Program Information (as of 3/14/03)

Registration forms

Attention all division, chapter and future leaders, check out the Free Leadership Training!

Information Concerning Meeting Travel Support for Mexican Colleagues

Welcome letter from WDAFS President Don MacDonald and Cal-Neva President Chuck Knutson:

Dear Fisheries Professionals and Students,

The Western Division and California-Nevada Chapter of AFS invite you to attend the Joint Annual Meeting of WDAFS and the Cal-Neva Chapter, which will be held April 14-17, 2003 in San Diego, California. This year’s meeting will be at the beautiful Hyatt Islandia Hotel, located on Mission Bay, right across the street from Sea World. The location for this meeting provides the perfect backdrop for an exciting meeting on lake, stream, estuarine, and marine issues. We believe that this will be one of the best meetings that WDAFS and Cal-Neva has ever hosted and will provide a great opportunity for information exchange and building new partnerships. We are very excited about the incredible response we have received from our Mexican colleagues, and we have planned a number of activities that highlight international fisheries, professionalism, and AFS throughout western North America.

The Cal-Neva Chapter is pleased to provide the local arrangements for the 2003 WDAFS and Cal-Neva Annual Meeting. Many of the Cal-Neva Chapter members had a taste of hosting the parent AFS Meeting in Monterey in 1997 and the WDAFS meeting in Sacramento in 1993. We are confident in Local Arrangements Chair Dave Manning and his committee members’ expertise for providing us with an exciting location and well-organized meeting, lodging, arrangements, and entertainment. Because of the high rewards of hosting meetings such as these, our Chapter members are ready to take their turn and serve AFS again.

We are very pleased with the way the program is coming together. There are 21 symposia scheduled and abstracts for contributed papers and posters have been coming in rapidly through mid-January. Program Co-Chairs Tom McMahon and Mark Brouder, deserve special credit for setting up an excellent program. So far, there seems to be something of interest for everybody associated with the aquatic sciences, freshwater as well as marine. The extra strong marine sessions and participation from Mexican fisheries professionals will make this meeting unique in many ways.

We have also incorporated a number of opportunities for you to relax and network with your colleagues throughout the meeting. On Monday, the day is full of opportunities for upgrading your skills with an array of Continuing Education classes including Carl Burger’s Leadership Training Course. We are pleased to announce that the inaugural meeting of the California Estuarine Research Society will be held at the Hubbs Sea World Research Institute’s Auditorium near the Hyatt Islandia on Monday. The day will end with the AFS “Welcome to San Diego” social at the Hyatt.

On Tuesday, we will begin the day with our Plenary Session entitled, Global Fisheries Sustainability: Challenges and Prospects for North American Fisheries and Beyond? which will feature Carl Burger, Past President of AFS, Gilbert Parent, Canada’s Ambassador for the Environment, Dr. Salvador Contreras Balderas, Universidad de Nuevo Leon-retired, and Dr. Bill Hammond, Florida Gulf Coast University. A number of symposia and technical sessions, as well as the Exhibit Show and Posters, will follow the Plenary Session.

On Wednesday, the day will begin with the Grunion run, followed by a full day of symposia and technical sessions. The WDAFS Business Luncheon is scheduled for this day, so mark it on your calendar because you don’t want to miss it. The day will end at the world renowned Scripps Institution Birch Aquarium in La Jolla, where we will have plenty of food and drink, the raffle, and aquarium tours.

The last day of the meeting is filled with technical sessions and symposia, with the Cal-Neva Business Meeting being held at lunch. We encourage you all to stay for a full day of great sessions and conclude the meeting with our “Outmigration” social.

We hope that you will plan to stay an extra day in San Diego to take in some of the many attractions that San Diego has to offer. We have scheduled scuba diving and ocean fishing charters on Friday, April 18^th , departing from the doorstep of the hotel. With the current presence of an El Nino along the equator of the Central Pacific Ocean, we are optimistic that some of warmer water species, such as yellowtail, white sea bass, barracuda, and maybe even tuna, will be available to AFS anglers. So by all means, please sign up for one of these trips! As you can see, the meeting is jammed with events and opportunities for you to learn and exchange information in a relaxed setting.

We urge you to register for the meeting as soon as possible. It is also important to reserve a room at the Hyatt Islandia because space at the lowest rate is limited. We have negotiated the best rates possible for this event and they are very reasonable for San Diego in the springtime ($99 government and $129). This meeting represents an outstanding opportunity to share technical information, network with colleagues, expand your skills as a fisheries practitioner, and have a ton of fun in the sun. Bring your friends and families along to enjoy the local offerings! Please check our website often at www.fisheries.org/wd to receive conference updates and register now! See you in April!

Sincerely,