American Fisheries Society : Genetics : Newsletters

The American Fisheries Society

Genetics Section

Newsletter

Volume 22, Issue 2

June 2009

In This Issue:

President’s Message

This years annual AFS meeting is in Nashville Tennessee from August 27-September 3. The meetings theme is “Diversity, the foundation of fisheries and the American Fisheries Society; are we gaining ground?”. The annual meeting provides Section members of all ages and backgrounds excellent opportunities for professional development, learning, re-establishing old friendships, and networking: an outstanding educational experience at an affordable price! Meetings also provide excellent opportunities for attracting graduate students and advertisement for positions in academic and agency positions. OK, that’s the ‘company’s line’. In terms of our Section membership, Symposia on “Conservation of Genetic Diversity in Unexploited Populations” organized by Eric Hallerman, Jamie Roberts, Jess Jones, and Bill Templin of the Genetics Section and “Functional Genomics and Gene Expression” sponsored by the Physiology Section highlight an outstanding agenda that include approximate 10% of nearly 1000 papers and posters in topical areas associated with genetics. I encourage all Section members to attend. Importantly, encourage your students and young professionals in your organizations to attend.

The Genetics Section business meeting will be the second evening of the conference (Monday) from 5:00-6:00 in the Renaissance Hotel’s Ryman one & Two Rooms. Ed Heist initiated a second day venue last year to increase attendance with great success. Please plan on attending.

Finally, I will be attending the AFS Governing Boards meeting prior to the start of the conference. The Board’s agenda will include discussions regarding (a) how are we doing now?, (b) a visioning exercise: where do we go from here?, and (c) a synthesis discussion on the way forward. Focus will be on immediate opportunities for change with negligible financial cost. Clearly, an emphasis will be on the country’s and Society’s financial standing. An additional objective of the Board meeting will be to examine the current status of AFS journals. If anyone has comments regarding these areas or has issues of relevance to the Section that you wish to bring to my attention, or action items that you would like me to bring to the attention of the Governing Board on the Sections behalf please let me know prior to the meeting.

Fish in the News

Mexican Navy Uncovers Drugs Inside Sharks
(CNN, 17 Jun 2009) -- The Mexican navy smelled something fishy and their intuition paid off. They found nearly a ton of cocaine hidden inside a shipment of frozen sharks. Navy inspectors at the southeastern port of Progreso, in Yucatan state, on Tuesday detected an anomaly in two shipping containers during a routine X-ray, according to a navy news release.

The inspectors zeroed in on a shipment of sharks. Upon slitting one of the frozen fish open, they found black bags containing rectangular packets filled with cocaine. In all, authorities recovered 870 packages of cocaine, weighing 894 kilograms (about 1,967 pounds), the navy reported Wednesday.

In recent years, Mexico and the United States have stepped up drug enforcement efforts, pushing more of the drug trade to sea routes and forcing drug smugglers to find more creative ways to hide their contraband.

Fish firm ordered to pay £710,000
(BBC, 17 Jun 2009)
Cornish fishing firm W Stevenson and Son has been ordered to pay £710,000 after it cheated on quotas. The firm was convicted in 2007 of eight charges relating to the illegal landing and sale of quota fish at Newlyn. It pleaded guilty to another 37 charges. An earlier confiscation hearing heard the firm benefited by more than £4m. But in making the payment order, a judge at Exeter Crown Court took into account the possible effect a larger amount could have on the local economy. The firm was also ordered to pay £66,000 costs.

At the trial in 2007, Exeter Crown Court was told that during six months in 2002 almost a quarter of fish landed by a sample of 20 Stevenson vessels was illegal. Cod, hake and anglerfish were falsely described as non-quota, lower-value species such as ling, turbot and bass.

The Stevenson firm, which runs auctions where the fish are sold, also falsified the auction records to make sure they matched the figures provided by the skippers. This enabled them to break the European rules designed to save dwindling fish stocks.

The firm is run by Elizabeth Stevenson, former president of the National Federation of Fisheries Organisations. She said after the case: "We are grateful that the judge recognised our contribution to the local and national fishing industry and the local economy. "It's not going to be easy to find this sum of money. It's huge, but the case has ended well." She added: "We haven't got away with it. It's absolute hell to take part in a case like this."

Earlier this year, the owners and skippers of six Newlyn fishing boats were fined for their part in the scam.

Fish Oil Alternatives To Farmed Fish Feed May Alleviate Global Seafood Shortage
(ScienceDaily Feb. 12, 2009) — Fish oil replacements for farmed fish feeds may help reduce the aquaculture industry’s dependence on wild fisheries for their essential omega-3 requirements. This move may also help overcome existing barriers that impede the industry’s expansion.

A new study provides a review and discussion of research activities conducted to evaluate alternative lipid sources. It focuses on the effects of fish oil replacement in finfish nutrition on feed quality, fish performance, feed efficiency, lipid metabolism, final eating quality and related economic aspects.

“There is heavy emphasis for aquaculture to meet the global shortage of fish and seafood created by unsustainable fishing practices. However, dietary fish oil is required for the production of omega-3-rich farmed fish and this commodity, in a vicious circle, is at present derived solely from wild fisheries”, said Dr. Giovanni Turchini from the School of Life and Environmental Science, Deakin University, Australia.

Dietary lipids are required by fish as an essential source of omega-3 for regular growth, health, reproduction and bodily functions. At present, aquafeeds use about 90% of the global supply of fish oil as a lipid source. In addition to the economic factors of rising global fish oil prices and limited supplies, the aquaculture industry is under intense pressure from both scientists and environmental groups to find and implement alternatives to fish oil.

The review concludes that about 75% of dietary fish oil can be substituted with alternative lipid sources, such as vegetable oils and animal fats, without significantly affecting growth performance, feed efficiency and intake for almost all finfish species studied. However, as different species responds differently to fish oil diet replacement, further research is required for the realization of eco-friendly and cost effective aquafeeds.

Journal reference: Fish oil replacement in finfish nutrition. Reviews in Aquaculture, Vol. 1, Issue 1, pg 10-57

Well, another few months have gone by and your lowly, lonely editor continues to sit by a phone that never rings, a mailbox that has no mail, an inbox that has no in. Please contribute to the next newsletter so that, if nothing else, your editor can at least look like he is working hard. Simply send news via email to jcarlin@gustavus.edu before August 25.

June-July 2009

Jun 25 — Online registration ends for the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology will be held in Beijing, China, 11-16 July 2009. See www.conbio.org/Activities/Meetings/2009.

Jul 5-9 — AMSA 2009 Marine Connectivity. Adelaide Convention Center, Adelaide South Australia, Australia. See www.amsaconference.com.au.

Jul 10-15 — Summer meeting of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. “Wildlife Water and Energy: Balancing our futures.” Hyatt Regency Newport Beach California USA. See www.wafwa.org/html/summer09.shtml.

Jul 19-23 — 75th annual meeting of the American Malacological Society. Cornell University, Ithaca New York USA. See www.malacological.org/meetings/

Jul 22-27 — Ichs and Herps 09, the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Hilton Portland and Executive Tower, Portland Oregon USA. See www.dce.ksu.edu/conf/jointmeeting/.

Jul 31 – Early registration deadline for the 139th Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society 2009. To be held Aug 29-Sep 3 at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel, Nashville TN.

August 2009

Aug 29-Sep 3 — 139th Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society 2009. Renaissance Nashville Hotel, Nashville TN. See http://www.fisheries.org/afs09/.

September 2009

Sep 6-11 — ECI XIII, the 13th European Congress of Ichthyology. Sessions and symposia include: Taxonomy and Systematics, Zoogeography and Evolution, and Conservation Biology. Klaipeda Hotel, Klaipeda, Lithuania. See www.ku.lt/ECI_XIII/registration.php.

Sep 13-18 — Resurrection Ecology Symposium. Herzberg Conference Center, Herzberg Germany. Email info@resurrection-ecology.net for more information.

Sep 14-17 – Conference on Southeast Asian Gateway Evolution, SAGE 2009. Royal Holloway University of London, UK. See sage2009.rhul.ac.uk/index.html.

October & November 2009

Nov 1-4 — SEAFWA 2009, the 63rd annual meeting of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Omni Hotel, Atlanta Georgia USA. See www.seafwa2009.org.

Nov 1-5 — ERF 2009, "Estuaries and Coasts in a Changing World," the 20th Biennial Conference of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation in Portland, Oregon 1-5 November 2009. Call for Abstracts deadline 15 May 2009. For more information, please visit: http://www.sgmeet.com/cerf2009/ Association.

Nov 10-11 — 4th International Conference on "Impacts of Climate Change on Natural Resources”, welcoming topics such as Climate change and the genetic conservation of rare and endangered species. Suez Canal University, Ismailia Egypt.

Nov 30 — Early registration deadline for SICB2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. Seattle Sheraton Hotel and Washington State Convention and Trade Center Seattle Washington USA. See www.sicb.org/meetings/2009/index.php3.

Early 2010 Events

Jan 3-7, 2010 — SICB2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. Seattle Sheraton Hotel and Washington State Convention and Trade Center Seattle Washington USA. See www.sicb.org/meetings/2009/index.php3.

In This Issue:

President’s Message

Back to Top

Fish in the News

Back to Top

Back to Top

June-July 2009

August 2009

September 2009

October & November 2009

Early 2010 Events

Back to Top

In This Issue:

Back to Top

New Items!

Hot Topics