pointof harvest throughout the supply chain to the point of delivery to the customer. Excessive handling, exposureto bright light and bumping are major causes of stress and physical damage and must be minimised at alltimes.

Live fisheries products needs to be handled with great care. While there is a lot of focus placed on theimportance of temperature and time as the greatest enemies of exporters and importers of live fisheriesproducts, rough handling is also a major cause of product mortality for most species. Tests have shown thatdropping a well packed EPS box of crabs or abalone from even waist height onto a concrete floor can result invery high mortality rates within a few hours. Some species are hardier but none (live fish, crustaceans ormolluscs) are immune to impact damage.

This is a difficult issue to resolve because the benefits of taking great care with animals up to the point of dispatch to the destination country can all be undone by transport companies at the receiving end of thesupply chain, an aspect of the supply chain over which you have no control and no influence. The researchundertaken during the production of this manual identified that this problem is more likely to be one of themost common causes of animal mortality and subsequent mortality claims by the receiving company.

When dispatching live fisheries products the EPSboxes need to be handled very carefully. Commonmistakes encountered that can result in damage tothe box and to the animals inside are:

Rough treatment of boxes such as beingdropped or upturned;

Throwing boxes onto and from transportvehicles; and

The use of strapping on EPS boxes ashandles (use tape only on EPS boxes).


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Transport companies, freight forwarders, customers and consignee companies should be encouraged andassisted to train workers in good handling practice to minimise the negative impact that poor handling has onproduct quality.

Packaging and Packing Materials

Depending on the product, the standard packaging approach for live and chilled fisheries products is to use animpermeable liner inside an EPS box, with an absorbent sheet on the base, possibly the use of an insulatingmaterial to surround the product and, in some cases, a freezer pack (gel pack) at the top (or ends) of the boxwhich is separated from the product by an insulating sheet of polystyrene.

The box lid should fit tightly, and be secured using adhesive tape not bands as they tend to be used assubstitute handles during loading and unloading, resulting in damage and breakage to boxes. The exception tothis rule is where the EPS box is enclosed within a cardboard carton which is essential for many EuropeanUnion (EU) and United States (USA) destinations, but often cost prohibitive for P R China and SE Asiadestinations.

EPS (polystyrene) boxes

EPS boxes (usually rated at 20kgs) are available in arange of sizes. You should discuss the mostappropriate size with your receiving customer andyour freight forwarder. Your freight forwarder isimportant because different makes and models of aircraft use different sized air freight containers(ULDs)and you will need to maximise use of thevolume available in the ULD, especially if your freightforwarder has negotiated a container rate.

You should then obtain samples of the EPS boxesfrom a range of manufacturers for testing purposes.During the course of putting this manual together ithas come to our attention that while most EPS boxmanufacturers can provide the appropriately branded air freight boxes, they do come in a range of densities.This has implications for the thermal insulation characteristics of the box as well as its strength. The lowerdensity boxes provide relatively poor thermal insulating properties and are more readily damaged and broken.

A visual inspection will reveal that the lower density (poorer quality) boxes have larger bubbles of polystyrenein their composition. A good physical test is to squeeze the polystyrene between your finger and thumb whichwill enable you to readily differentiate between the lower density and higher density EPS boxes. Then securelyfit the lids to the boxes and stand on them (one foot at each end). Now bounce up and down to replicateimpact pressure, the lower density boxes will readily flex, crack or break.

Testing thermal insulation characteristics can be quite complicated but one simple test is to fill each of the boxtypes with ice and then check the rate at which the ice thaws. One way of doing this is to open each box afterabout 12 hours and undertake a visual inspection, or poor out the water into a measuring container.Obviously the box with the least water has the better thermal insulating properties. It is important that youtest all boxes at the same time, that you fill them all with the same volume of ice and that you place them inthe same location in your factory (do not stack them on top of each other). Remember, you are looking formajor, easily detectable differences. Once you have identified the better quality boxes you may then chooseto be more scientific by undertaking trials using temperature data loggers, many of which are relativelyinexpensive.


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Plastic liners and absorbent pads

You will also need to consider the use of a plastic liner withinthe EPS container. Make sure you use an appropriate grade(thickness) of plastic liner. Check with your freight forwarderto see if there are any requirements specific to the airlineyou will be using, especially if you are transporting live finfish in plastic bags.

During the long journey to destination your animals arelikely to secrete liquid and wastes. Purging your animals of waste will reduce the amount of excrement but there willalways be some liquid waste. For well purged fin fish, liquidwaste will obviously be contained within the bag and waterthey have been packed in. For crustaceans and molluscs, the wastes will accumulate at the bottom of theplastic liner. The common practice for these species is to place an absorbent pad in the bottom of the plasticliner before packing the animals to minimise the amount of free floating liquid.

Minimising this liquid waste, especially excrement, is an important area to manage. These wastes decomposeand change their chemical characteristics very rapidly and can be a major cause of animal mortality. Youshould undertake some trials aimed at replicating conditions over the duration of time from packing todestination. This will give you a good indication as to whether you are purging and draining your animalscorrectly before pack-out. Eg a strong smell of ammonia (from decomposing excrement) is a sure sign youhave it wrong. The effectiveness of the available options for the absorbent sheet should be compared - testingtheir short term absorbency and longer term efficiency with melting ice.

As part of your trials, you should also check the nett weight of the animals just before you pack them and againat the end of the trial to determine the percentage weight loss. Remember, when your customer pays for600kgs of live product, they expect to receive 600kgs. While some weight loss is expected by your customer,you should make this up by over packing. You therefore need to know what the percentage weight loss is and,

more importantly, you need to minimise it. The most common problem here for crustaceans is failure toadequately drain the animals at the time of pack-out.

Wadding and freezer (gel) packs

You need to consider the type of stuffing/wadding material as well as the size and composition of the gel packsyou intend using.

Insulation of varying types is available; with wood wool and wood shavings the most frequently usedmaterials. Selection of the optimal material will vary between species, while thermal efficiency can be testedby the use of temperature loggers.

Your choice of wadding material will depend on the species you are supplying and its product form. You willneed to undertake some research into your receiving customers requirements in this area because there canbe considerable variation between market destinations, and even receiving customers within the samemarket. Make sure you check this before you commit to purchasing wadding materials.

The consistency of available gel packs should be tested, with packs assessed for core gel temperature aftervarious time periods in preparation (2, 3,and 4 days in frozen storage), their cooling efficiency (monitoredthrough the use of temperature loggers - see below for more information on these items of equipment) andgel condition after 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42 and 48 hours in simulated conditions. Consideration should be givento preparing your own freezer packs, as the gel can then be prepared to your own customised consistency andyour own logo/brand identification printed on the plastic outer.


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Tapes and bands

Finally, you should use an appropriate adhesive tape to seal and secure the lid to the carton. This may includewrapping adhesive tape around the box in a couple of places for added security. If you are considering using abanding machine (i.e. plastic bands around the EPS box) you need to be aware that these are often used ashandles when the boxes are being loaded and unloaded. This places point pressure on the edges of the boxesand by the time they reach their destination the boxes may be split or broken. This practice is fine where theEPS box has been placed into a cardboard outer liner.

Transport Logistics

Frozen products

If exporting frozen fisheries products you will generally opt for sea freight using refrigerated containers due tothe cost and volume implications. However, it is not unusual for frozen fisheries products to be exported viaair transport where small volumes of high value species are concerned, especially when conducting trials of new products or encouraging new customers with existing products. If you do find yourself in this position you

will need to clear this with your freight forwarder, especially where dry ice is used to maintain frozenconditions. Dry ice is made from carbon dioxide and is classified as a dangerous good for which you willrequire airline clearance and meet their stringent packing conditions.

Depending on your location, product destination and volumes, your freight forwarder will be able to give yougood advice on sea freight and container type options. However, you will need to double check this advice asthere are a number of factors that can often get overlooked, the most common being weight limitations on theroad route the container will need to take to get to the port of departure. D ont assume you can just fill thecontainer until it reaches its maximum gross weight. You will also need to give you freight forwarder adequateadvance notice of your expected container requirements and loading time as the availability of refrigeratedcontainers can be a problem in some locations (even the larger ports in Australia). Your Freight Forwarder willgive you advice on the times of flights, transport times, etc.

Chilled and live product

There are several Australian airports with both direct and indirect flights to China, with many carriers availableand operating on a range of routes. A direct flight to the final destination is clearly preferable, however inmany cases multiple flights may be your only option. The best served and most commonly utilised directdestination between Australia and P R China is Hong Kong, where there are frequent onward connections tomainland China (by air and overland) and onward air connections to Chinese Taipei. However, depending onyour location there are a number of options open to you. An overview of air freight times for direct flights toand from major cities in Australia and PR China (someincluding stopovers) is provided in Table 5.

Other destinations in China can be accessed via Hong Kong,Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and other SouthEast Asian hubs such as Thailand; however the requirementsfor aircraft change and with it, the risks of potentiallylengthy layovers are a strong disincentive.

There are no direct flights between Hobart and China, soTasmanian live and chilled fisheries exports are generallytrans-shipped through Melbourne, although there areopportunities to ship via Sydney. For Tasmanian exportersthe main issue is the limited capacity between Hobart andMelbourne and other mainland airports, a situation thatappears to have become worse during 2009, with a reduction in cargo capacity due to less frequent flights,

change in aircraft type and replacement airlines with different cargo policies.


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Table 5: Approximate Direct Air Freight Times between Australia and PR China

Route Airline(s) Flight Time

Adelaide - Hong Kong Cathay Pacific 12 hours

Brisbane - Hong Kong QANTAS/Cathay Pacific 9 hours

Brisbane - Hong Kong (via Cairns) Cathay Pacific 11 hours

Melbourne - Hong Kong QANTAS/Cathay Pacific 9 hours

Melbourne - Beijing (viaShanghai)

Air China 15 Hours

Melbourne - Shanghai Air China 11 Hours

Perth - Hong Kong QANTAS/Cathay Pacific 8 hours

Sydney - Hong Kong QANTAS/Cathay Pacific/Virgin Atlantic 10 hours

Sydney - Shanghai QANTAS/Air China 11 Hours

Sydney - Beijing Air China 12 hours

Shipments from other airports within Australia are also possible, with connection at any of the maininternational departure gateways shown above. But there is an airline requirement for shipments to beavailable at the departure airport a minimum of 90 minutes prior to scheduled departure time. This can createextended layovers between the domestic arrival and international departure, with the potential forinadequate storage and possible thermal abuse.


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Risk Assessment of Your Supply Chain

Quality from Production to Delivery

You will already have developed a HACCP based food safety plan for yourseafood operations.

The same technique can be used to conduct a risk assessment of yourentire supply chain to identify what could go wrong and what proceduresyou may need to implement to optimise your supply chain.

You will need to assess your supply chain to ensure that:

a. Your product remains under temperature control at all times;and

b. For live product, you minimise stress on the animal to reducemortalities e.g. minimise the time that the animals are out of water.

Frozen product usually has lower risks associated with it but you stillneed to have procedures in place to ensure that product is underappropriate temperature control at all times.

If you have a full understanding, and can critically analyse your supplychain, you will gain a much clearer understanding of issues such as:

a. The time your shipment will take from start to finish. Thisanalysis is critical for you to determine if live transport of yourproduct to your intended market is feasible;

b. Steps you can take to reduce stress and mortality to the animalduring transport;

c. Issues that need to be addressed to maintain a high qualityproduct;

d. Whether changes to your standard operating procedures needto be implemented to optimise your supply chain.

A typical supply chain risk analysis for the air transport of selected livespecies is provided below. This risk analysis can be used as a guide toassist you in the development and implementation of supply chainstandard operating procedures for your fish products export business.

Typical aspects of your export business that need to be considered andaddressed throughout your cool chain are:

Maintaining temperature control at all times - from harvest tomarket;

Monitoring your factory environment, including; filtration andoxygenation of holding tanks, light regime and density of animals in tanks;

Paying close attention to packing and transport issues includingtemperature of packaging materials, boxes, temperature andconsistency of gel packs and their location in boxes;

Carefully handling the shipment at each transfer location, beingespecially careful to avoid impact (percussion) to the animals.

Take the guess work out - youneed to be very analytical when you map and analyseyour supply chain.

Be consistent in theimplementation of your

Standard OperatingProcedures (SOP) and follow them.

If you make a change to your SOP, document it, monitor theeffect and then strictly adhereto the new SOP.

The higher the quality or thelower the mortality, thehigher your returns will be.


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Ensuring consistency of Trade Description including species name and product description, quality,grading, weight-size;

Striving to have your product delivered in the best condition possible.NOTE: This supply chain analysis is an example only and does not contain all of the risk factors or solutions

for the species listed.

Harvest (Wild Capture or Aquaculture)

Typical Hazards Possible Solutions

Live Finfish

Physical damage and stress are to beavoided or minimised

Some hooks cause physical damage to the animal and increase stress.Hooks should be removed carefully to minimise damage to animal

Killing fish because of time delayafter landing

Finfish should be handled carefully and quickly using a high level of personal hygiene to reduce stress, injury or mortality to the animals

Deck should be clean and cool and washed down regularly.

Live Abalone

Damage to foot, shell, gonad or gutduring removal from the substrate

Any damage to the animal can allow for infection to occur or ultimatelydeath.

Care needs to be taken when removing and handling animal to notcause damage to the animal.

Harvesting animals that arespawning or have recently spawned

Spawning animals are weaker and more stress sensitive.

Care needs to be taken to not harvest spawning animals.

Live Rocklobster

Improper handling when removinganimals from pots and traps

Damaged animals can lose appendages and will bleed leading to adead or a weaker animal

Care needs to be taken to handle animals carefully.

Handle your Product Carefully

It is important that the animals that are destinedfor export are handled carefully starting at thepoint of harvest. Stress on the animal need to beminimised as much as practicable.

Understand your animal and the conditions of optimum storage for the animal


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Holding Prior to Processing/Packing (on Vessel or at Premises)


Live Finfish

Placing finfish in tanks that areincreasing stress on the animal willadversely affect quality

Quality of finfish will be adversely affected if they are exposed to

chemical, biological, or chemical factors which are significantlydifferent to their natural environment.

Water in tanks should be cool and water continually exchangedapproximately every 15 minutes.

E.g. removal of scales from a finfish will expose the animal to bacterialinfection.

Live Abalone

Abalone quality can be affected byadverse water quality conditions inthe holding tanks such as

temperature, oxygen levels, etc.

Live Abalone will become stressed and die if they are not providedwith an adequate flow of clean cool seawater.

Holding tanks should have well designed water circulation systems andshould be regularly maintained.

Live abalone should be stored in low levels of light to reduce stress

Live Rocklobster

Gills of Rocklobster are made up of thousands of separate filamentswhich create a large surface area forabsorbing oxygen from the water.When the gills are damaged or dryout, the filaments collapse reducingthe surface area and starving theanimal of oxygen.

To maintain live Rocklobster in tanks in premium condition, theyshould be handled carefully, not left out of water for a prolongedperiod, and ideally not held in tanks for longer than one week.

Tank conditions must be rigorously maintained and overcrowding mustbe avoided. For highest survival rates; Temperature: 11 oC 12 oC Oxygen: best maintained at 100% - minimum > 80% saturation Ammonia: < 0.5 mg/l Nitrite: < 1 mg/l

Nitrate:


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Transport to Processing/Packing Facility


Live finfish

Animals must have clean andaerated water during transport

Water in tanks should be cool and continually exchanged

approximately every 15 minutes.Fresh water is lethal to reef fish. If transporting live reef fish, pumpsshould be turned off when vessel enters the river mouth.

Live Abalone

Care must be taken in the storage of live animals. Possible defectsinclude: Cracking the shell Over-heating Drying

Contamination with fuel orother substances Over-loading tank Stressing the abalone during

transport Extended time between landing

and re-tanking

Live Abalone will become stressed and die if they are not providedwith an adequate flow of clean cool seawater.

Holding tanks should have well designed water circulation systems andshould be regularly maintained.

Over-crowding in tanks should be avoided.

Exposure to direct sunlight should be avoided.

Live Rocklobster

Rocklobsters need a constant supplyof circulating water (high volume,low pressure) to provide oxygen.

Without it, they will slowlysuffocate.

The best way to maximise the liveliness of Rocklobsters is to keep theanimal as comfortable as possible by storing in live holding tanks

Tanks should preferably be below deck, and with naturally oxygenatedcirculating seawater with water flowing in from the bottom and out

through the top of the tank.Mist or spray systems are effective for relatively short journeys (< 3hours).

Storage of Product

Normally exporters will store product landed from the fishery or aquaculture facility, in order to establish astockpile of available supply and to enable selection of size/colour/quality animals as requested by theoverseas customer.

It is essential that the storage process is conducted in the optimum fashion, which will includes regular andfrequent monitoring of tanks and water parameters such as temperature, water flow, oxygen levels, pH levelsand the presence of solid material such as seaweed, mud, plankton, etc.

Packing for Transport

Pre-packing chill down:

The packaging of product for export is designed to maintain the initial thermal environment, so it is extremelyimportant to cool the product before packing. Common industry practices to achieve the target startingtemperature (which will vary between species) is

Reduce the temperature of the water in the storage tanks; or Pass open mesh boxes of product through special chilled water tanks.


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It is particularly important to, establish temperatures within the desired species-specific ranges and allow theinsulation between the animals and the ambient temperature to maintain a target thermal environment (withor without gel packs).

Exporters should closely monitor their chill down processes for thermal efficiencies, both the loss of chill andexcessive chill. The elimination of such inefficiencies would save costs as well as improving the quality of product at the final destination.

Packaging

An important area that is often forgotten is the optimisation of the physical aspects of shipments, specifically the strength and insulation qualities of the boxes; the absorbent properties of the liners; the effectiveness of freezer packs (gel formula and consistency, pre-pack preparation of gel packs; the number, size, and location of gel packs in the box to provide adequate temperature control.

Depending on the product, the standard packaging approach is to use an impermeable liner inside an EPS box,with an absorbent pad on the base, possibly the use of an insulating material to surround the product and, insome cases, a freezer pack or packs at the top of the box, separated by a sheet of insulating material from theproduct. The box lid should fit tightly, and be secured using adhesive tape (which can be colour coded fordifferent customers or destinations).

All these items should be trialled and assessed before committing to any particular brand or source:

In summary

The effectiveness of the available options for the absorbent sheet should be compared, testing theirshort term absorbency and longer term efficiency with melting ice;

The consistency of available freezer packs should be tested, with packs assessed for core geltemperature after various time periods in preparation (2, 3,and 4 days in a freezer), their coolingefficiency (monitored through the use of temperature loggers - see below for more information onthese items of equipment) and gel condition after 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42 and 48 hours in simulatedconditions;

Consideration should be given to preparing your own freezer packs, as the gel can then be preparedto your own customised consistency and your own logo/brand identification printed on the plasticouter;

EPS boxes (usually rated for 20 Kg) are available in a variety of densities (the higher the density themore robust and the greater the thermal insulation of the box), although one common essential isthat the box should be approved for airline use. The comparative thermal efficiency of boxes withvarying densities can be tested with temperature loggers in a cool room or at ambient temperature.The comparative physical strength or robustness of the box can be evaluated through loading with 20Kg and simulating rough handling conditions or alternatively standing on the box.

Insulation of varying types is commonly available with wood wool and wood shavings being the mostfrequently used materials. Selection of the optimal material will vary between species, while thermalefficiency can be tested by the use of temperature loggers.

Conduct Some Trials

Exporters should conduct some in-house trials of the qualities of their containment/temperature managementassets. There could potentially be significant cost savings to Australian exporters from lower specificationboxes and a reduced number of freezer packs.


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In general, a review of shipments of live crustacean and molluscs has shown that there are relatively fewinstances where temperatures inside the boxes exceed the maximum of the desired range. The possibility of cold abuse of the animals appears to be more of a concern and an issue that exporters need to be carefullyconsider and avoid.

Modern data loggers provide a relatively inexpensive way of capturing important information on specific coolchains, from packing to receival by customer.


Live Finfish

Loss of product through physicaldamage or mortality

Any damaged animal should be removed

EPS box and bag prepared with water and anaesthetic, animals shouldbe handled carefully and placed in bag,

Animals should be packed to ensure that physical injury does notoccur.

Live Abalone

Stress and physical damage causedby rough handling

Abalone should be purged in tanks for sufficient time to ensure allwaste is excreted e.g. 3-4 days.

Abalone has a primitive blood circulation system, which does notcontain any clotting system. This means that abalone will usually bleedto death from any cut or scratch they receive

Animals must be handled carefully to avoid damage.

Stress caused by packing animals atthe wrong temperature

Abalone should not be subjected to temperatures (too hot or too cold)that will lead to stress during transport

Prior to packing abalone should be held in filtered seawater at 8-10 o C.This allows the animals to survive out of water for the time taken toreach overseas markets.

Animals in the tank are chilled down prior to packing.

Stress caused by extended periodout of water

Abalone that become stressed during transport are likely to either bedead or dying when they arrive at their destination, leading tocustomer dissatisfaction.

Packing should occur as near as possible to transport time to minimisetime out of water.

Stress in the carton Live abalone should be provided with a surface to cling on to; ensurethat any freezer packs do not have direct contact with the animals.

Live Rocklobster

Stress and physical damage are themajor issues that need to beaddressed during live transport

Stress factors include: Temperatureshift, low oxygen, overcrowding

Live Rocklobster should be held for several days without feeding andpurged prior to packing and transport

Claws can be banded to avoid cannibalism and physical damage.

Only good quality Rocklobsters should be shipped

Care should be taken with the chill down process prior to packing.Normally, animals are chilled slowly but gradually.


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These pictures demonstrate where due to poorhandling techniques, damage has been caused to liveanimals or EPS boxes during transport.

Export Documentation

Your export documentation needs to be generated accurately and in a timely fashion. In some cases, you willgenerate the export documentation yourself whereas other exporters will ask their freight forwarder toprepare the documentation. The consequences of inaccurate or untimely documentation could be:

Approval to export your product is not given; Your product is left sitting on the tarmac The animals die resulting in a loss of income. Relationships with your customer suffer


All animals

Approval to export is not givenbecause documentation is wrong,incomplete, or not ready on time

Documentation must be accurate and properly reflect the productbeing exported.

The time frame for getting approval to export is generally tightbecause of packing time

Procedures for the preparation of export documentation should beadhered to and, ideally, one person who fully understands the exportprocedures is to be responsible for all documentation.


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Transport to Freight Forwarder

Despatch to the selected airport:

With the best preparation for the packaging of the

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