Next start date: October 14th
IFM 56th Annual Conference. 14-15 October
Conserving UK Fish Habitats in a Changing Environment
Register HereEvent details
Start
14 October 2025
Venue
Future Inn Bristol Cabot Circus,
Bond Street,
Bristol,
UK
Course fees
£290
Conserving UK Fish Habitats in a Changing Environment
14-15 October
Future Inns, Bristol
This year’s IFM Annual Conference will be hosted by the Southwest Branch and will be held in the wonderful city of Bristol.
In an era of accelerating environmental change and growing pressures on aquatic ecosystems, this conference will delve into the challenges facing freshwater, transitional, and marine environments. We will explore how habitat connectivity, ecological resilience, and multi-sector engagement can support thriving aquatic ecosystems and sustainable fisheries into the future whilst offering a comprehensive platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration across disciplines and sectors.
The conference will feature speakers from the UK, Ireland and beyond for two days of presentations, posters, and networking, including the Annual Dinner & Awards.
Conference sessions will cover
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Conservation and restoration for species recovery
- Putting the data in to action
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Working together: The importance of collaboration in fisheries conservation
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The evolving role of monitoring in UK Fisheries Management
- Habitat engineering
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Policy, governance and practice
The conference programme can be downloaded below
The John Gregory Lecture - Shaun Leonard, Wild Trout Trust
We are delighted to welcome Shaun Leonard to Bristol to present this year's John Gregory Lecture.
Early Careers Group Workshop - 13th October 13:00 - 17:00
This year sees us host our first IFM Early Careers Group Workshop. This will take place at the conference venue on the Monday afternoon before the conference.
The first session will be led by Jim Lyons of the Environment Agency and will be looking at 'the application of acoustic methods for fisheries surveys, and the importance of multi survey methods as best practice'
The second part of the workshop will be given over to career development, accreditation and support. This will cover the new Chartership routes from the Society of the Environment, mentoring and the career pathways now open to people working in fisheries. This will be led by the IFM Training and CPD team.
Lunch and refreshments will be provided
To register interest in attending please email Iain Turner on [email protected]
We are very grateful to RS Aqua and Stonbury who have kindly supported the Early Careers Group workshop and student places
Annual Dinner and Awards
This year's annual dinner will be held in the Grade II listed Granary Building on Bristols harbour.
This commanding architectural marvel, designed by architects Archibald Ponton and William Venn Gough, was originally built in 1869 as a grain store. The building’s use then metamorphosed into the much-loved Granary Club that operated between 1969-1988 – a celebrated music venue that welcomed the likes of Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, Genesis, Thin Lizzie, Def Leppard, Billy Idol, ACDC, Queen, the Sex Pistols and Black Sabbath to the stage.
It was also the venue for the famous scene in Only Fools and Horses where Delboy fell through the bar.
The granary prides itself on its sustainable approach to food and drink and sources 99% of its ingredients from within 30 miles of Bristol.
The dinner is a great opportunity to relax in wonderful surroundings whilst enjoying great food and an opportunity to connect, talk fish and share ideas with fellow delegates.
Following the dinner we will also have the IFM Training Awards for 2025
Please note the dinner must be booked separately to the delegate fee
The annual Dinner and Awards are very kindly supported by
Delegate information
We have put together a little guide to Bristol which we hope is useful.
For even more information on Bristol, where to stay and how to get there check out the Visit Bristol website here
Further conference supporters
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