SNEC 50th Anniversary Meeting

SNEC at 50: Past, Present, and Future of our Fisheries

A Joint Meeting Between SNEC and NED

 

The Southern New England Chapter (SNEC) of the American Fisheries Society was incorporated in 1968 to serve the Society members from Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.  This year marks the 50th year of the Chapter.  To celebrate, we are holding a joint meeting with the Northeastern Division (NED) at the Hilton Mystic in Mystic, Connecticut on February 26 – 28, 2017.  The event will include a day of workshops, two days of presentations including a keynote address and student awards, the NED and SNEC Annual Business Meetings*, and of course a birthday party at the Mystic Aquarium!  The theme of the meeting is SNEC at 50: Past, Present, and Future of our Fisheries.  This expanded SNEC-NED meeting means that members from across the Division will come together.  In addition, AFS will hold its mid-year Governing Board Meeting immediately following the SNEC-NED meeting.  We hope that you will be able to join us to celebrate this milestone and continue to strengthen your connections within the region that will enable the chapter to thrive for years to come!

Schedule-at-a-glance

Schedule of Oral Presentations

Places to eat in Mystic

 

Keynote by Julie Claussen

Julie Claussen Julie Claussen has worked as a fisheries biologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey at the University of Illinois since 1984 on conservation genetics, reproductive life histories, and sustainable fisheries practices and management.  Her interest in science communication and how best to engage natural resource stakeholders led her to working with the Fisheries Conservation Foundation, where she currently serves as Director of Operations. Her work with the foundation has recently taken her across the world to Bhutan, where she is part of team with the Royal Government of Bhutan and World Wildlife Fund developing a program for the conservation of Mahseer.

Keynote Presentation:
Fishing at the top of the world, saving the golden fish of the Himalayas.

 

Plenary Speakers


jon_hareJon Hare

Science in support of living marine resource management in the Northeast U.S. Shelf Ecosystem

Jon Hare is the Director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. He oversees science related to NOAA Fisheries mission from North Carolina to Maine including wild-captured fisheries, cultured fisheries, protected species, habitat science, and ecosystem science. Jon earned a BA in Biology from Wesleyan University and a PhD in Oceanography from SUNY Stony Brook. He received a National Research Council Research Associate in 1994 to work at the NOAA Beaufort Laboratory and was hired by NOAA in 1997. Jon moved to the NOAA Narragansett Laboratory in 2005, became Oceanography Branch Chief in 2008, and was appointed Lab Director in 2012. He was appointed NEFSC Director in October 2016 and now works out of the Woods Hole Laboratory. His research has focused on fisheries oceanography: understanding the interactions between the ocean environment and fisheries populations with an aim of contributing to assessments and management. Jon also examines the effect of climate change and variability on fish and invertebrate population dynamics. This work involves coupling the output of global climate models with population models to simulate the effects of climate change on population dynamics. He also works to move the new scientific information into the assessment and management process and the development of new technologies for observing ocean ecosystems.

RonEssigRon Essig

Fifty Years of Federal Fisheries Legislation: Connections to the AFS Southern New England Chapter

Ron Essig has been a Fisheries Biologist for the Division of Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Region since 1991. He administers marine fisheries research and survey grants to state fisheries agencies that are primarily funded by Sport Fish Restoration. His previous fisheries work experience was with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Washington, DC and with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in Brunswick, GA. Ron considers his fisheries educational roots to be in Southern New England by working on his MS degree at the University of Massachusetts on anadromous alewives in the Parker River north of Boston. He is Immediate Past President of the American Fisheries Society and past president of the AFS Fisheries Management Section, Northeastern Division, Potomac Chapter and Southern New England Chapter.

Registration Information

Registration is now open!  Options include full two-day registration as well as single day registration.  Cost of the two-day registration includes the Mystic Aquarium Banquet on February 27th.  Single day registrants will be able to add-on the Mystic Aquarium Social Event.  Early registration rates are in effect until January 13thOn-line registration will end on February 10th. All registrations include AM/PM snack/beverage. Lunch will not be provided, but a list of local restaurants, some offering conference discounts, will be available.

[table caption=”SNEC 50th Registration Rates” width=”700″ colwidth=”200|30|30|30″ colalign=”left|center|center|center”]

Registration Type, Early (1/13), Normal (2/10), Walk-In
Student, 90, 130, 160
Retiree, 110, 145, 175
AFS Member, 135, 165, 195
Non-AFS member (including affiliate SNEC members), 145, 175, 205
One-Day (Student), , 50, 65
One-Day (Professional), , 75, 90
Workshop (w/ Conference Registration), , 25, 25
Workshop Only, , 45, 45
Banquet (Professional Add-on or adult guest), , 50,
Banquet (Student Add-on or child guest under 12), , 30,
[/table]

Key Dates:

  • Abstract Deadline – December 16th, 2016

  • Early Bird Registration Deadline – January 13, 2017

  • Registration Deadline – February 10, 2017

  • Room Block Deadline – February 10, 2017

  • Pre-Meeting Workshops – February 26, 2017

  • Meeting – February 27 – 28, 2017

 

Workshops

We will be offering two concurrent pre-meeting workshops.  The workshops will be held from 1 to 5 on Sunday, February 26th.  Separate registration is required for the workshops.  The two topics covered by the workshops are:

Adaptive Management

Scientific Publishing, Writing, and Editing

For more details visit our workshop page.

 

Hotel Information

The meeting will be held at the Hilton Mystic located at 20 Coogan Blvd, Mystic, Connecticut.  There is a limited room block for $109/night for single/double occupancy and $119/129 for triple and quad occupancy. Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-HILTONS.  Please ask for the SNEAF room block when making your reservation.  All reservations must be received on or before 5pm on February 10th.  If for some reason you are unable to get the correct rate, please call the Hilton Mystic directly (860-572-0731) and ask to speak with Lisa Kasprzak.  The Hilton Mystic is easily accessible from I-95.  The most convenient airport would be Providence’s TF Green Airport or Hartford’s Bradley International Airport.  Please visit the Hilton’s direction page for more in depth directions.

Hilton Mystic

Directions

SNEC_50_Sponsors

*Please note that the NED will not be holding a Business meeting at this year’s NEAFWA meeting which is located outside of the NED geographic range