Australian Society for Fish Biology

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". 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). ==Conferences==

, 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 The competition received nearly 1,200 votes, with the leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) named Australia's favourite species, with 132 votes. List of ASFB annual conferences: Since 1985, many conferences have been accompanied by workshops on specific topics. The Australian Society for Fish Biology is a founding member of the World Council of Fisheries Societies. ==Threatened Fishes Committee==

, Melanotaenia eachamensis, was classified as Endangered in the ASFB's 1989 listings. History of the committee In 1985, the Australian Society for Fish Biology held a two-day conference workshop in Melbourne to discuss Australia's threatened fishes. The attendees developed a set of conservation status categories and criteria, and listed 59 species in total. A Threatened Species Committee was established two years later, at the 1987 conference; Since 1988, these conservation listings have been updated annually. and by Environment Australia to develop their "Action Plan for Australian freshwater fishes." In August 2019, the ASFB's national threatened species list contained 61 freshwater fish species, compared to 38 listed under the Australian Government's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. == Newsletter ==

The ASFB publishes a newsletter twice annually. In 2017, the newsletter was renamed Lateral Lines following an online competition; the winning name was contributed by former President Chris Fulton. == Awards ==

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. 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. 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. The award is named in honour of fisheries biologist Kenneth Radway Allen. , who received the K. Radway Allen Award in 2015. (right), who received the K. Radway Allen Award in 2016. ==Presidents==

, Mark Lintermans, John Koehn and Andrew Sanger. Presidents of the ASFB generally serve two-year terms. Former presidents of the society include Hamar Midgley (1977–79), Gerry Allen (1979–81), Julian Pepperell (1991–93) and Bronwyn Gillanders (2012–13). List of ASFB Presidents Gallery File:Retired fisheries scientist Richard Tilzey at the 2017 Australian Society for Fish Biology conference in Albany, Western Australia.jpg|Richard Tilzey, ASFB President from 1981 to 1983. File:Fisheries scientist Gary Jackson at 2017 ASFB conference.jpg|Gary Jackson, ASFB President from 2013 to 2015. File:Fish biologist Christopher J. Fulton at the 2016 ASFB-OCS joint conference.jpg|Chris Fulton, ASFB President from 2015 to 2017. ==See also==