
Conference Events
Welcome Reception
hosted by SeaLife Mooloolaba - Ocean Tunnel

Key dates
Registration & Abstracts open
13 Jan 2025
Abstracts close
14 Mar 2025
Student travel awards close
14 Mar 2025
Registration closes
16 May 2025

6 – 8pm Monday 16 June 2025
Come and join us for our very special welcome reception, sponsored and hosted by SeaLife Sunshine Coast! Catch up with your colleagues (both human and elasmobranch) in the Ocean Tunnel while enjoying canapes and welcome beverages to kick off the 20th Anniversary OCS Conference.
The aquarists and curators from SeaLife will also be on hand to answer all of your questions regarding animal husbandry, enrichment, ecotourism and how to forge a career in captive shark and ray management and education.
The Welcome Reception is free of charge. Plus one guests are welcome for an additional fee.
Conference registration desk will be open on arrival.
This event is proudly sponsored by SeaLife Sunshine Coast.
Check out the SeaLife website here!


Conference Dinner
x The Savvy Squire - Mooloolaba

6 - 10pm on Thursday 19 June 2025
Join us in concluding the 20th Anniversary OCS Conference with a dinner and drinks at The Savvy Squire, located at the idyllic Mooloolaba Wharf. A three-course meal with drinks package will be accompanied by awards, congratulations, and celebrations of the research presented throughout the conference, as well as the immeasurable contributions to marine science and OCS over the last 20 years! It’ll be an evening to remember sipping drinks next to the current and next generation of chondrichthyan advocates and scientists. Be sure to grab your ticket, bring a mate if so inclined (as we say about chondrichthyans, the more the merrier), and not miss out on this perfect conclusion to OCS 2025!
This event is an add-on cost to the registration fee, purchased during the registration. Plus one guests are welcome for an additional fee.
During the event, all food and drinks costs are included.
Check out The Savvy Squire website here!


Student Night
x Black flag Brewing - Mooloolaba

6 - 9pm on Tuesday 17 June 2025
Join us at Blackflag Brewing for an evening of networking and connecting with like-minded chondrichthyan mates! Geek out on deep water sharks or debate if chimeras or rays are better while getting to know your peers with a bevvie in hand. We’ll have fun activities to break the ice, and may have some celebrity appearances by our favorite researchers, with some music and OCS highlights playing throughout the night. Wear your favorite marine merch, represent your favorite species, and come ready for the best night of the conference!
The Student Night is for student attendees and invited guests, and is free of charge.
Venue and General Information
Address: 13 Brisbane Rd, Mooloolaba QLD 4557 (down the road from the conference venue)
Time: 6pm to 9pm
About: Conveniently located off the Mooloolaba Esplanade, and around the corner from our primary conference venue “Mantra Mooloolaba” Blackflag is a local favourite. Read what the team at black flag think of their venue below:
“Hidden down a back alley just minutes from Mooloolaba Beach is your next stop for a beer. It’s our OG venue, our spiritual home and the birthplace of the crazy ideas that grew into Blackflag. This bar is a labour of love from us to you, come on down and have a beer with us, play some free pool, live out your punk rock dreams and stop by the takeaway shed on the way out for some take home delight.”
Check out Blackflag Brewing website here!

