Australian Society for Fish Biology

Australian Society for Fish Biology
Formation 1971
Type non-profit organisation
President
 Christopher J. Fulton[1]
Mission To promote research, education and management of fish and fisheries in Australia.
Website www.asfb.org.au

The Australian Society for Fish Biology is a professional organisation of fish and fisheries researchers. Founded in 1971, the society describes itself as a "professional, independent, non-profit, non-commercial and non-aligned organisation."[2] The Australian Society for Fish Biology holds annual conferences for its members, sometimes in partnership with related organisations such as the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society[3] and the Australian Society for Limnology.[4] Former presidents of the society include Gerry Allen (1979-81), Julian Pepperell (1991-93) and Bronwyn Gillanders (2012-13).[5]

History

The Australian Society for Fish Biology was founded in mid-1971, with the stated aims to "promote the study of fish and fisheries in Australia, and to provide a communications medium for Australian fish workers".[6] The society had a founding membership of 79 fisheries researchers and managers from eastern Australia and Tasmania.[6] Membership fees were initially $2 per year, but this was scaled back to $1 in 1973, as the society's income in its first two years ($246) far exceeded expenditure ($15).[6] The Australian Society for Fish Biology held its first conference in 1974, in Tewantin, Queensland, in partnership with the Australian Society for Limnology and the Australian Marine Sciences Association.[6][upper-alpha 1] Since then, the annual conference has been held in all major Australian states and territories, as well as New Zealand in 2003 and 2013.[6] In 2000, the society had 535 members from 17 countries.[6]

Conferences

An evening event as part of the 2016 ASFB conference in Hobart, Tasmania

Conferences have been held annually in Australia or New Zealand since 1974, sometimes in partnership with related organisations such as the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society[3] and the Australian Society for Limnology.[4] In 1976, the society introduced the first of several conference awards: the Gilbert P. Whitley Memorial Student Award was given for the best paper presented by a student. The winning student, C.M. MacDonald, received a prize of $50.[6] As of 2017, this prize is sponsored by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and is worth $600 in both the 'junior' and 'senior' student categories.[8][upper-alpha 2] The society also awards the John Glover Travel Fund, which was introduced in 1983 as the Student Travel Award, to fund students to attend the conference; and the John Lake Poster Awards, which debuted in 1987.[6]

List of ASFB annual conferences:[upper-alpha 3]

Since 1985, many conferences have been accompanied by workshops on specific topics.[7] The society also hosts three committees that meet annually, usually at the conferences: the Alien Fishes Committee, Education Committee and Threatened Fishes Committee.[9]

The Australian Society for Fish Biology is a founding member of the World Council of Fisheries Societies.[7] It hosted the 1996 World Fisheries Congress in Brisbane, Queensland, and will host again in Adelaide, South Australia in 2020.[10]

Threatened Fishes Committee

The Lake Eacham rainbowfish, Melanotaenia eachamensis, was classified as Endangered in the ASFB's 1989 listings.[11]

In 1985, the Australian Society for Fish Biology held a two-day conference workshop in Melbourne, Victoria to discuss Australia's threatened fishes.[12] The attendees developed a set of conservation status categories and criteria, and listed 59 species in total.[12] A Threatened Species Committee was established two years later, at the 1987 conference;[12] the first threatened fishes list was published that same year.[13] Since 1988, these conservation listings have been updated annually.[9][11]

In the 1985-89 listings, species were classified as one of the following:[11]

These classifications have been used by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature to inform their own Red List,[14] and by Environment Australia to develop their "Action Plan for Australian freshwater fishes."[13] In 1991, members of the society endorsed a formal nomination process for listing or delisting species.[13]

K. Radway Allen Award

The K. Radway Allen Award, named in honour of fisheries biologist Kenneth Radway Allen, is awarded by the society "for an outstanding contribution in fish or fisheries science."[15][7] The award, which may be given annually, is intended to celebrate research conducted primarily in Australia, although not necessarily by a member of the society.[15]

David Bellwood, awarded the K. Radway Allen Award in 2015, presents his research at the following year's conference.
Year Recipient
1995

Peter C. Young[15]

1997

John Paxton[15]

1999

Andre Punt[15]

2003

Gerry Allen[15]

2005

Norm Hall[15]

2008

Jeff Leis[15]

2009

Peter Last[15]

2011

Rod Lenanton[15]

2013

John Stevens[15]

2015

David Bellwood[15]

2016

Bronwyn Gillanders[16][17]

List of Presidents

Since its founding, the Australian Society for Fish Biology has had 22 Presidents, most serving terms of two years.

Richard Tilzey, ASFB President from 1981-3.
Mark Lintermans, ASFB President from 2005-07.
Bronwyn Gillanders (right), ASFB President from 2011-13.
Gary Jackson, ASFB President from 2013-15.
Chris Fulton, ASFB President from 2015-17.
Year Recipient
1975

Jim Wharton[5]

1976-77

John Paxton[5]

1977-79

Hamar Midgely[5]

1979-81

Gerry Allen[5]

1981-83

Richard Tilzey[5]

1983-85

Dave Pollard[5]

1985-87

Phil Cadwallader[5]

1987-89

John Glover[5]

1989-91

John Glaister[5]

1991-93

Julian Pepperell[5]

1993-95

David Smith[5]

1995-97

Peter Young[5]

1997-99

Pat Dixon[5]

1999-2001

Andrew Sanger[5]

2001-03

John Koehn[5]

2003-05

Dan Gaughan[5]

2005-07

Mark Lintermans[5]

2007-09

Patrick Coutin[5]

2010-11

Jeremy Lyle[5]

2012-13

Bronwyn Gillanders[5]

2013-15

Gary Jackson[18]

2015-17

Chris Fulton[19]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Some sources[7] describe the 1975 conference in Port Stephens, NSW as the society's first, perhaps because the 1974 conference was held in partnership with other organisations.
  2. ↑ The Gilbert P. Whitley Memorial Student Award was split into these two categories in 1991.[6]
  3. ↑ Conference locations up to 2014 are cited in Rowling (2014).[6]
  4. ↑ Joint conference with the Australian Society for Limnology and the Australian Marine Sciences Association.[6]
  5. ↑ Held as part of the 2nd World Fisheries Congress.[6]
  6. ↑ Joint conference with the New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Society and the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society.[6]
  7. ↑ Joint conference with the Australian Society for Limnology.[4]
  8. ↑ Joint conference with the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society.[3]
  9. ↑ "Taxa which are no longer found in the wild or in a domesticated state."[11]
  10. ↑ "Taxa which have suffered a population decline over all or most of their range, whether the causes of this decline are known or not, and which are in danger of extinction in the near future. (Special management measures are required if these taxa are to continue to survive.)"[11]
  11. ↑ "Taxa not presently endangered but which are at risk by having small populations and/or by occupying restricted habitats susceptible to rapid environmental change and/or populations which are declining at a rate that would render them endangered in the near future. (Special management measures are required to prevent these taxa becoming endangered or extinct.)"[11]
  12. ↑ "Taxa which could become vulnerable or endangered in the near future because: (1) although they may have a relatively large population this is restricted to a small area; (2) they have small populations restricted to a few areas; (3) they have been heavily depleted and are continuing to decline; or (4) they are dependent on a specific habitat for their survival. (Monitoring is required.)"[11]
  13. ↑ "Taxa which are likely to fall into the endangered, vulnerable or potentially threatened categories but for which insufficient data are available to make an assessment. (Investigation is required)."[11]
  14. ↑ "Taxa which are not presently in danger but which occur in restricted areas, or which have suffered a long term reduction in distribution and/or abundance and are now uncommon."[11]
  15. ↑ "Taxa whose taxonomy, distribution and/or abundance are uncertain, but which are suspected of being restricted."[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Executive Council", Australian Society for Fish Biology, official website. Accessed 26 February 2017.
  2. ↑ "About", Australian Society for Fish Biology, official website. Accessed 13 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Rhiannon Shine (2016) "Sharks smarter than we think, have great awareness of surroundings, experts say" ABC News, 5 September 2016. Accessed 13 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "New research suggest freshwater prawns is crucial to Northern Territory’s plans to develop food bowl of Asia" The Weekly Times, 1 July 2014. Accessed 13 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Past ASFB Presidents" ASFB official website, archived 28 February 2014. Accessed 3 March 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Kevin Rowling (2014) "40 Annual Conferences for ASFB", Australian Society for Fish Biology newsletter (December 2014), p22.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Catherine Norwood (2013) "Fish biology and freshwater science join forces" Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. Archived 15 May, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Gilbert P. Whitley Memorial Student Award", ASFB official website. Archived on 4 June 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Committees" ASFB official website. Archived 15 May 2017.
  10. ↑ "Adelaide nets premier international fisheries conference" Government of South Australia, Primary Industries and Regions SA. Published 20 April 2017. Archived 15 May 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 D.A. Pollard, B.A. Ingram, J.H. Harris and L.F. Reynolds (1990) "Threatened fishes in Australia - an overview", Journal of Fish Biology, 37(sA): 67-78 (December 1990). Retrieved 16 May, 2017.
  12. 1 2 3 J.J.Pogonoski, D.A. Pollard and J.R. Paxton (2002) Conservation overview and action plan for Australian threatened and potentially threatened marine and estuarine fishes" NSW Fisheries Research Institute and the Australian Museum. Retrieved 16 May, 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 R. Wager and P. Jackson (1993) The Action Plan for Australian freshwater fishes, Appendix 3. Environment Australia, June 1993. Retrieved 16 May, 2017.
  14. ↑ Nathan R. Flesness and Thomas J. Foose (1990) 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Compiled by World Conservation Monitoring Centre: Cambridge, UK. 192p.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "K. Radway Allen Award", Australian Society for Fish Biology, official website. Accessed 15 January 2016.
  16. ↑ "2016 conference dinner and awards" Australian Society for Fish Biology official blog. 8 September 2016. Accessed 15 January 2017.
  17. ↑ Noby Leong (2016) "Bronwyn Gillanders honoured with K Radway Allen Award" Environment Institute blog, The University of Adelaide. Published September 15, 2016. Archived 17 May, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Current ASFB Executive 2013/2014" ASFB official website, archived 28 February 2014.
  19. ↑ "Executive Council" ASFB official website, archived 14 February 2017.
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