14- Words from the Chair

The SCRFA Board of Directors has recently changed. I would like to thank Janet Gibson (Belize), Pat Colin (Palau) and Terry Donaldson (Guam) for their great work and support in helping to make SCRFA the organisation it now is. They have retired from the Board, making way for three new Board members, launching SCRFA into a new and exciting phase of development, work and influence. The next Board meeting will be in October this year.

The SCRFA Board now comprised the following people working on fish spawning aggregations in our key focus areas of scientific research, education and management of reef fish spawning aggregations: Martin Russell (Australia); Yvonne Sadovy (University of Hong Kong); Michael Domeier (Marine Conservation Science Institute, USA); Brian Luckhurst (retired Bermuda Fisheries Scientist, Italy); Sebastian Troeng (Conservation International, USA); Brad Erisman, (Scripps University, USA); Rick Nemeth (University of the Virgin Islands); and Rick Hamilton (The Nature Conservancy, Australia). Please visit our website for more ‘about us’ [http://www. scrfa.org/index.php/about-us.html]. The new Board will help further develop SCRFA’s focus on working together with countries, especially where coastal communities depend heavily on reef fisheries, on their fish spawning aggregations, and facilitating sustainable coral reef fish fisheries of which aggregation management is a key part. We have come a long way since our humble beginning in 2000 at the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists meeting in Mexico. In addition to education and research projects, our core aim is to have spawning aggregations routinely considered in national and international management and conservation forums and planning initiatives.

Martin Russell
Chair/CEO, SCRFA