(Atlantic City, NJ) August 21, 2018 – Dr. Gerald Jacobi, member of the Santa Fe River Commission, received the President’s Fishery 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 President’s Fishery Conservation Award is awarded for singular accomplishments or long-term contributions that advance aquatic resource conservation at a regional or local level.

“We applaud the distinguished contributions of Dr. Jerry Jacobi and thank him for his continuous efforts to advance aquatic resource conservation,” said AFS President Steve L. McMullin.

Dr. Jacobi  has worked tirelessly to develop a macroinvertebrate multimetric index for assessing the biological condition of New Mexico’s wadeable streams, and then used that index and ancillary information for improving water quality throughout the state.

Dr. Jacobi’s research provided critical information for rehabilitating Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii virginalis and Gila Trout Oncorhynchus gilae gilae, and improving water quality in the Chama, Rio Grande, Mimbres, Pecos, Red, San Juan and Santa Fe Rivers, as well as numerous small creeks. Dr. Jacobi’s papers are extensively cited throughout the freshwater scientific community interested in freshwaters of the southwest. His teachings and research have been highly influential to his students, many of whom have become scientists within both state and federal environmental agencies where aquatic conservation is a primary concern.

Dr. Jacobi was an excellent professor, teaching thousands of students. He is a great field biologist collecting tens of thousands of samples. But his strongest attribute may be his mentorship. Many of his students have gone on to pursue careers in the aquatic sciences and his legacy will live on helping conserve and shape the aquatic environment for years to come

He received an AFS Golden Membership Award in 2011, and in recognition of his decades of work towards improving the ecological condition of New Mexico waters, he received the 2012 Environmental Stewardship Award from the Society for Freshwater Science (SFS) and was selected as a SFS Fellow in 2017.

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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