The Meritorious Service Award, first presented in 1986, is awarded annually to an individual AFS member for loyalty, dedication, and meritorious service to the Society over a long period of time and for exceptional commitment to the programs, objectives, and long-term goals of the Society.

The Meritorious Service Award was renamed in Doug Austen’s honor in 2024, upon his retirement as the Executive Director of the American Fisheries Society.

Submit Your Nomination

Nominations should include the candidate’s name, full contact information, biographical information and/or history of the nominee’s service (not to exceed 2 pages) to the Society.  Letters supporting the nomination are welcome.

AFS Awards should be submitted online  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.

Past Recipients of the Award

• 1986 Robert F. Hutton
• 1987 Mercer H. Patriarche
• 1988 Elwood A. Seaman
• 1989 Reeve M. Bailey
• 1990 Carl R. Sullivan
• 1991 Arden J. Trandahl
• 1992 Mary R. Frye
• 1993 Kenneth Carlander
• 1994 C. Richard Robins
• 1995 Christine M. Moffitt
• 1996 Nick C. Parker
• 1997 Gerald R. Bouck
• 1998 Lee C. Redmond
• 1999 John G. Boreman, Jr.
• 2000 Billy J. Higginbotham
• 2001 Dick Ryder
• 2002 Larry Olmsted
• 2003 John Ney
• 2004 Carolyn A. Griswold
• 2005 Stan Moberly
• 2006 Christopher Goddard
• 2007 Paul J. Wingate
• 2008 Roger A. Rulifson
• 2009 F. Joseph Margraf
• 2010 Fred Harris
• 2011 David W. Willis
• 2012 Patricia M. Mazik
• 2013 Ira R. Adelman
• 2014 Dale Burkett
• 2015 Bruce Barton
• 2016 Gwen White
• 2017 Tom Bigford
• 2018 Robert Curry
• 2019 Julie Claussen
• 2020 David Ward
• 2021 Aaron Lerner
• 2022 Thomas Lang
• 2023 Gregg Lomnicky
• 2024 Doug Austen
• 2025 Julie Carter