Help Migratory Fish around the World You are invited to join World Fish Migration Day, to be held on the 21st of May 2016.  With WFMD2016 we want to connect fish, rivers and people and to bring migratory fish into the spotlight. Migratory fish are an important part of many riverine ecosystems around the world and are also essential for millions of communities who are dependent on these migratory fish as an important food source. With the help of organizers of local events on one global day we hope to create more global awareness and to achieve a big impact on fish migration policies, measures and management! As such, […]

A position is available for a graduate student to examine fisheries issuesrelating to fleet dynamics beginning as early as September 1st 2016 (applications due March 1st). This work will be based in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Manitoba, but may involve travel to coastal areas for research collaboration. Funding for this position is available through my NSERC Discovery Grant and the University of Manitoba’s GETS program. Funding for students holding external awards will be supplemented, as allowed by the conditions of their award and available funds. Thesis work will be in support of my research program, focusing on fisheries in Canada (freshwater and marine) and abroad (marine) through ongoing collaborations with provincial, national, and international […]

I am looking for driven, enthusiastic graduate students (MSc or PhD) interested in studying the ecological significance of animal personalities using Brook Trout and Sea Lamprey as model systems. One opportunity will involve lab and field studies testing hypotheses about how individual differences in behaviour, and plastic responses to water flow, affect vulnerability to trapping in invasive sea lamprey. Invasive species are a major cause of biodiversity change. Trapping can be a valuable tool for the control and eradication if trapping success is high. Another opportunity will involve lab and field studies testing hypotheses about the role that personality has in the processes promoting resource polymorphisms in Brook Trout. Resource […]

#WhatWeFishFor This newest film from the makers of Fish Meat and Raising Shrimp moves from a towering sport fisherman to fly fishing by paddle board, from spearfishing the reef to a party boat full of enthusiastic first-timers. What We Fish For is a rare chance to go eyeball to eyeball with the fish we love in their own world. The four friends are guided by legends such as Chico Fernandez and Sandy Moret, together with local salts, world-class scientists, and passionate conservationists, including coral restoration pioneer Ken Nedimyer. What We Fish For is like a Florida Keys vacation – full of strange and wonderful creatures above and below the water. […]

See PSC NewsRelease10 Sept 11 2015 (1) for details on the Fraser River Sockeye and Pink Salmon review assessment data. A key finding of this year’s assessment was that the pre-season forecast for sockeye returning to the Fraser was 6.8 million, but the actual return was ~2.1 million fish.  

PhD candidate – Jacqueline Chapman, Larkin runner-up 2015 I am currently a PhD student in the Biology Department at Carleton University. My research focuses on understanding the impacts of disease in wild salmonid species across Canada, and how disease can influence the susceptibility of individuals to fisheries interactions. I hope to use cutting edge high-throughput qPCR on RNA expression to identify microbes (bacteria, viruses, and microparasites) that impact the behaviour of migrating fish (e.g. swimming speed, migratory delay), and identify factors associated with fisheries that interact with diseases. To address these questions, I am working with stocks that are targeted by recreational, commercial, and subsistence fisheries: coho salmon in British […]

Brian Maitland My MSc research at the University of Alberta took on a duel perspective: both ecological and managerial. I first focused on gaining a better understanding of the extent to which stream crossing structures, such as culverts and bridges, are influencing stream fishes in the boreal forest, and second on determining methods for prioritizing the restoration of  poorly functioning culverts that are fragmenting fish habitat. Industrial activities in Alberta’s boreal forests have created large networks of roads and in turn the construction of thousands of stream-crossing structures. Due to the highly dynamic and stressful environment in which boreal fishes live, they are extremely sensitive to additional anthropogenic stressors. Watersheds […]

I am a PhD candidate at the University of Manitoba and I work in collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. My research is on Pacific salmon in the Canadian Arctic. Although there is a long history of chum salmon harvest in subsistence fisheries along the Mackenzie River and its major tributaries, changes are occurring. Salmon are being harvested in a wider distribution in the Canadian Arctic, abundances appear to be increasing and the types of salmon being harvested are also changing. I combine community-based monitoring with innovative laboratory and field-based science to translate these observed anomalies in harvests into research that develops our understanding of how species and ecosystems are […]

This year, a total of 6 MSc. candidates and 8 PhD. candidates applied for the Peter A. Larkin Award for Excellence in Fisheries.  Nine Canadian Institutions were represented by the pool of applicants: York University, University of New Brunswick, University of Alberta, Carleton University, University of British Columbia, University of Manitoba, University of Regina, University of Western Ontario, and University of Guelph. Our judging panel consisted of Trevor Pitcher (University of Windsor) and Caleb Hasler (University of Illinois/CARS communication officer). The 2015 winner and runner-up at the MSc. level are: Bryan Michael Maitland (UofAlberta) & Taylor Ward (Carleton) – winner (tie) Jacqueline Michelle Lavery (UNB) – runner-up The 2015 winner […]

Gene Wilde has been planning to start a new Imperiled Species Section within AFS. Getting a section within AFS devoted to rare aquatic species and their management would help bring additional attention to native fishes, mollusks and others, and help build leverage for their conservation within the professional fishery community. Please see the attached draft by-laws if you are interested in the section – Draft Bylaws Imperiled Aquatic Organisms Section