Webinars

The Stock Assessment Process: Counting Fish February 10, 2021 1:30 pm EST Register online! Presented by: Erik H. Williams, PhD Chief, Sustainable Fisheries Branch NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Beaufort Lab Session description: What data is most important to stock assessments? In this session we’ll review the stock assessment process focusing on data and the important information it provides to understanding fish populations. We will also discuss the challenges in improving stock assessments. Presenter’s Biosketch: Dr. Erik H. Williams has been working on stock assessment models for nearly 25 years. Erik’s experience with fisheries work goes back to his days as an observer in the Bering Sea, military contractor, industry consultant, and stock assessment scientist. He is currently a branch chief at the NOAA Beaufort Lab where he oversees a staff of assessment analysts working on fish stocks in the U.S. South Atlantic.  AFS thanks the Student and Early Career Professional Subsection officers for their work to schedule this webinar!

Intro to eDNA: Applications, Advantages and Implications January 14, 2021 2:00 pm EST Register Now! Presented by: Jay Cashubec Precision Biomonitoring Precision Biomonitoring was created by scientists from the Biodiversity Institute at the University of Guelph in 2016. Considered the ‘Gold Standard’, PBI has been a leader in the development of and practical applications of eDNA and continues to offer new-age solutions to the increasingly demanding issues of today.    Jay Cashubec (E.P.) is an Aquatic Ecologist accredited in both the “Site Assessment and Reclamation” and “Fisheries and Wildlife” specializations through the Canadian Environmental Certifications Approvals Board (CECAB). Jay has 13 years of Environmental Consulting experience and is Provincially certified as a Fisheries Assessment Specialist. Jay has joined PBI’s team as their Business Development Manager for Environment, Food & Beverage.

Establishing Aquaculture Opportunity Areas and How to Get Involved December 7, 2020 3:00 pm EST Register Now! Presented by: Danielle Blacklock Director of NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOA), which are called for in the May 2020 Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth, are defined as geographic areas that have been evaluated for their potential for sustainable commercial aquaculture. Selected areas are expected to support multiple aquaculture farm sites of varying types including finfish, shellfish, seaweed, or some combination of these farm types. In this presentation, NOAA Fisheries will provide an overview of AOAs and the current request for information that is open until December 22. AFS members and the public are encouraged to provide comments for AOA creation in federal waters off of southern California and the Gulf of Mexico as well as the location of future AOAs. The synthesis of public input and NOAA’s powerful data-driven siting analysis are essential elements to highlight space that is environmentally, socially, and economically appropriate for commercial aquaculture. Speaker Bio: Danielle Blacklock oversees the aquaculture component of NOAA’s sustainable seafood portfolio. She leads the office’s work on regulation and policy, science, outreach, and international activities in support of U.S. aquaculture. Most recently, she served as a Senior Policy Advisor for Aquaculture. Prior to that, she was the Senior Advisor for Operations at Fisheries. She received her Master’s Degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Washington, and her Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Science from the University of Maine.

Stream Simulation Design Methodology: A design methodology for adapting road crossing infrastructure (bridges and culverts) to climate change Wednesday, September 9, 2020 2:00 pm Eastern Time Register Now Speaker: Robert Gubernick, R.G. Watershed Restoration Geologist USDA Forest Service National Stream and Aquatic Ecology Center   In North America, Climate change has caused increases in frequency and intensity of large storm events which strain our existing transportation infrastructure which are typically undersized due to historical requirements from the hydraulic design method and to changes in hydrology. The research shows 25mm to 75mm storms have increased by 45 to 50% in the Eastern half of the United States. The US Forest Service manages ~612,000 kilometers of road across an extremely diversified landscape. Just in the last 8 years, the northeast region (13 national Forests) of the US Forest Service sustained over $52 million of damages from these large storms. Climate change adaptation of our infrastructure is imperative as we replace our road stream crossings and attempt to make society’s transportation system more flood resilient. The US Forest Service Stream Simulation Design methodology originally developed for Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) has been shown to survive extremely large flood events (>>Q100 to Q500+ ) without structure loss or AOP passability with only minor if any repairs necessary. Stream simulation is a geomorphic design methodology that creates a stream channel within the road crossing structure in sync with the natural stream channel. This methodology is flexible as opposed to rigid, allowing the structure to adjust to aggradation and degradation, essentially making a structure invisible to the stream and enables the structure to survive floods larger than the design flood (Q100).   Presenter’s biosketch: Robert Gubernick is a Watershed Restoration Geologist for the USDA Forest Service National Stream and Aquatic Center.  He provides technical assistance to national forests in across all regions on a variety of stream restoration and road management issues.   Prior to joining NSAEC by on the Region 9 technical services team from 2011 to 2018 as the watershed restoration geologist. Previously from 1981 to 2010, Bob was the engineering geologist and the lead fish passage engineer for the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. In those positions, Bob also worked all over Region 9 and the state of Alaska as a geologist and project/design engineer for the all forests within R9, Tongass National Forest, Chugach National Forest, and the Bureau of Indian affairs on a variety of projects involving geomorphic, geologic, and hydrologic assessments of roads; hydraulic engineering (Fish Passage designs, stream restoration/stabilization, contract administration, inspections, training, and monitoring); remote sensing, and technical engineering input to regulatory agencies.   He is also member of the FishXing development team and the National AOP and Restoration team. His involvement includes teaching workshops about site assessment and fish passage, developing technical guides for designing road-stream crossings, and providing technical assistance to national forests, federal agencies, state agencies, and non-government organizations on road-related issues.

More than a River Monster: Conservation and Management of Alligator Gar Wednesday, August 12, 2020 2:00 pm Eastern Time Presented by: Nate Smith, Texas Parks & Wildlife Register Now! Growing appreciation of biodiversity and the role of apex predators, along with increasing popularity of multispecies and trophy-oriented angling, has elevated the status of gars – in particular, the Alligator Gar Atractosteus spatula – among anglers and biologists alike.  As a result, considerable effort has been spent in recent years to gain a working knowledge of the biology and ecology of the species in order to advance science-based management.  In January 2019, the Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society Alligator Gar Technical Committee hosted a symposium entitled, Advance in the conservation and management of North American gars to showcase the results of research and management efforts conducted throughout the species’ range.  Fishery researchers and managers presented a diversity of work, advancing the understanding of population dynamics, stock assessment, genetics, hatchery practices and stocking, habitat use, and angler desires associated with Alligator Gar fisheries.  This presentation highlights these works and provides a synthesis of the current state of science regarding Alligator Gar in the U.S.