John Conallin

Dr John Conallin

Freshwater fisheries researcher Senior Research Fellow, Gulbali Institute

Gulbali Institute

Biography

John Conallin has over a decade of international research experience working in different fields within IWRM, NRM and Fisheries Management and Ecology, within the broader international focus of food and water secuirty. He emphasises the importance of encompassing the social-ecological values within systems into management and decision making. His work focusses on capacity building through research of local stakeholders (primarily government and NGOs) with an emphasis on learning and pragmatism balanced with precision and aquiring evidence for use within decision making.

His main research is based within SE Asia and involves a focus on migratory fish within large river basins such as the Mekong and Ayeyarwady in Myanmar, which form the basis of food and nutrition security within those river basins. He conducts research and training of local institutions to work together on mapping the migratory routes of key fish species and how that information can be used with river basin planning, especially infrastructure planning. The second component of research into migratory fish species is around fish passage and irrigation infrastructure and building local capacity within the responsible organisations to plan, implement and monitor fish passage. The other major research emphasis is environmental flows (eflows) and the institutionalisation and implementation of eflows within developing countries. Currently, in this field he is working on developing a national framework for eflows within Myanmar for use within their water resource management.

Research
  • Capacity Development through Research (CDtR)
  • Fisheries management and ecology
  • Social-ecological systems and approaches
  • Adaptive Management and Monitoring and Evaluation
  • Environmental flows
  • Novel ecosystems - Agro-ecosystems
Publications
Full publications list on CRO

Recent Publications

    UN Policy Brief offers guidance to practitioners seeking to implement the irrigation systems
    Baumgartner, L., Conallin, J. and Turner, C. 2023. Modernizing irrigation for fisheries, biodiversity and ecosystem services. Next Generation Water Management Policy Briefs, No. 5. Bangkok, FAO.

  • Vu, A. V., Conallin, J., Lunn, Z., Chan, N., Lwin, M. M., Tun, N. N., Cowx, I. G., Baumgartner, L. J., Kewish, C. M., Akester, M., & Limburg, K. E. (2026). Migration and spawning strategies of hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha, Clupeidae) in the Ayeyarwady River revealed by otolith chemistry. Fisheries Research, 293, 107628. Article 107628. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107628
  • Hutton, D., Conallin, J., Jones, A., Kerr, J., Morgan, L., Joint Indigenous Grp, & Pardoe, C. (2025). Aboriginal ponds - an archaeological feature on the Murray River, with implications for wetland stewardship. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 32(4), 407-430. https://doi.org/10.1080/14486563.2025.2519026
  • Doyle, K., Lampard, B., Conallin, J., Vu, A. V., Slater, M., McGregor, C., Rolfe, Z., Pomorin, K., & Baumgartner, L. J. (2025). Citizen science PIT tagging in the Murray–Darling Basin. Charles Sturt University.
  • Bond, J., Pawsey, N., Conallin, J., & Baumgartner, L. J. (2025). Socio-institutional Considerations of Fishway Implementation at the Community-level in Southeast Asia. International Journal of the Commons. https://doi.org/10.5334/ijc.1471
  • Bond, J., Pawsey, N., Conallin, J., Ning, N., & Baumgartner, L. (2024). Fish passage across Southeast Asia: key informant insights into motivations and triggers for water resource planning and policymaking. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2024.2330982