Experienced fishing sector professional and fisheries scientist Dr Jamin Forbes has been appointed as FRDC Strategic Partnerships Manager to help deliver mutually beneficial opportunities in research and development.
FRDC Managing Director Dr Patrick Hone said the role had been created to help identify and build new partnerships to realise fresh opportunities, acquire additional resources and enable co-investment to tackle some of the major challenges facing fishing and aquaculture under the FRDC Research and Development Plan 2020-25.
‘Our plan is ambitious and seeks to respond to some of the larger challenges and opportunities that are ahead, including building resilience to climate change, creating value from waste streams and regenerating natural systems through circular economies, accelerating digital transformation, and creating opportunities in fishing and aquaculture for Indigenous communities,’ he says.
‘We recognise a need to do things differently, to help create the future we all aspire to for fishing and aquaculture in Australia.’
Jamin says he is looking forward to working with external partners to deliver mutually beneficial opportunities in research and development.
‘I’m particularly looking forward to working with non-traditional partners outside of fishing and aquaculture, such as in agriculture, the environment sector and technology companies to achieve strategically aligned outcomes and deliver impact at scale.’
Jamin, who is based in Wagga Wagga, has a PhD in freshwater ecology, a master’s degree in biotechnology and an undergraduate degree in medical science.
He was most recently director of business development at Charles Sturt University (CSU). During this time, he wrote a submission for the Southern New South Wales Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub and helped secure funding from the Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment for the Biosecurity Training Centre established at CSU. He also helped to secure the $3.8m Next Generation and Water Engineering Hub at CSU, which aims to provide eco-hydraulic solutions to improve ecological conditions and fish migration in rivers.
Jamin previously worked for the NSW Department of Primary Industries as a research scientist, specialising in recreational inland fisheries for Murray Cod and Golden Perch and trout fisheries in the Snowy Mountains.
He is a keen recreational fisher and previously owned a charter fishing business, which took guests on fishing trips on the Murrumbidgee River and rivers in the Top End of the Northern Territory.
Jamin has written a number of books, including the Fishing Atlas for the Murrumbidgee River and Reel Time: Fishy Tales from a Serious Angler and has been a regular contributor to fishing magazines.
