Chairs: Chris Boon

This session will explore management options for better utilization of recreational and customary fishing data to enhance fisheries resource management. Presentations will focus on best practices for collecting reliable data on catch, effort, and species composition, as well as the role of community involvement in monitoring programs. The session will also examine regulatory frameworks, balancing conservation goals with cultural practices, and the importance of data in shaping sustainable management policies. Participants will discuss strategies for effectively integrating the customary and recreational fishing sectors into effective fisheries management approaches.

Chairs: Curtis Champion, Laura Blamey, Jason Hartog, Rodney Duffy and Arani Chandrapavan

Australian seafood production is being increasingly exposed to environmental extremes driven by a changing climate. Efforts to forecast extreme events, assess industry risks, devise appropriate response actions, and develop stakeholder communication products hold great potential for enhancing the adaptive capacity of seafood production systems. This session will provide an opportunity to share approaches being taken to reduce the risks of environmental extremes to Australian seafood production, spanning tropical to temperate systems and local to national scales. Transferable actions will connect seafood sectors and jurisdictions, enhancing capacity to effectively respond to environmental challenges.

Chairs: Joni Pini-Fitzsimmons and Kyle J. Tyler

Mortality of threatened, endangered, and protected species (TEPS) caused by commercial fisheries remains a concern for population decline in numerous species. Interaction rates and mortality levels vary between fisheries with respect to the fishing methods used and the behavioural ecology of the TEPS in question. Furthermore, additional non-fishing threats may complicate the understanding and management of TEPS bycatch within commercial fisheries. This session will unite scientists, managers, and policymakers to discuss TEPS bycatch, assessment, and management, fostering collaboration for effective solutions.

Chairs: Stephanie McCaffrey, Anthony Townsend and Alex Habilay

Connecting the knowledge and cultural perspectives of western science and First Nations people is essential to improve outcomes for community and native fish. How can we walk with FN people to ensure meaningful, ethical, and culturally appropriate outcomes? What novel practice, approaches and methodologies do we need? What are the risks and benefits for First Nations people? Are institutions and government agencies ready? This session explores respectful, culturally appropriate collaborations with FN people to improve community and native fish outcomes, and address barriers to Indigenous participation and democratisation of research and management.

Chairs: Stuart Little

Collective action is needed in the Murray-Darling Basin to halt native fish decline and build on recent recovery actions. This session aims to identify actionable solutions and create new connections between researchers and agencies to drive future native fish recovery efforts forward. Native fish conservation in the Murray-Darling Basin relies on water reform and flow management being supported by complementary actions such as habitat restoration and fisheries management. This session will highlight findings from within and outside the Basin, in flow management and complementary actions, to address the challenges and explore new opportunities.

Chairs: Brenton Zampatti and Chris Bice

Estuaries represent a unique ecotone and dynamic interface between freshwater and marine environments and are considered among the world's most productive ecosystems. Yet, globally, anthropogenic impacts such as river regulation and urbanisation threaten the integrity of estuarine ecosystems. Estuaries are used by fishes with a diversity of life histories, providing life-long habitats for solely estuarine species, migratory pathways for diadromous species, and nursery habitats for a range of marine species. This session will highlight estuarine fish research, showcasing innovations, applications to management, and future research directions.

Chairs: Natalie Dowling and Malcolm Haddon

Assessing and managing Australia’s fisheries is a complex task, compounded by high species diversity in many fisheries, climate-driven changes in productivity, shared stocks, limited resourcing, and institutional constraints, including siloing and staff turn-over. The challenges are greater for data-limited fisheries and for those involving multiple species and sectors. This session provides an opportunity to showcase diverse assessment approaches and their interactions with harvest strategies (both formal and informal) for wild fisheries across Australia and New Zealand. The session will include a dedicated panel discussion of key issues and challenges for stock assessment and management, and for strengthening stock assessment capacity.

Chairs: Éva Plagányi, Julie Robins and Denham Parker

Tropical northern Australia’s fisheries are economically valuable, culturally important, and traditional owners are important partners in achieving regional conservation. These fisheries target short-lived, highly variable crustaceans, longer-lived finfish and offshore species, all reliant on healthy catchment-to-coast connectivity. They face significant challenges, including climate change, socio-economic responsibilities, bycatch reduction and mitigating TEPS interactions. Diverse stock assessment, harvest strategy, data-limited and ecosystem modelling approaches are being applied, often in close consultation with Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal communities. In this session, we invite submissions that share examples of success stories, highlight the knowledge gaps and identify opportunities to address these complex challenges.

Chairs: Michael Hammer, Mitchell Brennan and Richard Pillans

Australia has a unique and diverse fish fauna, with high rates of endemicity and phylogenetic diversity, whilst providing some of the last refuge areas for more globally distributed threatened marine species such as sawfish. The Threatened Fishes Committee (TFC) is a long established and active part of the ASFB, with committee representation across Australian states and territories and New Zealand. While the TFC has traditionally focused on freshwater fishes, there is a growing push to integrate conservation efforts for marine species. This special session aims to showcase research and case studies involving threatened marine fishes, with a focus on innovation in research and practical conservation measures.

Chairs: Shannon Burchert

As fisheries worldwide face increasing pressure from high-risk harvesting, environmental shifts, and human activities, effective management strategies are more critical than ever. This session explores the challenges and innovations in managing high-risk species and fisheries, supporting the recovery of those in flux, and integrating anthropogenic and climatic factors into decision-making. This session aims to advance sustainable solutions that balance ecological resilience with the needs of fishing communities and navigate the complexities of fisheries management in an era of rapid change.

Chairs: Sunil Kadri and Culum Brown

This session will focus on understanding the welfare and behaviour of fish in natural habitats and aquaculture settings, as well as during fishery capture, holding and release. Behaviour is increasingly used as a key welfare indicator. This session will cover topics such as stress responses, recovery, survival, environmental enrichment, behavioural indicators, humane slaughter and the ethical considerations of fish welfare. Presentations will highlight the latest research on factors influencing fish welfare and behaviour, including husbandry, capture, holding and handling practices. By bringing together experts in fish behaviour and welfare science, this session aims to promote improved management strategies that enhance fish welfare, reduce stress and mortality, and support sustainable practices in fisheries and aquaculture.

Chairs: Sandra Curin-Osorio

This session will examine the growing challenges faced by fisheries worldwide due to environmental pressures. Presentations will focus on the impacts of pollution, including plastics and chemical contaminants, on aquatic ecosystems and fish populations. The session will also explore the spread of invasive species and their effects on native fish stocks, as well as the rising threat of emerging diseases in both wild and farmed fisheries. Experts will discuss strategies for mitigating these threats, including policy interventions, management practices, and innovative approaches to safeguard global fisheries for future generations.

This session will explore cutting-edge solutions for promoting sustainable seafood production and conservation. Presentations will highlight how artificial intelligence (AI) can optimize fisheries management, improve stock assessments, and predict ecosystem changes. The session will also focus on advancements in genetic tools for enhancing aquaculture breeding, aquaculture systems, disease resistance, and biodiversity preservation. Additionally, discussions will cover the potential of next-generation technologies such as remote sensing, blockchain for traceability, and automated monitoring systems in ensuring sustainable practices across the seafood supply chain. These innovations aim to secure a sustainable future for global seafood.