Speakers

Keynote Speakers
Roger Berkowitz President and CEO of Legal Sea Foods, Inc. He started working in his family's fish market at the age of 10 and learned every aspect of the business. He began as a fry cook in Inman Square, moved to front of- the-house manager, marketing maverick and then to industry innovator. Whether you dine in his restaurants, or order a meal by mail to enjoy at home, he wants to ‘wow’ you every single time. And it’s working - Bon Appetit magazine touts a meal at Legal Sea Foods as among America’s ‘Top Ten Tried-and- True’ dining experiences. Legal is also included in Patricia Schultz’s popular guidebook, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.
Mitch Tonks - celebrity speaker CEO, FishWorks, UK Born in 1966 Mitch spent the first 24 years of his life by the sea: sailing on it, skiing on it and fishing in it. After working as an accountant, he decided to fulfill his passion for seafood by opening a specialist fishmonger in Bath in 1995. In 1997, he added the Seafood Café above the shop and then began running specialist seafood cookery schools, which proved to be a huge success both personally and commercially. Mitch's career has been driven by an honest passion to enthuse, cook for and inspire others to enjoy seafood. Voted as Tatler's 'Restaurateur of the Year' he continues to build on his success as restaurateur, food writer and chef. Now CEO of FishWorks Mitch spends a great deal of his time driving, inspiring and motivating the thriving FishWorks team. There are now several award-winning FishWorks venues spread across the south of England, including award-winning restaurants in Bath, Marylebone and Chiswick. FishWorks run cookery schools in Bristol, Christchurch, and Richmond. They also have a successful home delivery service offering fresh fish, prepared to customer requirements, delivered overnight from Brixham to the customers door.
Dr Peter Rogers Dr Peter Rogers has spent most of his working life actively involved in all facets of Fisheries Management. At the end of 2006 he retired from the Department of Fisheries after 34 years service, the last 15 years as the chief executive officer. In this time he was involved in bringing many fisheries into management, facilitated numerous adjustment arrangements, implemented substantial new policies and legislation, dealt with numerous Governments and Ministers and managed the department of Fisheries successfully through change into a modern relevant well-equipped agency. Since retiring he has been appointed to a professorial position at Murdoch University, Chairman of the Western Australian Marine Science Institution and to a private development company Lobster Harvest Pty Ltd. As time permits he is also doing the occasional overseas consultancy. Peter holds a D.Sc., MBA and B.Sc.(Agric) Hons and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Nathan Bindoff Nathan Bindoff is Professor of Physical Oceanography at the University of Tasmania, and CSIRO Marine Research Laboratories, Director of the Tasmanian Partnership for Advanced Computing and Project Leader of the Antarctic Cooperative Research Centre’s Modelling Program. Nathan is a physical oceanographer, specializing in ocean climate and the earth’s climate system. He is the coordinating lead author for the ocean chapter in the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report. Nathan and colleagues documented some of the first evidence for changes in the climate change signals in the Indian, North Pacific, South Pacific and Southern Ocean’s and shown some of the first evidence of changes in the Earths hydrological cycle. He has published more than 52 scientific papers and 30 reports. He established the programs and experiments that determined the total production of Adelie Land Bottom Water formation and its contribution Antarctic Bottom Water Formation, contributed to the development of some of the largest and highest resolution model simulations of the oceans and has been deeply involved in oceanographic data and data management as the chairman of the Data Products Committee for the World Ocean Circulation Experiment and the International Polar Year. In his spare time he has lead 9 Oceanographic voyages on the Aurora Australis in the Southern Ocean.
Conference Streams
Climate Change
Alistair Hobday Dr Alistair Hobday completed a BSc (Hons) in Biological Science at Stanford University, a PhD in Biological Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and held a National Research Council Postgraduate Fellowship at the Pacific Fisheries Environmental Laboratory in Monterey, California. He is presently a Senior Research Scientist in the Pelagic Fisheries and Ecosystems Stream, at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, and a lecturer in the School of Zoology, University of Tasmania. His research spans a range of topics, including spatial management and migration of large pelagic species, environmental influences on marine species, and the impacts of climate change on marine resources. He leads the Marine Climate Impacts Stream within the CSIRO Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship, and has been co-editor of two recent reports on the impacts of climate change on (i) fi sheries and aquaculture, and (ii) Australian marine life. In addition to his climate research, Alistair has co-led the development of risk assessment methods for assessing the ecological sustainability of Australia’s fisheries. He is a member of the steering committee for the international GLOBEC program CLIOTOP (Climate Impacts on Top Ocean Predators).
Ken Ridgway Ken Ridgway has over 25 years experience in physical oceanography and climate research. He joined CSIRO in 1982 and is presently a Senior Research Scientist in the ocean observations group of the Climate Program. Throughout his career Ken’s research interests have centred on observational analysis with a particular focus on developing ocean observing systems; he established a southwest Pacific sea level network and an Australian component to the voluntary observing ship program which contributed to international climate monitoring efforts. He is a Principal Investigator on a joint Australian-US Tasman Sea monitoring program. More recently Ken has been a founding participant in the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) a government initiative to upgrade science infrastructure. In IMOS he leads the Bluewater Node which coordinates monitoring of the ocean regions around Australia. Ken has been an active seagoing oceanographer and participated and led cruises in the waters to the east and west of Australia. He has a B.Sc. and Dip.Ed. from Monash and a M.Sc. from Deakin University
Co-Management
Malcolm Haddon Associate Professor Malcolm Haddon has been the Resource Modeller at the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute for the last eight years. He contributes to the assessments of Tasmanian abalone, rock lobster, scallops, giant crab, and the State’s scalefish, plus numerous minor species. In addition, he chairs the Commonwealth’s Sub-Antarctic Resource Assessment Group (RAG), is the Scientific member of SouthMAC, is a member of the Northern Prawn RAG, the Central Bass Strait Scallop RAG, the South-East Slope RAG, and contributes to other RAGs on an ad hoc basis. Internationally he is involved in a variety of activities. He has worked with CSIRO in Papua New Guinea on the Gulf of Papua prawn fishery, and regularly conducts reviews of stock assessments for the US National Marine Fisheries Service. Recently he participated in a Management Strategy Evaluation workshop in Lisbon, Portugal, at the invitation of the European Union Fisheries Policy Unit. He completed a PhD on Theoretical Ecology at the University of Otago, New Zealand, where he was half in the Zoology Department and half in the Philosophy Department. He has subsequently worked on molluscan and crustacean ecology, sea bed ecology, and joined New Zealand Fisheries in 1988 managing the snapper fishery in and around Auckland for three years. He originally moved to Sydney 12 years ago to organize FRDC funded training courses for fisheries scientists around Australia. After almost three years in Sydney he then moved to become the Head of Fisheries at the Australian Maritime College in 1997. Finally moving to join TAFI in his present position in 1999. He totally enjoys living in Hobart, possibly because he gets to go away so often. His policy is that “Numbers are our friends”
Eddie Hegerl AO Eddie Hegerl has been one of Australia’s leading pioneers in marine conservation. He founded Australia’s first marine conservation organization in 1965 and has worked with government, industries and the community to protect the marine environment from habitat destruction, pollution and unsustainable use. Eddie has worked extensively with the fishing industry on protecting mangrove forests, seagrass beds and other key habitats, and dealing with bycatch issues. In 1996 he became the first conservation representative to be appointed to an AFMA MAC (NORMAC) and still is an active member of NORMAC. Since 1999 he has been a Director of Marine Ecosystem Policy Advisors, a consulting firm that provides technical and policy advice to international environmental organizations and government agencies. He was one of IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management members who helped develop the principles of ecosystem management now used by United Nations agencies. In recent years, he has worked with Dr Trevor Ward in producing publications to help globally “operationalize” ecosystem-based fisheries management. In his presentation, Eddie will draw on more than forty years of experiences in working with community groups, recreational and commercial fishers, and fisheries managers.
Bardy McFarlane Bardy has been a full-time member of the National Native Title Tribunal since March 2000. Although based in Adelaide, he has worked extensively in Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales. Bardy has a background in primary production and a particular interest in natural resource management and planning issues. After graduating from Roseworthy Agricultural College, he spent 13 years in agriculture production working on, and later managing, a large grazing property primarily focused on wool production. Prior to his appointment to the Tribunal, Bardy was a solicitor in private practice in Adelaide for 12 years. He practised as a lawyer in the areas of government relations, commercial litigation, environmental law, native title and natural resource management. He holds an Honours law degree and a Master of Laws (Environmental) from Adelaide University. Bardy has been involved with the seafood industry since 1992. Initially it was through providing legal and representative assistance to a number of commercial sectors of the industry in South Australia and later, in November 1999, he was appointed as the first independent director to the Seafood Council (SA) Ltd and from April 2000 until July 2007, he was Chair. Bardy has continued his involvement at a broader national level. He has presented papers or chaired sessions at: • the Fish Rights 99 International Conference in Fremantle (“The Nature of Australian Fishing Licences – Are They Property”); • the Second Lobster Congress in Geelong In September 2001 on “Negotiated Resource Sharing”; • the “Indigenous Fishing Rights: Moving Forward 2003” conference in Fremantle; and • the international conference on allocations in Fremantle 2006 “Sharing the Fish 06”. He has also been involved in the Australian Seafood Industry; Advance in Seafood Leadership Development Program as both a mentor and presenter since 2001.
Will Zacharin BSc(Hons) MSc Grad Dip Tech Man GAICD 2002 Churchill Fellow, Executive Director, Fisheries, Primary Industries and Resources South Australia Will Zacharin trained as a marine scientist and holds a Bachelor of Science degree (LaTrobe University) and a Master of Science degree (University of Tasmania) in marine biology. He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and has completed a Graduate Diploma in Business Management (Technology). Over the past 24 years, Will Zacharin has been involved in fisheries research, development and management in both the wild fi sheries and aquaculture sectors in southern Australia. Will is currently the Executive Director Fisheries for Primary Industries and Resources South Australia (PIRSA), responsible for the management of commercial and recreational fishing, indigenous fishing, charter fishing and other living marine and freshwater resources. Prior to taking on the Director’s role with PIRSA in 2000, Will spent the previous seven years as a Senior Fisheries Manager with PIRSA and 12 years with the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Tasmania. Will has been a member of various State and Federal fishery management advisory committees (MACs), including the Bass Strait Scallop Fishery MAC, Southern Shark Fishery MAC, South East Non-trawl Fishery MAC and Great Australian Bight Trawl MAC. He is the current State Government member on the Southern Bluefin Tuna MAC. He has written and contributed to a number of reports and reviewed papers on fisheries research and management. Will was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2002 to investigate alternative allocation and access mechanisms in fisheries, between commercial, recreational and indigenous fishers.
People In Industry
Tanya Adams ‘How healthy is the Australian Seafood Industry’ Tanya completed her Degree in Environmental Health in the mid seventies and a Graduate Diploma in Occupational Safety and Health in the mid eighties. She is a member of the Safety Institute of WA and a registered safety professional. She has worked in variety of roles as a laboratory technician then onto a scientific officer at Worksafe WA as well as a Manager of Occupational Health and Safety Branch’s in government organisations. In 1992 Tanya began her own consulting business providing services in Occupational Health and Safety across a range of industries, but, most predominantly and still current to the WA Commercial Fishing and Aquaculture Industry. The consulting work with the Western Australian Commercial Fishing Industry included the development of an Industry Safety and Health Code as well as provision of OS&H advice to members and coordination of industry OS&H training programs. This work is now being repeated in each state through the individual states professional seafood industry bodies. Services provided are in the areas of establishment of OS&H programs and safety management systems, policy development and training programs.
John Atkinson ‘Fit For Work – Fit For Life’ Outline of the very positive outcomes of the MGK Drug and Alcohol program whereby consultation and education was the key to maximising employee buy-in. John will also touch on such things as our in-house pearl grading accreditation and MGK’s response to the mining explosion.
Frances Bender An independent streak, a drive to succeed and a desire to make their own way led Frances, along with husband Peter, to establish Huon Aquaculture Company Pty Limited. They purchased the business from their family in 1994 and since then have successfully grown their own salmon enterprise. The business produced 400 tonnes of finished product in 1994 and in 2007 will produce approximately 9,500 tonnes. The Huon Aquaculture enterprise consists of the largest privately owned Atlantic salmon farming operation in Australia as well as Springs Smoked Seafoods which processes premium quality smoked seafood. The enterprise now employs 360 staff nationally, turns over approximately $100M per year and as well as producing fresh salmon provides a range of value added products including smoked salmon, dips, pates and fresh fillets and portions to a growing national market.
David Wood David has been a Board Member of the Fishing Industry Training Board for approximately 7 years and Seafood Training Tasmania for 12 months and during that time he has actively participated in industry events. David has had 15 years experience within the Fishing and Aquaculture industry and is currently Human Resource Manager with the Huon Aquaculture Company. David is also a Board Member of the Huon Learning and Information Network Centre. During his spare time David enjoys sailing and spending time with his family.
Accreditation
Hans Drielsma Hans Drielsma is a Director of Australian Forestry Standard Ltd, and also a Director of PEFC Council International. He has been involved with the development of the Australian Forest Certification System, and its endorsement by PEFC over the last 10 years. Dr Drielsma is employed as Executive General Manager of Forestry Tasmania, the government-owned business enterprise which manages Tasmania’s State forests, where he has responsibility for resources, planning, environmental management, business systems, information technology and forest research. Forestry Tasmania is an ISO 14001 and AFS certified company. Dr Drielsma has a Bachelor of Science (Forestry) with Honours from the Australian National University, Canberra, and a Master of Forest Science and Doctorate from Yale University. Dr Drielsma is a member of the Tasmanian Forest and Forestry Industry Council and the Tasmanian Forest Practices Advisory Council, a Director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Forest Landscapes, the Tasmanian Timber Promotion Board, and a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Institute of Foresters of Australia.
Ron Edwards Ron Edwards is currently involved in a wide range of activities in relation to the Australian fishing industry. He is Chair of the Rock Lobster Industry Advisory Committee for the Western Rock Lobster Industry, Project Co-ordinator for the Yellow Fin Tuna Aquaculture project and consults on a variety of key industry research project activities related to prawns, tariffs and tuna aquaculture. Ron is a strong supporter of the Marine Stewardship Council certification on process for fisheries. The Western Rock Lobster industry was the world's first certified sustainable fishery. Ron is also Chair of Seafood Experience Australia (SEA), a representative group of the fishing industry set up under the Federal Government's National Food Industry Strategy, with the task of developing a market driven strategy for the Australian seafood industry. The SEA group is currently addressing and negotiating with all sectors of the industry the vision and strategy involved in creating a premium seafood category for the Australian seafood industry. From his time in Federal Parliament, Ron has seen the value of strategic planning and co-management for Australia's fisheries. In this respect, organisations like Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Seafood Services Australia and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority play significant roles in charting the course for Australia's fishing industry.
Tim Mirabella Tim Mirabella is a fifth generation commercial fisherman operating in Victoria’s Port Phillip and Western Port Bays. For more than twenty years Tim has been operating a small-scale retail outlet from where his catch is sold, providing a unique supply of fresh local fish to the Mornington Peninsula. Tim was an inaugural member of the Victorian Fisheries Co Management Council, a Ministerial appointed, expertise-based body providing independent advice on fisheries matters. Included in his numerous representative roles was a three-year term as Chairman of Seafood Industry Victoria and directorship of the former Australian Seafood Industry Council. In 2000 Tim instigated the formation of the Victorian Bays and Inlets Fisheries Association (VBIFA) with a primary objective of securing the long-term future of Victoria’s Bay and Inlet fishermen. One of the key strategies adopted by VBIFA was developing and strengthening links with other key stakeholders through the development of an Environmental Management System. In 2003 Tim received sponsorship from FRDC to participate in the Australian Rural Leadership Programme, which among other things gave him a brief insight into some of the challenges faced by other rural industries and how they are being tackled. Tim is equally passionate about the rights of individual fishers and the wider community’s entitlement to maintain access to sustainable local fish resources.
Donna Petrachenko Donna Petrachenko is the First Assistant Secretary of the Marine and Biodiversity Division within the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment and Water Resources (DEW). While at DEW, Ms Petrachenko has led the coordination of the Department’s marine related interests, and international efforts focusing on protection of high seas biodiversity for Australia and provided executive leadership on marine bioregional planning and the establishment of marine protected areas. Ms Petrachenko came to the DEW in 2003 from the Canadian Public Service as Assistant Deputy Minister – Special Envoy for Asia Pacific. Ms Petrachenko formerly held senior positions within Fisheries and Oceans Canada including Regional Director General reporting to the Deputy Minister, delivering all Fisheries and Oceans programs in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. Previously she held senior positions within Parks Canada, Department of Canadian Heritage including Director General and Regional Executive Director – delivering all aspects of programs with Parks Canada for 25 national parks, national park reserves and 25 national historic sites which included the Rocky Mountain World Heritage site. Ms Petrachenko has a Master of Arts, Public Administration from Carleton University, Ottawa and is a full Professorial Fellow at the University of Wollongong’s Centre for Marine Policy. She is well known for novel policy development and leadership in natural resource and protected areas management. Her research interests surround marine biodiversity conservation; oceans law, policy and governance; integrated marine and coastal planning and sustainable fisheries management.
Serena Zipf Serena is from Rocky Point Prawn Farm a family owned business, which had its beginnings amongst the cane fields of Woongoolba, halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. From one of the pioneering families in the district for growing sugarcane, the prawn farm was established in 1984 as an attempt to diversify from the declining fortunes of the sugar industry in Queensland. Initial crops of crayfish proved unsaleable, resulting in a shift to prawns. The operation is now made up of three businesses - Rocky Point Prawn Farm (est.1988), Rocky Point Hatchery (est.1989) and Rocky Point Foods Japan (est.2002). The company has recently diversified into barramundi production and expanded operations to North Queensland. Serena has a Bachelor of Arts/ Law from the University of Queensland. She speaks fluent Japanese, Mandarin and English. Rocky Point Prawn Farm has received several awards including Premier of Queensland’s award for excellence in agribusiness exports, Queensland - Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Supreme export award winner, Minister for Primary Industries’ award for excellence in marketing, Australian Institute of Management’s (AIM) owner/operator manager of the year. Serena also has held the following appointments Australian Prawn Farmers’ Association- Executive Board, Department of State Development’s Aquaculture Advisory Committee, National Food Industry Strategy- Market development and Trade committee, National Aquaculture Council as the Minister’s independent observer. Current activities include independent director on the board of Queensland Sea Scallops and guest lecturing at Macquarie University’s Graduate School of Management. Her proudest achievement is without doubt her four children!
Changing Markets
Paul Catalano Paul Catalano has been one the proactive pioneers in the changing markets of the seafood industry. His experience has evolved from a humble fish and chip shop in 1969 through to retail, wholesale and supermarkets. Catalano Seafoods, most recent catalyst for change was the development of a new generation of seafood retailing, Seafood Secrets, www.seafoodsecrets.com.au. Never complacent, every sector offered the opportunity to be innovative and lead the way, starting from the design and implementation of the 1st self serve wet fish outlet in Perth. The next phase was the 1st thrust into chilled fish into the supermarket sector which became the mainstay of the new wholesale division. Not satisfied with local supermarkets Paul undertook the daunting challenge of supplying chilled trawl fish into the UK market servicing clients such as Sainsbury and Tesco. Paul’s pinnacle achievement is Seafood Secrets, as the name implies it is about educating the consumer to believe that consistency of chilled is possible and quality of frozen can be the norm. It is a bold and innovative approach to offering consumers what the industry was always in fear of offering. That is, what we would buy ourselves if we were no longer in the business. Seafood Secrets has become the showroom to industry and prompted the demand of chilled and local frozen into the Independent supermarkets of Western Australia With national and state Quality Management Awards, then on to Best Retailer and Research And development awards under his belt, it would pay to keep watching this space.
Peter Clemes Peter Clemes is the Tasmania Regional Director of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), with over 20 years experience in administering competition and consumer law. Peter has worked in State and Federal agencies since 1976 and is a CPA with a background in administration, accounting, taxation as well as trade practices law. His office has conducted many major investigations into anti-competitive and anti-consumer corporate conduct in Tasmania and interstate. Peter has presented numerous Trade Practices compliance and awareness sessions with business and consumer groups, including for the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ professional course for 10 years.
Gus Dannoun Gus commenced with Sydney Fish Market (formerly Fish Marketing Authority) in December 1981. During his time at the Market Gus has held a number of senior positions including that of IT Manager, Assistant to the General Manager and his current role Supply Manager, a position he has held since November 1999. Although having a background in Information Technology, Gus’s principal role today is to source and co-ordinate the supply of seafood to the Sydney Fish Market as well as being the primary point of contact for all suppliers, domestic and international. Prior to taking on his current role, Gus was closely involved in the successful introduction of the Dutch auction clock system in 1989. His work on this project covered every facet from research through to design and development. In 2000, he was involved in the introduction of SFMlive; an Internet based business-to-business solution for the seafood industry. Outside of SFM, Gus is the Chair of the NSW Fishing Industry Council and an Industry representative on the Australian Fish Names Committee. Amongst the many exciting projects Gus has been involved with at the Sydney Fish Market, is the current project to develop a range of branded value-added products utilising low value and underutilised species. The project also involves the development of strategic alliances with key stakeholder groups from wild capture and aquaculture through to post-harvest. When complete, the new range of products will be marketed through independent fish retailers. The background to what led Sydney Fish Market down this road and how this reflects future market trends will be presented at Seafood Directions 2007.
Matt Muggleton Matthew Muggleton spent his childhood on the far west coast of South Australia and pursued his studies in Aquaculture at the Flinders University of South Australia. After graduating, he spent a number of years working for a Regional Development Agency in South Australia dealing with aquaculture development. In 2004 Matthew joined CORVEL Marketing and Management - a consulting company specialising in seafood industry and has subsequently become a partner.. CORVEL has over 15 years experience within the seafood industry; working with the major SA sectors including Rocklobster, Oyster, Blue Crab and Prawns. Over the last two years, Matthew has been instrumental, as part of the Southern Rocklobster Limited team, in completing research and development to establish an import platform to facilitate commercial trade of branded Clean Green Australian Southern Rocklobster to new markets. The ‘Fisher Direct’ program to high-end markets in the USA, is based on product specifications and behavioural standards through the supply chain from ‘pot to plate’.
Alan Snow Alan Snow has over thirty years technical experience in the food industry and 15 years experience in the seafood industry Alan is particularly skilled in information retrieval systems, food chemistry and food microbiology having worked as part of the Australian Seafood Extension and Advisory Service (AUSEAS), service and more recently responsible for the Technical Information Services at Seafood Services Australia. Alan commenced his own consultancy service, Alan Snow Konsulting in 2005. The services provided by ASK are • Providing technical and innovative solutions – especially in the post harvest seafood industry • Undertaking fundamental market research on specific sectors of the seafood industry • Providing advise on food safety and quality issues; • Assisting in funding applications and project management • Developing approved arrangements, seafood safety, quality and HACCP systems; • Helping industry to use correct Australian fish names • Assisting in the development of Seafood Traceability and Biosecurity systems for their business. Essentially, if you have a problem, ASK.