Fishing and fisheries science are what originally piqued my interest in the biological and environmental sciences. I’ve been a member of the American Fisheries Society (AFS) for nearly a decade now and was honored when my close friend and colleague Jim Hobbs, the president-elect of the California-Nevada Branch of AFS, asked me to serve on the executive committee and help him plan this year’s meeting in San Diego.
We (mostly he) put together a great meeting with amazing plenary talks by Greg Caillet (fish aging technology & it’s importance), Larry Allen (declines & recoveries of CA seabasses), Brad Erisman (Mexican corvina fisheries), Oscar Sosa (Mexican Fishing Regulations), and Laura Rogers-Bennett (invertebrate fisheries). Sessions included talks on fish health, salmon research, genetics, Sacramento Delta issues, and many more.
The conference included a field trip to the Hubbs White Seabass Hatchery which was informative and a ton of fun.
We hosted many social gatherings for researchers to mingle and swap ideas. The final raffle raised a ton of funds for students and the goldfish races were quite entertaining. Professional consultants (e.g., ECORP) judged and awarded a number of student awards.
Overall, it was a great meeting and I really enjoyed hanging with the people and studying the topics that originally inspired me to pursue a career in science.
Levi Steele Lewis, Ph.D. 