ASFB 50th: “I loved how friendly and encouraging everyone was.”
ASFB members share their memorable successes, at our annual conferences and even on television!
A ferry takes ASFB delegates to their 2016 conference dinner at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, Tasmania. © Andrew Katsis
This year, the Australian Society for Fish Biology celebrates 50 years of supporting fish and fisheries research in the Australasian region. We invite ASFB members, past and present, to help fill the gaps in our history by sharing their memories.
There are three ways you can contribute:
Tell us your favourite ASFB memory
Send us your favourite photo from an ASFB event, or a photo of yourself in action undertaking some fishy work (send your photos, with a descriptive caption, to asfb50th@gmail.com)
Answer 10 quick questions about yourself
Here are some of the submissions we have received so far.
Favourite ASFB memory
As part of the 2018 ASFB conference in Melbourne, I organised a national online poll to crown Australia's favourite fish species. Conference chair John Morrongiello introduced the poll on day one of the conference, and I provided real-time voting updates every morning. It created a real buzz for the conference: many delegates were campaigning for their study species, and I received multiple emails from grumpy blackfish enthusiasts who disagreed with their species' exclusion from the shortlist. Ultimately, after a hard-fought campaign, the leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) was crowned Australia's favourite, with 132 votes (from nearly 1,200 cast in total).
Andrew Katsis
ASFB in pictures
Submitted by Alistair Hobday:
(left) “Tagging southern bluefin tuna in southern Australia with acoustic tags, to determine residence time and migration pathways, between 2001 and 2010 was a long-term effort. That was a career stage I still wish for!”
(right) “Seeing Australia take marine climate change more seriously has been satisfying — and making the news stream at an airport shows this work has impact for Australia.”
10 questions
Kat Cheshire
Are you a robot fish? No
First ASFB conference: Darwin, 2005
I was in awe and mildly terrified, but once I got through my talk I knew it was a society I wanted to be a part of. I loved how friendly and encouraging everyone was.
Favourite fish: Freshwater catfish.
Get it? kat fish ... No, seriously, I adore how quirky looking they are. Big lips, whiskery barbels, and long eel-like tails. The courtship dancing and weaving is gorgeous. Their larvae are the sweetest. I was ecstatic when I found them in SA during my PhD!
Main fish biology interests: Improving water management to protect and restore native fish in rivers!
Memorable ASFB conference experience: The 2014 joint ASFB-ASL [Australian Society for Limnology] conference in Darwin was really enjoyable. Merging the researchers from the two societies is always intellectually stimulating and the theme was ‘Indigenous participation in research and management of aquatic ecosystems'. It was a fun celebration, being ASFB’s 40th annual conference. It was great to be back in Darwin, where my first conference had been nearly 10 years prior, but feeling more confident and knowing I'd become a part of ASFB.
Memorable field experience: It's a tie between watching Comet McNaught in 2007 while doing night-time larval tows downstream of Lock 6 on the River Murray in SA, and sampling the Neales River (Lake Eyre Basin) in 2010.
Which fish would you most like to be? Spangled perch — they are so resilient and determined! Surviving in crazy salinities and temperature ranges, as well as being able to travel across tiny amounts of water to get to where they want to go.
Which fish would you least like to be? Southern purple-spotted gudgeon. Those blokes have appalling manners in close quarters; it's not surprising they're endangered.
Do you have any fishy aspirations? Helping people look after fish!
Favourite reads: I love books — there's too many to mention.
Are there any other special ASFB memories you would like to share?
The 'academic family photo' with Michael Kingsford, Bronwyn Gillanders and her other PhD grads in Melbourne in 2018 was great fun!