Thank You for Attending AFS '08!
The theme of the meeting was 'Fisheries in Flux: How Do We Ensure Our Sustainable Future'. This theme reflects President Mary Fabrizio's Program of Work for her year in office, and addresses the ongoing challenge of confronting change when managing fisheries.
Fisheries and fish communities are not static properties of ecosystems. Stressors such as overexploitation, species invasions, habitat degradation, climate change, and water resource demand are a few of the factors that drive changes. These changes potentially threaten sustainable use. Some notable examples include the collapse of the cod fishery on the east coast, declines in the B.C. salmon fishery and fish community changes in the Great Lakes as a result of the introduction of zebra mussels. Can we find solutions to these threats? What are we doing to ensure a sustainable future and what changes need to be made in our management of aquatic ecosystems?