Professor Culum Brown is the leader of The Fish Lab at Macquarie University, and he has made a significant contribution to the study of behavioural ecology of fishes over his research career. His research niche lies in the study of fish behaviour and its application to fisheries science, with his most significant contribution being enhancing our understanding of fish cognition and behaviour. Culum is a well-known champion of fish intelligence, having done research on a wide variety of model organisms, including salmoniids, sticklebacks, rainbowfish, guppies, and sharks. Much of his PhD research at the University of Queensland (2000) and post docs at Cambridge University focused on predator recognition and the social behaviour of fishes with a particular emphasis on social learning. Culum has applied his knowledge of fish cognition to enhancing the post-release survival of hatchery-reared fish (life-skills training), and life-skills training is now common practice in hatcheries world-wide.