AMSA WA

17/10/2026

Checkout our committee member Penelope’s video on sawfish, originally made for the WAMSI x AMSA WA World Oceans Day event.

Did you know sawfish are often called the "rhinos of the sea"?

Their iconic saw-like rostrum helps them hunt and defend themselves, but it also makes them vulnerable to threats such as entanglement. Sawfish are among the world's most endangered fish, yet Western Australia remains an important refuge for several species.

This International Sawfish Day, learn more about these remarkable animals by watching Penelope Dantas Suarez's "Save the Sawfish" presentation from the WAMSI x AMSA WA World Oceans Day 2026 event.

🎥 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA0S9Se0vgM

17/10/2026

🦈🌊 Happy International Sawfish Day!

Did you know sawfish are rays, not sharks? These incredible animals are instantly recognisable by their toothed, saw-like “snouts” (rostra), which can be swept from side to side to strike and stun schooling fish. All five sawfish species face threats from fishing gear and habitat loss, making research and conservation vital to their future.

💙 Have you seen a sawfish? Report your sightings here
https://www.sharksandraysaustralia.com/report-your-sighting/

📷 Sawfish photos courtesy of Dave Morgan, follow Freshwater Fish Group & Fish Health Unit from Murdoch University to stay up to date on some of the sawfish research happening here in WA.

07/10/2026

🐙 Happy World Octopus Day!

Did you know octopuses have nine brains, blue blood, and are among the most intelligent animals in our oceans? These remarkable cephalopods have been around for more than 300 million years, predating the dinosaurs.

Today, we celebrate these fascinating marine creatures and the importance of protecting the ocean habitats they call home.

07/10/2026

Come along to listen to A/ Prof Chris Brown discuss how we are driving our most valuable coastal fisheries into closure.

Abstract: Snapper in South Australia, flathead in Tasmania, tarakihi in New Zealand, golden snapper in the Northern Territory, kingfish in New South Wales, dhufish in Western Australia: some of our most popular recreational fisheries, but all are critically depleted. In several cases we have also seen high-profile and controversial fishery closures. These depletions represent the latest chapter in a long history of degrading coastal ecosystems. I’ll look at how innovations in the fishery management system provide an opportunity for ecosystem recovery, but also how failures in the system are contributing to overfishing and delays in action. The first issue is a low bar for sustainability. We are driving fisheries near to critical depletion levels, all the while reporting them as sustainably fished. The tipping point for unsustainable needs a greater buffer, this will allow for mistakes in assessments and unexpected climate shocks. Second are weaknesses in the scientific process, which delay management action. Many fishery assessments show retrospective bias, where each new assessment reveals fisheries are doing worse than we thought. Third, a lack of independent monitoring of coastal ecosystems contributes to overly optimistic assessments of fisheries. Too often models are relying on strong assumptions to make consequential conclusions from limited and biased data. Overfishing remains a central issue for the conservation of coastal ecosystems, as well as the key threat to sustainable seafood. Recent improvements to the fishery management system create an opportunity for widespread ecological recovery. But first we need broader recognition of the issues so that we can progress to timely recovery actions.



No registration required, free attendence, all welcome

02/10/2026

Have you recently published or contributed to a book on ocean science ? Contact the email below if you’re interested on having it reviewed in the AMSA Bulletin 📖 🌊

📚 Have you recently published a book?

🎉 AMSA is re-establishing our book review program!

📣 We’d love to hear from members who have recently published or contributed to a book on ocean science or related fields and would like it reviewed in the AMSA Bulletin.

📩 Get in touch with our Book Review Editor at [email protected] to get your work featured

30/09/2026

Guest lecture with A/Prof Chris Brown from UTAS - All Welcome!

**Talk title update: How we are driving our most valuable coastal fisheries into closures**

Come along to the IOMRC Auditorium on Monday 26th Oct at 5:30pm to hear Chris speak about how climate change and fishing pressure reduce the predictability of marine biodiversity change.

Chris will also be running an AI and Data Analysis seminar whilst he is here - Chris is an enthusiastic educator. He’s taught numerous workshops on AI analysis tools over the past 2 years and cofounded a blog on AI in research Vita ex Machina https://vitaexmachina.substack.com/

Workshop tickets and full details: https://events.humanitix.com/stat-workshop-amsa

26/09/2026

Awesome work The University of Western Australia, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Biodiversity Research Center.

Read the full study here: https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.70519

📑 NEW STUDY: Gojanovic et al. investigate whether the time of day a juvenile coral reef fish is released in the wild impacts its chances of survival.

🐟 Species studied

Ambon Damsel (Pomacentrus amboinensis)

🌏 Location

Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef

🤔 The issue

Predation is a dominant force shaping survival of coral reef fishes. Synchronous, nocturnal settlement during low-light, new moon periods may have developed as an adaptive response to intense predation during settlement.

Post-larval Capture, Culture, and Release (PCCR), where juvenile fishes are released directly to the reef, effectively modifies the timing and conditions of settlement, potentially reducing high predation-induced mortality during settlement.

Without targeted refinement of its protocols, PCCR may fail to confer survival benefits over natural settlement. Understanding how factors such as diel release timing shape post-release survival is therefore essential for improving restoration outcomes.

👩🏽‍🔬 What did the researchers do?

The study aimed to test how diel release timing influences behaviour, predation exposure, and early post-release survival of a coral reef fish, the Ambon Damsel, under short-term PCCR.

Fish were captured before settlement and individually released onto experimental patch reefs at either 09:00 or 17:00 hours following a 4- to 5-day rearing period, adjusted to ensure equal average age at release.

Post-release behavior was quantified, survival monitored over 48 hours, and interval-specific mortality rates modelled to examine the role of release timing on PCCR outcomes.

💡 What did they find?

Fish released in the morning survived significantly better than fish released in the afternoon. Predation was highest in the immediate post-release period regardless of release timing, but worse for afternoon releases, creating a survival gap that persisted across the 48-hour monitoring period.

👍 Any recommendations?

This research identifies the time of day of release as an important determinant of PCCR success. Releasing fish at a time of day that maximised experience acquisition enhanced post-release survival.

24/09/2026

Remember...the AI & Data Analysis Workshop is next month!

Grab your tickets to this wonderful two-day workshop led by A/Prof Chris Brown of UTAS, where you will learn how to harness AI tools and Bayesian analysis effectively.

Tickets and event info:
https://events.humanitix.com/stat-workshop-amsa

BONUS - Chris will be giving a free guest lecture at 5:30pm on Monday the 26th at IOMRC, UWA titled "Climate change and fishing pressure reduce predictability of marine biodiversity change."

23/09/2026

Reminder to WA's marine biology PhD students ...

Applications to the Clough Scholarship for Excellence in Marine Science, awarded by the Jock Clough Marine Foundation, are due Friday 9th October 2026, 11:59pm AWST.

This is a very generous and worthwhile scholarship. Good luck to everyone who applies!

More info:

The Clough Scholarship for Excellence in Marine ScienceThe Clough Scholarship for Excellence in Marine Science supports outstanding PhD students in marine science and marine conservation who combine academic excellence with the ability to translate their research into real-world impact. It is design...

23/09/2026

Upcoming conference in Perth: R Exchange

It's all about open source tools, networking and developing innovative approaches to overcome technical bottlenecks and creating impact.

When? 14-15 October 2025
Where? Nedlands Yacht Club

More info at the links below:
https://epi.group/events/r-exchange-perth-2026
https://epi.group/events/r-exchange-perth-2026/schedule-r-exchange-perth-2026

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