America has MACNA, Europe is setting up for MACE, and now Australia is getting in on the act with their very own Marine Aquarium Conference of Australia. Happening next month in Cairns Australia, this inaugural event will be hosted by Cairns Marine at the Holiday Inn Cairns Harbourside November 20th to the 22nd.
MACA is set up more as a symposium than a conference with the three days of coral reef aquarium fraternity being mostly spent with presentations from 10 speakers. In between the lectures, attendees to the first MACA will be treated to lots of foods, and daily visits to the one and only Cairns Marine, the most significant purveyor of marine life from Australia.
The one big departure that MACA takes away from MACNA, Reefapalooza and ReefStock is that the cost of attendance is a whopping AU$350 registration fee! Thats kind of a high barrier to entry which is perhaps meant to restrict the first year to professional attendees, but at least it includes all the bus rides you’ll need for the weekend, plenty of food and a “Reef Pro-bag” for every registered attendee full of samples and redeemable vouchers.
We hope that MACA has a very successful first year so that the event can continue into the future and expand to help share more about reefing the Australian way. Visit the official MACA website for full details and additional information about the first Marine Aquarium Conference of Australia.
