Many of us that work in fisheries science—and in other sciences—participate in a professional society. These are groups that aren’t based with your employer, but rather are comprised of individuals across a number of jobs and sectors. Professional scientific societies provide excellent means for networking, sharing science, and many other benefits. Common examples of professional societies that fisheries scientists might belong to include the American Fisheries Society (AFS), the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH), the American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists (AIFRB), and the Ecological Society of America (ESA).

Societies, like anything else, have their costs and benefits. Typically the main cost is monetary—you pay an annual fee to be a member. In return, the benefits might be journal access, reduced registration prices for conferences, and of course the benefits that are harder to put a price tag on, such as networking, collaboration, and the exposure to what is often the cutting edge of the field.

Given the often broad membership into such groups and the growing diversity we see in fishery science jobs types, we want to pose the question to you: What is it that you want to get out of a scientific society membership?

Please complete this survey below, and we’ll follow up with a future post discussing the results.

http://freeonlinesurveys.com/s/dy3lTmW0