Schedule
Speakers
Nicole Flint – CQU
A/Prof Nicole Flint is a Principal Research Fellow at CQUniversity. Nicole has a PhD in fish biology and leads research projects that aim to develop and improve monitoring, assessment and management programs for freshwater and marine species and ecosystems, including through designing environmental indicators. She is particularly interested in the diverse waterways and land uses of Northern Australia’s catchments, rivers, estuaries and coastal zones. Nicole led the CQUni research team that first developed the fish health indicator for the Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership (GHHP) in 2018. The research team is back in the harbour again this year, monitoring fish health with support from GHHP.
Topic – Fish Health Indicator and our research and monitoring for GHHP
Talking about the results from the first few years, and information on inital fieldwork for this year and looking to analyse the data as the year progresses. Nicole will be bringing along fish models to show all the different organs, the way the work and how we use them to assess fish health.
Bill Sawynok – Infofish Australia
Bill Sawynok established Infofish Australia in 1995 (then Infofish Services) which has become a leading Australian small business providing technology-based services to the recreational fishing industry and more recently aquaculture. Services include waterbody mapping in both fresh and saltwater environments, phone apps for fishing competitions and citizen science tagging activities. He has developed an extensive range of dashboards providing information on a wide range of fishing locations in Queensland. With over 2,500 maps and graphs this is the most comprehensive available outside government.
Topic – Gladstone fishery from below and above the water
Understanding what is happening in a fishery can be a real challenge. Tagging and recaptures, along with data from competitions such as the Boyne Tannum Hookup, and photos helps provide a sense of what is happening below (fish) and above (fishers) the water in the Gladstone area. Infofish now provides annual snapshots through dashboards to help that understanding. The Gladstone dashboard is supported by the Gladstone Ports Corporation Ltd.
Dr. David Kopelke – CoralWatch
Dr Kopelke, now retired, established and was the Principal of the Education Department’s environmental education centre at Boyne Island. Although its primary role is working with school students, Dr. Kopelke implemented a strong community environmental program through citizen-science including Coralwatch, the topic of this hands-on session. He has maintained this commitment in retirement. David has sat on Government and industry committees, established a co-operative education program with Taiwanese universities, presented at international conferences and worked at the Smithsonian Institute in the USA. The Australian Government awarded David the Public Service Medal in recognition for his contribution to the environment.
CoralWatch, based at The University of Queensland, is a well-established citizen science program founded in 2002. CoralWatch integrates global coral health monitoring with education and accessible on-line information about coral reefs world-wide. Using the simple Coral Health Chart (so simple, no prior training is needed) anyone can collect scientific data on coral bleaching. After a short introductory presentation, attendees will have an opportunity to use the Coral Health Chart.
Ian Anderson – Tangaroa Blue Foundation
Tangaroa Blue Foundation works to prevent and remove marine debris. We inspire action and empower people, organisations, businesses and governments to make data driven decisions to improve systems, processes and behaviours to stop the flow of litter at its source. Tangaroa Blue Foundation manages the Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) Database, a national platform that tracks and records marine debris data collected by over 3,100 network partners, including volunteers, organisations, and communities across Australia. It enables the identification of pollution sources and trends, guiding targeted actions to reduce marine debris.