154th Annual Meeting

Management action to address land-based pollutants can improve coastal health, thus mitigating the effects of climate change. Coastal development, wildfires, and associated runoff lead to sedimentation, excess nutrients, and chemical contaminants, which impact the recruitment, growth, behavior, and mortality of fish populations and their biogenic habitats (e.g., coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves, kelp forests). In this symposium, we solicit studies that address key knowledge gaps using interdisciplinary methods to: (1) explore changes in fish biology and habitats as a result of land-based stressors, (2) assess the interacting effects of land-based and climate change-related disturbances on fishes and habitats, (3) discuss approaches to quantify and implement water quality targets to support sustainable fisheries management and spatial planning, (4) describe responses to these changes across ecological scales, and (5) incorporate multiple knowledge systems into the analysis of the impacts of land-based pollutants on fisheries and the communities that depend on them.

Organizer: Mary Donovan, Arizona State University, [email protected]

Co-organizers: Lillian Tuttle Raz, Megan Donahue, Eileen Nalley

Supported by: USGS Hawai‘i Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, University of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program

The goal of this symposium is to showcase recent advancements in electronic tagging technology and its practice – from data collection and field methods to analysis and integration into conservation and management decisions, as well as novel applications that bridge disciplines. Talks showcasing the use of electronic tagging in fisheries-adjacent fields such as physiology and oceanography are welcome. Presentations highlighting novel tagging techniques, cutting-edge analytical approaches, innovative collaborative approaches, and persistent research or technological limitations and needs are particularly encouraged. We welcome presentations on research in any aquatic system and with any fish species.

Organizer: Brendan Runde, The Nature Conservancy, [email protected]

Co-organizers: Danielle Haulsee, Ryan Tharp, Caroline Wiernicki

Recreational and non-commercial hook and line fishing is a cornerstone for many coastal communities with an estimated 12.7 million participants in the United States of America in 2022. Non-commercial fishing, as defined in federal regulations, includes, but is not limited to, sustenance, subsistence, traditional indigenous and recreational fishing. As coastal human populations surge and competition for ocean space intensifies, popular recreational and non-commercial fisheries are facing increasing pressure, threats, and challenges. Our proposed session will examine many of these vexing and often interrelated issues to identify new and emerging challenges facing marine recreational and non-commercial hook and line fisheries, including those of great relevance to the Pacific Islands Region.  The desired outcome of the session is to have inclusive discussions about knowledge gaps and potential solutions to the emerging challenges in these unique fisheries.

Organizer: Tim Sartwell, NOAA Fisheries, [email protected]

Co-organizers: Andy Danylchuk

Supported by: NOAA Fisheries

The Arctic and subarctic are warming at a rate up to four times the global average. This rapid environmental change has untold consequences for freshwater and marine ecosystems, the fish, and the fishers relying upon them. Examples of emerging threats include increased water temperatures (e.g., heat stress), declines in prey quality (e.g., energy, lipid, or thiamine), contaminants (e.g., mercury, POPs), changes in disease and pathogens, and invasive species. Pacific salmon and other salmonids (whitefish, cisco, char) are a prime examples of key subsistence species that face several emerging threats at northern latitudes. Threats can emerge quickly as tipping points are reached or multiple stressors cause unpredictable responses.  We especially welcome presentation that include some level of co-production or implication for subsistence fishing.

Organizer: Sarah Laske, US Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, [email protected]

Co-organizer: Vanessa von Biela

Fisheries management and conservation decision making is inherently spatial in nature, however use of spatial data in decision making is often hampered by a lack of data accessibility, visualization, and compatibility both within and among state and federal agencies, academia, and conservation organizations. Improving data availability, visibility, and compatibility with other datasets is critical for informed fisheries management, conservation, and policy creation across broad spatial extents and helps spur collaboration. This session examines the role of emerging technologies, data equity and standards, and collaborative frameworks in facilitating data sharing and visualization. We welcome presentations on overcoming challenges with data silos, enhancing existing spatial data, synthesizing large data sets, or examples of leveraging partnerships to both harmonize and strengthen fisheries data management and collaboration. We also invite novel use cases of technology in fisheries data collection and management, such as artificial intelligence, GIS, open-source software, and crowd sourced data integration.

Organizer: Austin Bartos, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, [email protected]

Co-organizers: Arthur Cooper, Maggie Haite, Sinan Itraija, Jared Ross

Supported by: Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division, Michigan State University

There is a critical need to better understand and anticipate changing climate and ocean conditions and how fish, fisheries and fishing communities can best adapt.  Integrated modeling systems that tie together climate models, oceanographic models, ecosystem models and human dimension models are a promising tool to evaluate options and strategies for decision-makers.

This session will focus on:

• Methods for developing and linking social and economic models within an integrated climate to fisheries modeling framework.
• Comparison across regional integrated modeling systems
• Use of management strategy evaluation to assess performance of management strategies under a changing climate
• Approaches for effective engagement and collaboration with decision makers and communities
• Lessons learned from the process of integrating climate information into management decisions.
• Synergies and unique needs to evaluate adaptation and resilience

Organizer: Lisa Kerr, University of Maine, [email protected]

Co-organizers: Kirstin Holsman, Jay Peterson, Roger Griffis, Desiree Tommasi

This symposium will kick off with a presentation explaining the NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)-Sea Grant Joint Fellowship Program. This Fellowship opportunity funds PhD students working in collaboration with NOAA in Population and Ecosystem Dynamics and Marine Resource Economics. The remaining talks in the session will be given by current NMFS-Sea Grant Fellows, highlighting their graduate research. Fellows will share their project progression in either Ecosystem & Population Dynamics or Marine Resource Economics as they work to better understand and improve the data that feeds into management of both our ocean resources and habitats. Come learn about this Fellowship opportunity and hear from our current fellows!

Organizer: Amanda Lawrence, NOAA/OAR/National Sea Grant College Program, [email protected]

Supported by: NOAA National Sea Grant Office

Fires—both natural and anthropogenic—have long been features of Earth’s terrestrial landscapes. Increasing fire sizes, frequencies, and intensities are predictable components of the climate crisis. Although such fires have obvious effects on terrestrial landscapes, including human settlements, their short- and long-term effects on aquatic ecosystems are generally less evident. Therefore, the objective of this session is to synthesize what has been learned about past fire effects on surface waters so that we can better prepare for what to expect from even greater fire sizes, frequencies, and intensities in the future.

Organizer: Bob Hughes, AMNIS OPES INSTITUTE, [email protected]

Co-organizer: Laurie Earley

Supported by: Western Division AFS; AFS Water Quality Section

Anthropogenic changes to estuarine habitats have given rise to restoration projects all over the world. Whether the changes in an estuary are negative due to habitat degradation or positive due to successful restoration efforts, they inevitably affect inhabiting fish communities. These communities are the focal point for many stakeholders, and thus managers have a vested interest in guiding decisions derived from fish and other faunal ecological indicators. However, estuarine conditions are in constant flux, and species are highly adaptable and mobile, making data interpretation challenging. Mobile species can change locations in response to changing conditions, adding a layer of complexity to linking anthropogenic impact or benefits from restoration to organismal response.   This symposium aims to gain insight into a simple question with many complex answers: How can mobile fauna be used as indicators of ecological condition to assess the impact of anthropogenic change, including the success of estuarine restoration efforts?

Organizer: Mark Barton, South Florida Water Management District, [email protected]

Co-organizers: Sarah Webb

Supported by: SFWMD (West Palm Beach, FL)

Fish Habitat Partnerships bring together diverse groups of public and private partners as well as local communities, to conserve fish habitats. Fish Habitat Partnerships support local and regional efforts to strategically plan and implement aquatic habitat conservation programs, contribute technical and financial support for conservation projects, support regional assessments of fish habitats, and maintain data systems to document and report on the status of aquatic systems at multiple scales. Speakers in this symposium will discuss Fish Habitat Partnership contributions to projects that result in measurable conservation outcomes for resident and migratory fish in freshwater, estuarine, and coastal fish habitats. Topics will include descriptions of the leadership role that Fish Habitat Partnerships play in collaboration among multiple organizations, and will highlight engagement of Native Hawaiian, tribal, and Alaska Native partners to conserve aquatic habitats and improve subsistence, recreational, and commercial fisheries.

Organizer: Gordon Smith, Hawaii Fish Habitat Partnership, [email protected]

Co-organizers: Daniel Wieferich, Heidi Keuler, Simen Kaalstad

Supported by: National Fish Habitat Partnership