The Australian Society For Limnology (ASL) is a scientific society whose focus is the study and management of inland waters. The ASL was established in 1961, and has a membership of more than 650 scientists, managers, engineers, teachers and tertiary level students from all states and territories. Members have a strong professional interest in inland aquatic issues, in the maintenance of biodiversity, the maintenance and/or restoration of water quality, and the wise use of aquatic resources.

50th ASL Congress & 43rd NZFSS Congress 2011

The 50th Congress of the Australian Society for Limnology was held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre in September 2011.  This was a joint conference with the New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Society, and in association with the annual Riversymposium. The  Congress was a huge success with 251 delegates from 9 countries.

Due to the floods in Brisbane in January, the Brisbane & Exhibition Convention Centre upgrade was not completed in time for the ASL Congress. Another venue proved difficult to find so it was agreed that the BCEC would build the conference a plenary room and breakout rooms inside Exhibition Hall 2 – still next to the Riversymposium in Hall 1. This was achieved using large drapes and a layout designed to minimise the noise between breakout rooms.
The original venue for the 50^th Birthday Congress dinner, the Regatta Hotel, was also affected by the floods and had to cancel our booking. Hillstone St Lucia was the new venue booked, a total of 160 people attended the dinner, many of whom danced all night and conitued on afterwards!

Three field trips were planned for after the conference – two of which went ahead. One trip visited the Sunshine Coast and Maroochy River, run by Peter Armstrong and Mick Smith (Sunshine Coast Regional Council). A “great day” was the general feedback.

The second was a two day trip to North Stradbroke Island run by Jon Marshall and Glenn McGregor (DERM). “Awesome” and “Fantastic” were a couple of descriptions included in the feedback.

Follow the ASL on Facebook -
Keep up with the latest society news, view the Congress photos and keep in contact with the friends you made in Brisbane!