(Atlantic City, NJ) August 22, 2018 – The Center for the Advancement of Population Assessment Methodology received the William E. Ricker Resource Conservation Award at the 2018 American Fisheries Society (AFS) Annual Meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey. AFS President Steve L. McMullin presented the award at the meeting’s plenary session. The William E. Ricker Resource Conservation Award recognizes singular accomplishments or long-term contributions that advance aquatic resource conservation at a national or international level.
“We applaud the distinguished contributions of The Center for the Advancement of Population Assessment Methodology and thank them for their continuous efforts to advance aquatic resource conservation,” said AFS President Steve L. McMullin.
The Center for the Advancement of Population Assessment Methodology (CAPAM) is a collaboration among the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southwest Fisheries Science Center and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) to promote research and development of fishery stock assessment methods.
CAPAM has developed a Stock Assessment Good Practices Program (GPP) predicated on a sound science-based foundation that improves current stock assessments and allows more assessments to be conducted by less experienced practitioners.
At the center of the GPP are workshops on stock assessment methodology, which involve both national and international scientists. In each workshop, leaders in the field hold open debates sparked by key questions from CAPAM staff, while students absorb the nuances to advance their deep learning on the topics.
CAPAM has conducted five workshops covering the topics: fishery selectivity, growth, data weighting, recruitment and spatio-temporal modelling of CPUE data. Over 20 countries have had participants in the CAPAM workshops.
The CAPAM workshops are particularly unique in their ability to foster community and enthusiasm in fisheries stock assessment research. The intense week-long workshops are intimate enough that early career scientists are included as equals and scoped such that they offer an intense introduction to topics that are fundamental to developing an ability to conduct stock assessments.
CAPAM has advanced the state of stock assessment science, communicated these advancements through the peer-reviewed literature, facilitated incorporation of these advances in actual stock assessments, facilitated collaboration among researchers, and engaged new generations of assessment scientists at each step.
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Editor’s Notes:
Founded in 1870, the American Fisheries Society (AFS) is the world’s oldest and largest fisheries science society. The mission of AFS is to improve the conservation and sustainability of fishery resources and aquatic ecosystems by advancing fisheries and aquatic science and promoting the development of fisheries professionals. With five journals and numerous books and conferences, AFS is the leading source of fisheries science and management information in North America and around the world.
General link: fisheries.org
Link to AFS Annual Meeting: afsannualmeeting.fisheries.org
