Brent Nichols Elected Second Vice President of AFS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 9, 2025

Contact: Beth Beard
Email: [email protected]
301-453-5818

Brent Nichols Elected Second Vice President of American Fisheries Society

(Bethesda, Md.) – P. Brent Nichols, Director of the Spokane Tribe of Indians Division of Fisheries and Water Resources, was elected Second Vice President of the American Fisheries Society (AFS). This vote will make Nichols the 144th president of AFS in 2028-2029.

Founded in 1870, 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.

“Brent has been developing and managing million-dollar budgets for the past 13 years, building teams and growing a staff with focused programmatic goals, and organizing the chaos that comes along with it,” said AFS Executive Director Jeff Kopaska. “This experience will help us address the challenges of maintaining memberships, adding to our financial support (i.e., partnerships and sponsorships), and juggling the budgetary constraints that will happen.”

Nichols earned his BS and MS degrees in the biological sciences from Jacksonville State University and a PhD in molecular biology from the University of South Florida. He started a small environmental consulting firm in August 2000 until he sold the company in 2013. He then accepted a position with the Spokane Tribe of Indians in 2013, building the program from a staff of 5 to over 22 individuals that are recognized throughout the region. The program is responsible for the preservation, protection, and enhancement of tribal fishery resources with three core objectives: (1) protect the existing fishery, (2) create a White Sturgeon fishery, and (3) return Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) to their historical range in the blocked area of the Columbia River to healthy and harvestable populations.

“Serving on nonprofit boards, owning and operating a private consulting firm, and directing a growing fisheries program has helped my development as a leader and honed skills that will benefit AFS,” Nichols said. “My analytical skills in breaking down problems, identifying root causes, and developing solutions along with the attention to detail needed to understand and represent multiple viewpoints, manage large budgets, and relate complex fisheries information to non-scientist are some of the most beneficial.”

A Life Member of AFS, Nichols has served in several roles, mostly recently in assisting in planning the 2022 Annual Meeting in Spokane, including a historic fish release that marked the first time in 110 years that Chinook Salmon swam in the Spokane River. He has also been involved in the Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program, Washington–British Columbia Chapter, and Fish Culture Section.

“The American Fisheries Society is well represented locally, nationally, and internationally,” Nichols said. “The Society is one of the strongest professional societies in existence today. The ability to connect and network with dedicated professionals creates opportunities for collaboration, idea sharing, and friendship building. I am truly grateful for this opportunity.”

“We look forward to formally welcoming Brent to the AFS officer corps at our Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, in August,” said Kopaska. “We also thank Jeff Heindel for standing for election and appreciate his ongoing service to the Society and the fisheries profession.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: A higher resolution version of the photo is available by contacting Beth Beard at [email protected].