The
Arafura
Timor
Research
Facility
(ATRF)
will
be
under
new
leadership
as a
result
of the
recent
departure
of CEO
Stuart
Fitch,
who
has
led
the
facility
since
its
inception.
The
ATRF
joint
venture
participants
and
Board
acknowledge
Mr
Fitch’s
contribution
to the
development
of the
ATRF
noting
the
major
milestones
that
have
been
achieved
since
he
took
the
helm
over
three
years
ago.
"We
are
pleased
with
the
progress
that
has
been
made
by the
ATRF
in a
relatively
short
time,"
said
ATRF
Board
chairman,
Mr
Bruce
McKay.
The
facility
is now
moving
into
its
operational
phase
and
will
be
supervised
by
North
Australian
Research
Unit (NARU)
operations
manager
Mr
Lyle
Hebb
while
the
ATRF
Board
finalises
plans
for
the
long
term
management
of the
ATRF.
The
ATRF,
which
was
officially
opened
in
March
2005,
is a
joint
venture
between
AIMS
and
The
Australian
National
University
(ANU).
It was
developed
through
a
successful
Major
National
Research
Facilities
(MNRF)
grant
application
in
2002
with
support
from
regional
institutions
including
NT
government
and
Charles
Darwin
University.
The
facility
was
established
to
accommodate
world
class
research
into
marine
and
coastal
ecosystems
of the
Arafura
and
Timor
seas
and to
explore
the
increasing
threats
to
Australia’s
fisheries
and
marine
bio-diversity
in the
region.
Since
opening
its
doors,
the
ATRF
facility
is 90%
occupied,
cutting-edge
laboratories
have
been
built
and a
wide
range
of
research
activities
are
well
underway.
"We
have
laid
the
foundation
for
the
development
of
effective
working
relationships
between
scientists,
coastal
communities
and
governments
from
the
Northern
Territory,
Indonesia,
and
East
Timor,"
said
Mr
Bruce
McKay.
The
ATRF
supports
research
in
marine
science,
fisheries,
aquaculture
and
fish
farming,
climate
change,
oceanography
and
social
science
of
coastal
communities.
