Thursday, 3rd September Australian Marine Sciences Association 2026 Conference

This session includes a 5-minute sponsored address from Geoscience Australia. 

• The BBNJ Agreement: A new era of ocean conservation - Kate Noble
• Plenary Panel Discussion: From Evidence to Impact - Strengthening the Science–Policy Interface for Effective Marine Management - Jodie Smith and Belinda Jago

Plenary Panel Discussion: From Evidence to Impact - Strengthening the Science–Policy Interface for Effective Marine Management - Jodie Smith and Belinda Jago

Panellists: 

• Melissa Harris PSM, CEO, Geoscience Australia
• Dr Christine Lamont, Director, Biodiversity and Conservation Science at DBCA
• Katrina Maguire, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water
• Wez Norris, CEO and Commissioner of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority

To learn more about the panellists, please click this link. 

• Koodjal Biddi-wah djildjit djinanginy - Walking Together and seeing fish - Zac Webb
• Allometric models enable body-size estimation of a highly-targeted sparid without using  stereo-BRUVs   - Jessica M. Skinner-Bless
• Increase in abundance of large-bodied fishery species within Sanctuary Zones of a south-western Australian marine park - Nidhi S. Menon
• Sea Country and Seascapes: using BRUVs to explore the diverse and spectacular habitats of Gamay - Robert Cooley
• The Fish Collective and the Australian BRUV synthesis: how to access the data and lessons learned - Tim Langlois

• Misidentification in Biodiversity Research: Implications for Science and Management - Pat Hutchings
• Depths of Ignorance: Why Understanding Marine Biodiversity Matters” - Elena Kupriyanova
• Reticulate evolution in reef corals – paradigm or zombie idea? - Tom Bridge
• Thinking outside the box; how to fund the advancement of taxonomic research with a case study from WA - Jennifer McIIwain
• Wonderful weirdos: A new total evidence foundation for the marine bivalve superfamily Galeommatoidea - Lisa A. Kirkendale
• Categorising the Phenotypes of Coral Photosymbiont Cultures Using Novel Technologies - Christopher Brunner
• Perspectives from a Marine consultant and Contributions from Private Sector Projects to Biodiversity Knowledge and Advancing Taxonomy   - Nicholas Yee
•   Universal Language: How Do We Incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge     Keywords: Cultural Keystone Species; Indigenous Ecological Knowledge; cetacean naming; cultural trauma; southern right whale; orca; Beowa; Mamang; songlines; biocultural diversity; Unbroken Whispers - Chels A Marshall

• Designing with and for Nature: Biomimetic Materials and Digital Fabrication for Reef Restoration - Beth O'Sullivan
• Simple Foundations, Complex Impacts: Harnessing Proven Technology for Creative Approaches to Coral Reef Restoration - Freda Nicholson
• From Invention to Sea Country Shellfish Reef Design   - Robbie Porter
• Art-based methods for integrating Indigenous Knowledge in mangrove restoration - Alexandra Rodriguez Rodriguez and Gavin Singleton
• Trialling the Use of Novel Bioadhesives for Kelp Restoration - Cayne Layton
• Novel advancements in sandbag based seagrass restoration - Shark Bay, Western Australia   - Domenic Holland
• Roasting the Rocky Shore: effects of experimental heatwaves and shading. - Ella Staub
• A phased and integrated approach to restoring turbid nearshore coral reefs - Cathie A Page

• Mapping Seabed Geomorphology for Sustainable Offshore Renewable Energy in Australia - Ross Whitmore
• Mapping Australia’s future coasts: Advancing the DEA Coastlines workflow for next-generation coastal monitoring  - Robbi Bishop-Taylor
• Forecasting shoreline behaviour at seasonal timescales using climate driver outlooks - Oxana Repina
• Earth observations of mangrove forests of the Gulf of Carpentaria reveal spatio-temporal scale of environmental drivers and lateral space available for adaptation are crucial for interpreting sea-level rise risk to mangrove forests - Rogerio Goncalves
• The Laminated Monoman Formation Muds of the Lower Murray River's "Floodplain": implications of their sedimentologic and geochemical characteristics - Thomas C Hubble
• Morphostratigraphy and Chronology of Holocene washover deposits along the southern New South Wales coast. - Olawale Adenugba
• Impacts of Breakwater Construction on Spatiotemporal Nearshore Morphological Change in Batemans Bay - Muhammad Waqas

This is the first session for the members of the NSW Aboriginal Sea Country Alliance. Not open to other Indigenous delegates.

• Assessing the utility of fish length distributions from stereo-BRUVs for estimating fishing mortality - Tim Langlois
• Size matters in baited video: MaxN by size-class a more powerful relative abundance metric providing novel insights into the iconic western blue groper. - Hannah M Williams
• Deciding on fish metrics and indicators for the NSW Marine Integrated Monitoring Program and State of Environment Reporting - Nathan Knott
• Improving demographics and conservation of fishes through multi-frame individual distinctions by size (MIDS) - Hayden Swift
• Depth‑Related Patterns Suggest Potential Refugia for Temperate Reef Fishes - Maya Lovelock-Dodos
• Assessing the effects of highly-modified seascapes on fish distribution and diversity - Georgia Hall
• Novel Drop-Sampler for Simultaneous Collection of Stereo-Video, Environmental DNA and Oceanographic Data - Tim Langlois

• Standardising collision risk assessment for offshore wind in australia - Ashley Potter
• Translating ecological knowledge of Little penguins into practical guidance for offshore wind farm development - Hannah Calich
• Developing Better Practices to Support Environmental Research for Offshore Renewable Energy in Australia - Rachel Przeslawski
• Global lessons for guidance on benthic characterisation for offshore renewable energy - Aero Leplastrier
• Exposure of pygmy blue whales to existing threats to inform offshore wind farm development - Luciana Ferreira
• Reducing the Risk: Mitigating Offshore Wind Impacts on Marine Mammals - Jessica Harvey
• Combined hydrodynamic and ecological assessment at a North Sea windfarm - Jose Puig

• Changing Coastal Marine Heatwave Hazard in Southern Tasmania - Christopher Roach
• Taking your pressure logger knowledge to new depths - Iain Francis
• Seasonal Variability in Surface Currents in the Southeastern Tropical Indian Ocean Using Drifters - Charitha Pattiaratchi
• Aligning Policy and Practice: Artificial Reefs in an Ageing Regulatory Framework - Danielle Hartshorn
• Overcoming legal barriers to marine and coastal restoration at scale - Justine Bell-James
• The Potential of High-Integrity Nature Markets for Scaling Effective Marine Restoration - Kristina Koenig

This is the second session of the workshop that is open to all Indigenous delegates.

This workshop will bring together Indigenous delegates and members of the NSW Aboriginal Sea Country Alliance to address key Alliance governance matters, including reviewing its Terms of Reference and election processes (closed event). Participants will also develop a coordinated response to the Commonwealth Temperate East Marine Parks consultation, identify shared Sea Country priorities, and help shape the future management of Commonwealth Marine Parks (open event).

This session will award student prizes such as: 

• Ron Kenny Award
• Peter Holloway Oceanography Award
• Ernest Hodgkin Estuary Research Award
• Fisheries Research Development Corporation Prize
• Sea World Foundation Prize for Megafauna and Seabird Prize for Science and Conservation
• Minderoo OceanOmics Centre at UWA Prize
• Diversity Journal Prize for Benthic Ecology

Location: Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia, Parkes Pl E, Parkes ACT 2600

For directions, please use this link. 

The AMSA 2026 Conference Dinner is designed to be a night where the setting is just as memorable as the company.

And if previous AMSA conferences are anything to go by, expect the dance floor to be full.

The conference has organised bus transfers departing from the QT Canberra and returning. Please select if you require a bus transfer during registration. 

A DJ will be present, but food and drinks will be covered by the individual.