american fisheries society newsletter

Symposium Proposals for 2021 Annual Meeting in Baltimore

Symposium proposals for the 2021 Annual Meeting are due February 26. Under the theme of “Investing in People, Habitat, and Science,” we welcome topics for in-person and virtual symposia that exemplify the latest research in fisheries science and that will benefit a range of audiences with the aim of advancing the science of fisheries ecology, conservation, and management. Continuing Education proposals are also due on February 26.

FEATURED PAPERS

Evaluating Fish Rescue as a Drought Adaptation Strategy for Imperiled Coho Salmon

Projected intensification of drought as a result of climate change may reduce the capacity of streams to rear fish, exacerbating the challenge of recovering salmonid populations listed under the Endangered Species Act. Without management intervention, some stocks will likely go extinct as stream drying and fragmentation reduce juvenile survival to unsustainable levels. To offset drought‐related mortality, fish rescue programs have proliferated, whereby juvenile salmonids are captured and transferred to off‐site rearing facilities. However, the efficacy of this potential conservation tool remains poorly understood, so a life cycle model was used to examine the implications of fish rescue on the abundance of Coho Salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch across serial life stages.

FISHERIES

Interview with Photographer Ryan Hagerty

Ryan Hagerty has become something of a celebrity around the AFS Publications Department. His broad range of photography for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is publicly available and incredibly useful for AFS journals and Fisheries. If we need a photo of a certain fish species, chances are Hagerty has it.

Responding to Ecosystem Transformation: Resist, Accept, or Direct?

Ecosystem transformation can be defined as the emergence of a self‐organizing, self‐sustaining, ecological, or social–ecological system that deviates from prior ecosystem structure and function. The authors of this paper present a framework that encompasses three strategies for fish and wildlife managers dealing with ecosystems vulnerable to transformation. Specifically, managers can resist change and strive to maintain existing ecosystem composition, structure, and function; accept transformation when it is not feasible to resist change or when changes are deemed socially acceptable; or direct change to a future ecosystem configuration that would yield desirable outcomes.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Omega-3 Webinar with Author Paul Greenberg

Register now for a webinar on March 26 at 4 pm EDT with author Paul Greenberg on his new book, The Omega Principle: Seafood and the Quest for Long Life and a Healthier Planet.

Cornell Fieldwork Safety Webinar

As a result of identity prejudice, certain individuals are more vulnerable to conflict and violence when they are performing scientific work in the field. To help create change and best practices, everyone within the scientific community will benefit from learning more about the risks some colleagues face performing fieldwork. Cornell University is offering a free webinar on February 17 on "Safer Science: Strategies to protect at-risk researchers when conducting fieldwork."

Conservation History Blog

AFS Past President and 2020 plenary speaker Larry Nielsen has a new website, "Today in Conservation," which contains a story—or two—for every day of the year about an environmental or conservation event that happened that day, written in Nielsens engaging style.

Nancy Foster Award Given to Anne Shaffer

Anne Shaffer, Ph.D., received the Nancy Foster Habitat Conservation Award, presented by NOAA Fisheries and the AFS Estuaries Section. Shaffer is the Executive Director and Lead Scientist of the Coastal Watershed Institute in Port Angeles, Washington, which works to protect and restore marine and terrestrial ecosystems through scientific research and local community, place-based partnerships.

USFWS Turns 150

In 1871, people such as the founders of the American Fisheries Society recognized that US fisheries were in trouble and called on Congress to act. The United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries was formed on February 9, 1871. It was the first federal agency created to study and protect a natural resource. Over the years, the agency evolved into the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Fish and Aquatic Conservation program.

It's Not Too Late to Renew for 2021

Do you put the "pro" in procrastinate? The membership grace period ended January 31, but you can still re-join without losing your membership history, access to online journals and monthly webinars, and savings on books and meeting registration.

RESOURCES

EVENTS: See upcoming AFS and other events in our Events Calendar
CAREERS: For the latest JOBS postings from around the U.S. and Canada
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