MEDIA ADVISORY
- WHO: American Fisheries Society (AFS) and the Mid-Atlantic Chapter. Co-sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC)
- WHAT: Several Regional Issues, Including Offshore Wind Energy, Aquaculture, Climate Impacts and Other Cutting Edge Research Are Examined As Some 1,800 Fisheries Scientists and Professionals Converge in Atlantic City for American Fisheries Society Conference
- WHEN: Five days (August 19-24, 2018)
- WHERE: Atlantic City Convention Center
Highlights (see links at bottom of the page):
- Monday (Aug 20) welcome from NJ DEP Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe
- Plenary speakers include: Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator of NOAA Fisheries; Bonnie McCay, Ph.D., Rutgers University, retired professor of human dimensions of environmental issues and policy; and Christine O’Connell, Ph.D., an expert in the field of science communication, policy, and engagement at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, Stony Brook University.
- Hundreds of educational presentations will cover issues like fisheries management, habitat restoration, climate impacts, microplastic impacts, new technologies, aquaculture challenges, extreme event impacts, electronic reporting mechanisms, acidification in aquatic ecosystems
- A special “Offshore Wind Energy” panel – Regional and international experts will explore the trade-offs inherent in offshore wind energy development, discuss current fisheries impacts, research gaps and the need for long-term regional monitoring on the front-end of large-scale wind energy development projects. [Dependent on available bandwidth at the site, we plan to have a Facebook Live online broadcast available at https://www.facebook.com/AmericanFisheriesSociety .]
- 5k event for runners called the “Spawning Run,” filling the Atlantic City boardwalk with athletic scientists
- WHY: Every year AFS members and others representing the fisheries sciences and related professions gather to share new research and to make connections. Participants come from around the country, and from outside the U.S. (e.g., Canada, Mexico, and China). While the majority of our conference is education-related, we host dozens of professional networking events as well as those for students, fishery scientists, and others.
- CONTACT: Martha Wilson, cell 202.445.9514, email: [email protected], Beth Beard, cell 240.687.3761, email: [email protected]
Science Symposia Summary: https://afs.confex.com/afs/2018/meetingapp.cgi/Program/1086
Five-day Schedule-At-A-Glance: https://afsannualmeeting.fisheries.org/preliminary-schedule/
AFS Meeting Website: https://afsannualmeeting.fisheries.org/
Founded in 1870, the American Fisheries Society (AFS) is the world’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to strengthening the fisheries profession, advancing fisheries science, and conserving fisheries resources. www.fisheries.org