The Pan African Fish and Fisheries Association (PAFFA) is an international, quinquennial conference that brings together specialists from around the globe to share the growing body of research. The conference will be held from 24-28 September in Mangochi, Malawi, on the edge of Lake Malawi, a lake known for its prolific fish diversity. It is estimated that there will be approximately 280 attendees, nearly half of which will be African. Topics will cover fish systematics, freshwater ecology, conservation, and food security among others. JRS Biodiversity Foundation funds will support the participation of scientists involved in biodiversity informatics,  and a side event dedicated to biodiversity informatics, aimed at exposing conference attendees to key issues in biodiversity informatics and stimulating interest in incorporating informatics into fisheries research and management. This grant will also provide travel and conference support to seven African scientists and five local Malawian post-graduate students.

• Conference proceedings will be published in the Malawi Journal of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Development Studies.
• Abstracts from the conference are available here and will be made available on the LUANAR website.

In total, 319 delegates gathered in Mangochi for the PAFFA conference. The grant supported fourteen early career professionals and students to attend. JRS funds also contributed to a three day biodiversity informatics training, facilitated by the PAFFA organizers. An informatics specialist, Dr. Zedius Chikwambi, led the training and the event was co-funded by Southern African Network of Biosciences (SANBio). The training was attended by 22 individuals and presented introductory learning material on topics ranging from eDNA barcoding to big data handling.

Dr. Emmanuel Kaunda is a Professor in Aquaculture and Fisheries Science, Bunda College at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Principally, Kaunda is a Fisheries Ecologist and applying ecological principal to develop aquaculture and improve management of fisheries.  He is currently Coordinator of the NEPAD regional Fish Node– SANBio, a continental thrust to drive agenda of aquaculture and fisheries, and a coordinator of AfriFishNet, a network of African experts in Africa. In 2011, Kaunda was recognized as the Aquaculturist of the Year by the Aquaculture Association of Southern Africa (AASA) for his outstanding contribution towards the Aquaculture sector in Africa. He is the Chairperson of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the 6th Pan African Fish and Fisheries Association that is being hosted in Malawi.

JRS is excited to join the Malawian Government Fisheries Department, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, United States Agency for International Development, The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ),  Food Agricultural Organization, World Fish, Mzuzu University, Southern African Development Cooperation secretariat,  Malawi University of Science and Technology, and University of Malawi in supporting the 6th PAFFA conference in Malawi . This conference is an opportunity to feature biodiversity informatics to the thematic fisheries conference. As conference support is an important component of our capacity development and partnerships program, we are delighted to enable early-career scientists to participate with colleagues from around Africa to learn from one another. JRS sees great opportunity for biodiversity informatics to be vital to fish research and fisheries management and is excited to see it incorporated into the PAFFA conference. The demand for information regarding freshwater ecosystem health and biodiversity may also propel the adoption of biodiversity informatics for other ecosystems.