The Wildlife Society recognizes AFS as a complementary and very important organization. We are pursuing avenues for deeper collaboration between our societies on issues of mutual interest, through publications, outreach efforts, technical assessments, and conferences. The conservation community is moving to a more holistic concept of natural resources conservation, one that encourages the integration of aquatic and adjacent upland systems along with the fish and wildlife that depend on them. An enhanced level of cooperation between TWS [The Wildlife Society] and AFS has great potential to promote a deeper understanding of these systems, with the consequence of better, more informed management of them. AFS is a key player in bringing science to conservation and management, and TWS will continue to partner with the Society in that critical effort.
– Ken Williams Executive Director, The Wildlife Society
The theme for 2013–2014 and the 2014 Annual Meeting was entitled From Fisheries Research to Management: Thinking and Acting Locally and Globally. Most of us think and act locally on a daily basis.
To increase our global presence we have implemented the following this past year:
An organization like AFS provides that nexus for everyone in the fisheries world, linking to all professional folks in fisheries, government agencies, NGOs [nongovernmental organizations], and academia. Their journals, the presentations at the Annual Meeting, and symposia are all valuable [aspects of the organization]. Right now the NMFS [National Marine Fisheries Service] is in the middle of reauthorizing the Magnuson Stevens Act. It’s hard to get everyone involved in fisheries at one single time. A group like AFS can provide that forum for professionals in fisheries to discuss and come together and establish goals of what they could change and refurbish within the act.
– Steve Meyers NMFS, Domestic Fisheries Division
As approved at its Little Rock retreat and business meeting, the Society conducted much of its business via monthly Management Committee calls (with minutes sent to the Governing Board for discussion, approval, or rejection).
- Held an October meeting, the Fisheries Leadership Dialogue, with federal agency leaders and NGOs to discuss ways in which the Society can help them meet their technical and policy needs (one-on-one meetings have continued throughout the year as issues arise).
- Held its mid-year meeting colocated with the North Central Division Annual Meeting in Kansas City, with many members participating via GoTo- Meeting (thereby reducing the costs and duration of the meeting; the 2015 mid-year meeting will be colocated with the Southern Division Annual Meeting).
- Developed and approved a Society advocacy policy (based on that policy, letters were sent in support of fisheries science in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment, the National Research Council’s Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences, and the United Nations’ Global Ocean Observing System).
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Approved a Special Committee review and report (cochaired by Jesse Trushenski and Tom Bigford) of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS) Strategic Hatchery and Workforce Planning Report.
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Approved a new Society Strategic Plan (chaired by Margaret Murphy and including six major goals: science, education, communication, networking, advocacy, governance, and 15 strategies for attaining those goals).
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Approved Guidelines for the Use of Fish in Research for publication on the Society website (chaired by Jill Jenkins and including chapters on general research considerations, statutory requirements, animal welfare, field and lab activities, marking/tagging, and final disposition).
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Approved Guidelines for the Use of Hatcheries in the Management of Aquatic Resources for publication in the North American Journal of Aquaculture (the committee was chaired by Jesse Trushenski, and the top three priorities identified by a scoping survey are comprehensive fishery management plans, biological and environmental feasibility, and risk–benefit analysis).
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Approved a policy for Society officer travel (focused on budgeting costs and detailing allowable expenditures).
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Approved funding to the Fisheries Information & Technology Section for upgrading the software for the Fisheries Analysis & Modeling Simulator from Windows XP to Windows 7.
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Via a special committee chaired by Ron Essig, published a list of North American colleges and universities with fisheries-related degrees on the Society website and surveyed major employers to determine coursework germane to hiring decisions.
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Completed revisions to the draft Society Policy on Mining and Oil & Gas Extraction following member review and comment. Resource policy efforts were led by Jesse Trushenski with technical expertise from the Resource Policy Committee and other AFS units. Work is underway to: finish revising the Policy Statement on Mining and Fossil Fuel Extraction ; complete a draft revision of our Policy on Introductions of Aquatic Species; initiate a new effort to revise the Policy on Nonpoint Source Pollution; and initiate a review of our Policy on the Concept of Marine Wilderness.
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Signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Southeast Ecological Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to maintain a website of imperiled North American aquatic fauna.
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Signed an MOU with the Chesapeake Conservancy to organize and implement the National Workshop on Large Landscape Conservation being held 23–24 October 2014 in Washington, D.C. (www.largelandscapenetwork.org/2014-nationalworkshop)
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Declared January 2014 to be “Fishery Safety Month,” encouraging AFS members to think safely about field research and laboratory science.
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Improved communications between Society staff, Officers, and Unit leaders, tasking staff to bring their level of expertise and knowledge to the corresponding committees, in order to ensure that staff is available to make important changes and offer help as needed.
AFS taps into the greatest collection of fisheries scientists I know of. One of my primary responsibilities is to organize sportsmen’s advocacy in Washington, D.C., in support of federal funding programs that conserve aquatic habitat and species. AFS is the best source of expertise about many of these programs, especially those at NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]. This kind of consensus and coalition building that AFS coordinates is what sportsmen must do to protect habitat, species, and our access to sporting opportunities.
– Jimmy Hague, Director, Center for Water Resources Initiative manager for water resources conservation
