Abstract submission for the 9th World Fisheries Congress is open until June 30, 2023. Submit your abstract to participate in one of more than 60 themed sessions available at the 2024 World Fisheries Congress in Seattle, Washington, USA.

Only a little over 3 weeks remain to save with early registration rates for the Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids! And current AFS members save even more! Register by July 7 to save.

Make plans to come a little early and join one of our Continuing Education Courses offering valuable career skills:

• Introductory GIS for Fisheries Biologists
• Advanced GIS for Fisheries Biologists
• Data Wrangling Using the Tidyverse in R
• Database Concepts, Design, and Application in Wildlife and Fisheries Science
• How To Run Citizen Science Projects with Anglers
• Aquatic Plant Identification
• Informing Fisheries Management with Individual-Based Models in R: Design, Implementation, and Analysis

Canada is surrounded by three oceans and home to more freshwater lakes and rivers than can be reasonably counted. It is therefore not surprising that Canada has a plethora of freshwater fisheries and a long history of use and innovative strategies for managing them. Edited by Caleb T. Hasler, Jack G. Imhof, Nicholas E. Mandrak, and Steven J. Cooke, this book is a valuable resource for those interested in learning about the past, present, and future of freshwater fishes and fisheries in Canada. Available in hardcopy, epub, and PDF versions. 

Largemouth Bass (LMB) are among the most popular, economically significant, and intensively managed freshwater sportfish in North America. A popular management strategy for increasing Largemouth Bass growth potential is the introduction of Florida Bass (FLB) alleles through stocking programs. This management strategy has gained popularity due to the documented occurrence of record-breaking LMB in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas following the introduction of FLB where trophy catches have primarily consisted of F1 hybrids and pure FLB.

Tuna regional fisheries management organizations have made strong commitments to developing and implementing management procedures as a more effective and science-based alternative to traditional management approaches. Management procedures have become popular in fisheries management as they use management strategy evaluation testing to successfully account for uncertainty, balance tradeoffs among competing objectives, and establish an algorithm to set fishing opportunities based on stock status.

The Ohio River Ecological Research Program (ORERP), sponsored by multiple power plants along the river's main stem, was in existence for 50 years. Its goals were to collect fish community data to evaluate possible impacts to Ohio River fish communities because of either power plant discharges (i.e., thermal effects) or cooling water intakes. Studies by the ORERP have shown that thermal avoidance of discharge areas often occurs during the summer, but this avoidance is temporary and reversible, and long-term disruptions of the fish communities have not been detected.

The Recovering America's Wildlife Act picked up four more co-sponsors in Senate this week, with Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Angus King (I-ME) joining the bipartisan group of sponsors. Is your Senator on board? If not, contact them today and remind how much this landmark conservation legislation will help fish and wildlife in your state.

The "Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture Act" (AQUAA Act) was introduced this week in both the House and Senate. The bill supports the development of a sustainable marine aquaculture industry in the United States; advances access to investment capital, develops sustainable marine aquaculture to complement sustainable fisheries and ecosystem-based management, clarifies the federal regulatory regime for sustainable offshore aquaculture, supports research and technology, and reduces the U.S. seafood trade deficit by expanding the domestic supply of seafood. 

The Communications Committee of AFS fills a vital role in providing expertise and guidance on developing and implementing a strategic and integrated approach AFS communications, including branding, social media, websites, newsletter, and many other channels of communication. The new co-chair will work with an experienced chair to get up to speed on committee projects and Society communication priorities. Don’t miss this great opportunity to learn more about communications while gaining leadership skills! Contact Chair Julie Simpson to learn more and apply: julie.simpson@accsp.org.