ASFB 50th: “The fire pit in Albury was pretty amazing”

ASFB members share their favourite memories of fishy video contests, Tasmanian fieldwork, and lively nights out in Wellington.

View of the beautiful Tarkine coastline, north-west Tasmania, during helicopter-based fish surveys in rivers in the region in January 2015. Submitted by Scott Hardie.

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:

1. Tell us your favourite ASFB memory

2. 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)

3. Answer 10 quick questions about yourself

Here are some of the submissions we have received so far.

Favourite ASFB memory

An unforgettable experience was winning the ASFB Video Competition in Science Communication in 2020. This is special to me, since it was my first time entering any video competition. I talked for three minutes on my ongoing Ph.D. research, which focuses on egg and embryo technologies of redclaw crayfish for commercial juvenile production. Through this event, I also had opportunities to learn about other interesting studies. Though I won the senior student award based on the judges’ choice, the competition was open for online voting. The exciting part was I circulated my video to social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and thus my study came to more people's knowledge and improved social networking. I felt privileged to be a participant, as well as a winner, in such a wonderful science competition arranged by ASFB that improved my intrinsic motivation and brought value to my research.

Nur Un Nesa

---

ASFB in pictures

A large long-finned eel (Anguilla reinhardtii) from the lower Ringarooma River, north-east Tasmania upstream of the system’s Ramsar-listed floodplain wetland. Submitted by Scott Hardie.

Scott Hardie hauling fyke nets in Kemps Marsh, Lake Sorell (central Tasmania) at the end of the Millennium Drought, when high water levels enabled golden galaxias (Galaxias auratus) to breed in the fringing wetlands of this lake for the first time in more than a decade. Submitted by Scott Hardie.

View of the beautiful Tarkine coastline, north-west Tasmania, during helicopter-based fish surveys in rivers in the region in January 2015. Submitted by Scott Hardie.

---

10 questions

Charles Todd

1. Are you a robot fish? Yes

2. First ASFB conference: Bendigo, 1999.

3. Favourite fish: Cuttlefish, just extraordinary creatures.

4. Main fish biology interests: Developing mathematical models to assist in the management of freshwater fish

5. Memorable ASFB conference experience: The Wellington conference [2003]: great talks, great venue, fabulous bars and eateries, best jazz band I ever saw, and funniest evenings on the town.

6. Memorable field experience: The first 1.4 m Murray cod I caught electrofishing

7. Which fish would you most like to be? Australian lungfish, indestructible

8. Which fish would you least like to be? A galaxiid. Tarmo would be forever changing my status and species name.

9. Do you have any fishy aspirations? To ensure freshwater fish will be around for the next century

10. Favourite reads: Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Jnr
    
    Are there any other special ASFB memories you would like to share?
    The fire pit in Albury (2000) was pretty amazing.