Fish and Fisheries at the Food-Water-Energy Nexus

Essentially the “Olympics” of fisheries professional meetings, the World Fisheries Congress, organized through the World Council of Fisheries Societies, occurs every four years and draws delegates from around the world meet to exchange ideas and perspectives about new research, emerging issues, scientific breakthroughs, and governance related to fisheries science, industry, conservation, and management.

The 9th World Fisheries Congress will be held for the first time in the United States – Seattle, Washington in March 2024. It will feature a theme of Fish and Fisheries at the Food-Water-Energy Nexus.

Call for Session Proposals

Proposal deadline: Friday, December 2, 2022

All proposals must be submitted in English through the online portal. Proposals will be reviewed by the International Program Committee. Session organizers may be contacted to request revisions or collaborations to reduce overlap in topics to strengthen offerings. Session organizers will be notified regarding the status of their proposals by 1 February 2023.

Proposals will be asked to include the following information:

Session Title: Please provide a descriptive title limited to 20 words.

Organizer(s): Name and contact information for the proposal point of contact.

Session Topic: Session organizer(s) can select among the following topic areas:

• Fish and fisheries at the Water–Energy–Food Nexus—cross-sectoral challenges, collaborations, solutions;
• Fish and Fisheries in a Dynamic world—anthropogenic and natural change, response and mitigation; past, present and predicted change (to include long-term time-series data sets);
• Fish and aquatic ecosystems—biodiversity, conservation, biology, ecology;
• Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture—assessment, governance, regulation, enforcement;
• Fisheries and society—communication, training, education, implementation;
• Fish and fisheries at the science–knowledge–policy interface—challenges, opportunities, case studies.

Session Type: Symposium organizer(s) can select among the following formats:

• Formal research talks—15-minute oral presentations with 5 minutes for Q&A;
• Speed talks—5-minute oral presentations with slide standardization/limitations coordinated by session organizers and Q&A blocks following a sequence of speakers;
• Expert panels—1-hour sessions with ~4 speakers with audience engagement;
• Roundtable discussions—Up to 2-hour sessions for in-depth interaction with >20 participants;
• Flex format— presenters have a designated time limit but the format between presenters may be different;
• Digital displays—Short videos or e-posters on a particular topic;
• Environmental art—Media including visual, music, poetry, photography, film, movement;
• Workshops— Interactive instruction and hands-on training;
• Networking functions— informal opportunities for participants to engage with others.

Intended length: 1 block, half-day, full day, 2 days

Virtual engagement: (Yes, no) This meeting will be a hybrid meeting in Seattle, Washington, USA that combines in-person and virtual elements.  If public health conditions allow, all sessions are expected to have an in-person component.  Sessions can be recorded for virtual attendees during and after the conference.

Description: A brief description of the session that will be included in the online program. Descriptions will be limited to 150 words.

Session abstract: Abstracts will be limited to 350 word and 2,500 characters.

Inclusivity statement: Session organizer(s) can indicate how their proposed session helps meet the World Fisheries Congress commitment to diverse representation across multiple elements of inclusivity (e.g., age, culture, discipline, geography, gender).

Proposed speakers: Include names and status (i.e., invited or confirmed).

For more information, visit here.

Request for International Fisheries Science Prize nominations

Nomination deadline: Tuesday, January 31, 2023

The International Fisheries Section of the American Fisheries Society is requesting  nominations for the International Fisheries Science Prize. This is the highest award presented by the World Council of Fisheries Societies to honor one individual every four years for his/her/their contribution to global fisheries science and/or conservation. Criteria for selection includes the breadth, significance, and duration of the nominee’s  achievements, especially those of a global perspective and scope.

Previous awardees include:

2020 – Dr. Katsumi Tsukamoto, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Japan
2016 – Dr. Ray Hilborn, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
2012 – Dr. Ian Cowx, Hull International Fisheries Institute at The University of Hull, UK
2008 – Dr. Kurt D. Fausch, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

For more information, visit here.

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