The Bioengineering Section of the American Fisheries Society

Symposia

Promoting Innovation In Fish Passage & Protection
Bioengineering Symposium
2009 American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting
August 31-September 1, Nashville, TN

Sponsors: AFS Bioengineering Section and the Leverhulme International Network

2009 marks the 100th anniversary of the development of the Denil fishway. The past century has seen a dramatic increase in awareness of the importance of fish passage as a management tool, yet fish passage and fish protection continue to pose serious challenges to the bioengineer. In recent years a number of studies have been published suggesting that performance of existing structures and methods may not be as effective as managers had hoped. Furthermore, an increasing appreciation for biodiversity and the need to protect a range of organisms (not just target species) has led to serious challenges to existing paradigms. The Bioengineering Section of the American Fisheries Society will host a symposium that will serve as a benchmark for establishing the current ‘state of the art’ in fish passage and protection, but more importantly to set the stage for future progress, with each author being tasked to identify areas in need of improvement and identifying research needs and solutions for these problems. Unlike other symposia, where authors present their own findings, this symposium will be a series of review papers with the aim of presenting a holistic perspective of the field. Careful attention will be paid to fundamental physical and biological principles, and the symposium will conclude with a series of talks focusing on basic research and what the fields of biomechanics, physiology, and behavior can offer to the bioengineering community. In support of this last goal, The Leverhulme Network (an international fellowship of scientists studying fish responses to hydraulic phenomena) is co-sponsoring this symposium. These topics are of sufficient breadth, depth, and applied importance to be of significant interest to a broad sector of the AFS membership. The symposium will begin at 1 PM on Monday, August 31 and conclude by noon on Tuesday, September 1. The schedule of presentations can be downloaded from this link.

Contact for additional information: Ted Castro-Santos, USGS, S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center; tcastrosantos@usgs.gov; 413-863-3838

BES Innovation Symposium Program