What we're up to

• Ongoing in 2024: The F&F lab continue their work on the PADI Global Shark and Ray Census project. Read the project overview HERE. 

• March 2024: Mina Hatayama was awarded the university medal for her outstanding achievement in coursework studies and research undertaken at an undergraduate level. The Honours project she received this medal for was titled "In hot water: using ecological modelling to assess risks of ocean warming for elasmobranchs".  We also welcomed Dr Jon Smart and Dr Robert Bullock as adjunt JCU research staff. 

• April 2024: Several lab members attended and presented their research at the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society Conference in Geelong, Australia. Read the blogpost HERE. 

• May 2024: Melissa Ciampaglia travelled to Palawan in the Philippines to conduct fieldwork for her Masters project. More information about her project can be found HERE. 

• July 2024: The lab officially moved into its new offices, now located in Building 32 at JCU's Townsville Bebegu Yumba campus.

• August 2024: Michael Grant, Mina Hatayama and Andrew Chin attended a workshop to assess Important Shark and Ray Areas in the New Zealand and Pacific Islands regions. Read the press release HERE. 

• September 2024: Andrew Chin joined the Conservation Working Group for the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks.  This group provides scientific and technical advice on sharks for the CMS MoU. Read more about this HERE. 

• October 2024: Andrew Chin was a guest on the Save Our Seas podcast, discussing capacity building for shark conservation. You can listen to the episode HERE. Ana Martins also attended and presented at the International Marine Conservation Congress held in Cape Town, South Africa. ​

• November 2024: Martina Lonati discussed how we can use AI and underwater robots to better understand sharks on the Save Our Seas podcast. You can listen to the episode HERE. Martina also presented her research at the Australian Society for Fish Biology conference held in Newcastle, Australia. 

• December 2024: The Global status of sharks, rays, and chimaeras report was released, which included contributions from several F&F members. Read it HERE. 

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