The Fisheries Conservation Award is presented annually to honor individuals, groups, organizations, or other entities for outstanding contributions to the conservation of aquatic resources. This prestigious award integrates the rich legacies of the Carl R. Sullivan Fishery Conservation Award, the President’s Fishery Conservation Award, and the William E. Ricker Resource Conservation Award, acknowledging accomplishments that advance aquatic resource conservation at local, regional, national, or international levels. Eligibility is not restricted to AFS members, and achievements can span political, legal, educational, scientific, and managerial successes.
The Fisheries Conservation Award upholds the spirit and intent of its foundational awards:
- The Carl R. Sullivan Fishery Conservation Award, created in 1991 in honor of Carl Sullivan, celebrated outstanding contributions to fishery resource conservation.
- The President’s Fishery Conservation Award recognized singular achievements or long-term contributions advancing aquatic resource conservation at regional or local levels.
- The William E. Ricker Resource Conservation Award highlighted accomplishments or activities with significant impacts on aquatic resource conservation nationally or internationally.
Nomination Guidelines
Eligibility: Open to individuals, groups, organizations, or other entities, regardless of AFS membership.
Contributions: Accomplishments may include political, legal, educational, scientific, and managerial successes that enhance the understanding, management, or conservation of aquatic resources.
Significance: Contributions should demonstrate a clear positive effect on aquatic resource conservation at local, regional, national, or international levels.
Submit Your Nomination
Nominations should include a synopsis of fishery conservation contributions; a description of the influence of those contributions on improved understanding, management, or use of fishery resources; and at least one additional supporting letter.
AFS started using a new awards submission platform in 2023! Awards should be submitted online unless otherwise noted at https://afsawards.awardsplatform.com/.
Nominations typically require a candidate’s name, full contact information, biographical information, and qualifications for the award and/or history of service to the Society. The nomination package should include a cover/nomination letter that describes the nominee’s qualifications and any relevant projects; letter should include the title and contact information for both the nominator and the nominee. Cover letters should be limited to two pages.
Up to three supporting documents will be accepted for each nomination. Supporting documents may include a current CV (up to 4 pages) and additional supporting letters (up to 2 pages).
The Awards Committee is dedicated to AFS goal of increasing diversity and inclusion within our Society. As part of this effort, we highly encourage nominations for individuals from historically underrepresented groups in the fisheries field.
Contact: AFS Past Presidents’ Advisory Council
Nomination deadline: April 1, 2025.
Submit nominations online: https://afsawards.awardsplatform.com/
Past Award Recipients – Carl R. Sullivan Fishery Conservation Award
- 1991 Stanley A. Moberly
- 1992 Senator John Breaux
- 1993 Peter A. Larkin
- 1994 Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission
- 1995 Edwin Phil Pister
- 1996 Sport Fishing Institute
- 1997 Fred H. Everest
- 1998 Information and Education Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Levenworth National Fish Hatchery
- 1999 Carl Safina
- 2000 Chesapeake Bay Foundation
- 2001 Not awarded
- 2002 Ken Hinman
- 2003 Trout Unlimited
- 2004 James R. Karr
- 2005 Keith Jefferts
- 2006 C. Jeff Cederholm
- 2007 Milton Love
- 2008 Ole A. Mathisen
- 2009 Ransom A. Myers
- 2010 Charlton Bonham and Richard Roos-Collins
- 2011 U.S. Representative, Norm Dicks, State of Washington
- 2012 The Alaska Salmon Program, University of Washington
- 2013 Richard D. Methot Jr.
- 2014 Gary Grossman
- 2015 The Native Fish Society
- 2016 William Hogarth
- 2017 John Waldman
- 2018 Dr. William Matthews
- 2019 Thomas Annear
- 2020 Robert Rose
- 2021 Fisheries Conservation Foundation
- 2022 Steve Moyer
- 2023 Lisa Kerr
- 2024 Apache Trout Recovery Implementation Team
Past Award Recipients – President’s Fishery Conservation Award
- 1995 Jerry Rasmussen
- 1996 Mike Dombeck, Oregon Trout
- 1997 Cleve Steward, Donald D. MacDonald, Governor Marc Racicot
- 1998 Jack E. Williams, Governor John Kitzhaber, Oregon Salmon Strategy Team, Paul Brouha
- 1999 Robert L. Kendall, Electric Power Research Institute
- 2000 Columbia River Intertribal Fisheries Commission, John Gunn
- 2001 William Dill, Almo Cordone, William D. Ruckelshaus
- 2002 Salvador Contreras Balderas, Mississippi Interstate Commission Resource Association
- 2003 The Right Honourable Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada, The Honourable David Anderson, Canadian Minister of the Environment
- 2004 Richard K. Kessler, W. Michael Turner
- 2005 Bruce Rieman – Member category; Project Salmon Habitat And River Enhancement (SHARE) – Non-member category
- 2006 Great Lakes Fish Health Committee
- 2007 the Wetlands Initiative
- 2008 Edwin P. Pister
- 2009 Dave W. Willis – Member category; The Hudson River Foundation – Non-member category
- 2010 Eglin Air Force Base Natural Resources Section
- 2011 James Franks – Member category; Trout Unlimited’s Eastern Abandoned Mine Program – Non-member category
- 2012 Turner Enterprises’ Biodiversity Division and the Turner Endangered Species Fund – Non-member category
- 2013 Larry L. Olmsted and James R. Nassar
- 2014 David Fielder and Michael Thomas
- 2015 David Brown – Member category; The Oregon Chub Team – Non-member category
- 2016 Mark Hudy – Member category
- 2017 Richard Dyrland – Member category; The West Palm Beach Fishing Club – Non-member category
- 2018 Jerry Jacobi – Member category; Partnership for the Delaware Estuary – Non-member category
- 2019 Harriet Perry – Member category; World Fish Migration Foundation – Non-member category
- 2020 Wolf Dieter Busch – Member category; Upper Willamette Stewardship Network – Non-member category
- 2021 Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Tails n’ Scales Recreational Reporting Program; in memory of Cay Collette Goude
- 2022 Friends of the Chicago River
- 2023 Eric Doyle; Vermejo Park Ranch
- 2024 Oneida Lake Association
Past Award Recipients – William E. Ricker Resource Conservation Award
- 1995 Brian Tobin
- 1996 Norville Prosser, Gary Edwards, Robert Batky, Bill Price, Helen Sevier, Tom Bedell
- 1997 Not awarded
- 1998 Robert H. Boyle, John Cronin, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
- 1999 Great Lakes Fishery Commission
- 2000 Robert Behnke
- 2001 Pacific Biological Station
- 2002 Gary Matlock
- 2003 Michael Sissenwine
- 2004 Gary E. Davis
- 2005 Vyacheslav P. Shuntov
- 2006 Resource Evaluation and Assessment Division, NOAA
- 2007 Walter R. Courtenay
- 2008 Robin S. Waples
- 2009 David A. Fournier
- 2010 William Walter Fox
- 2011 Joseph S. Nelson
- 2012 John Helle
- 2013 Brian J. Shuter
- 2014 Ronald Taylor
- 2015 Coalition of Columbia Basin Tribes( group of 15 Columbia River basin tribes & Canadian First Nations)
- 2016 Michael Jones
- 2017 Jim Reynolds
- 2018 Center for the Advancement of Population Assessment Methodology
- 2019 Joseph Cech, Jr.
- 2020 Douglas Dixon
- 2021 Reef Environmental Education Foundation and the Cayman Islands Department of Environment, for the Grouper Moon Project
- 2022 Canadian Centre for Evidence-Based Conservation
- 2023 International Year of the Salmon
- 2024 Duane Chapman
