REPORT TO THE AFS GOVERNING BOARD

MID-YEAR MEETING

March 15-16, 2002

from

INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES SECTION

 

I.  ACTION:

 

                        Action requested: None

 

                        Recommended Motion: 

 

                        Background for Motion:

 

II.  Outcome or Accomplishment as Relevant to the Strategic Plan

 

            Change or Annual Program of Work: There is no change in the Program of Work Defined

 

            Outcome and Accomplishments

 

            Information Transfer and Outreach

 

                                       ITO 1.1:  The IFS has begun publishing the section newsletter electronically and distributing it via email. This strategy is very cost effective compared to the past method of printing the newsletter and sending it to membership via surface mail. The postage costs were high, given the international makeup of the section membership. The new method does not involve any printing or postage costs so the section budget can be reserved for more important initiatives. The first two issues of the newsletter, Enotes, have been received well by the membership.

 

                                    ITO 1.2: The interest of more efficient communication with the membership, the section has also established a new web site. See http://161.55.120.140/foci/ifs/index.html.

 

                                       ITO 1.3:  The IFS has been very active preparing for the 4th World Fisheries Congress through monthly phone conferences and participating in a recent Program Committee meeting. On November 12-13, 2001, the 4th World Fisheries Congress Program Committee met for the first time on the University of British Columbia Campus in Vancouver British Columbia, Canada. I participated in the meeting along with IFS and International Steering Committee members Max Stocker and Vidar Wespestad. A provisional program was put together including topic sessions and a preliminary list of keynote speakers. These are being circulated to International Steering Committee members and others for comment.

 

                                       ITO 1.4: In January 2002 I had the privilege of visiting Japan for a North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) international modeling workshop. While there representing NMFS on official business, I took the opportunity to acquaint Pacific Rim scientists from Japan, Korea, Russia and China with AFS and the upcoming World Fisheries Congress. Visited were the Nemuro Fisherman Research Institute in the City of Nemuro on the northern island of Hokkaido, Hokadate Fisheries University, and the Frontier Research Institute for Global Climate Change in Yokohama.

 

                                       ITO 1.5: In April 2002 the president of IFS will be visiting fisheries laboratories and institutions in LaPaz Mexico where I hope to make contact with our scientific colleagues to the south. I plan to present a seminar on the benefits of joining AFS and hope to give away several memberships to Mexican scientists. I'll be reporting more on the outcome of this visit in the annual report.

                                      

                                       ITO 1.6: Recently the International Fisheries Section is developing a reciprocal agreement with the Australian Society of Fish Biology (ASFB) to exchange student memberships with AFS.

              

                                       IFS has received a proposal from the ASFB to sponsor a membership for an AFS student. The details of this proposal are being worked on now. IFS is also working with the Fisheries Society of the British Isles to establish a program for graduate students of that society where they would receive grants to become AFS members.

 

                                       Hopefully these will all be finalized by our annual meeting this August. Currently the International Section is looking for a new "Chairperson" to take over this very worthwhile effort. Contact Glen Contreras for further information.   

                                      

            Membership Services

 

MS 1.1: The International Fisheries Section (IFS) has selected one new member and continued four active individual membership awards under the Carl R. Sullivan International Membership Endowment Program Award for the 2002 membership year. Each recipient will receive a membership grant for a total of three years. Response has been excellent to our new three membership grant.

 

During 2001 we maintained contact and “interviewed” all new candidates during the last year.  They are in contact with IFS members, presented, authored, co-authored papers, posters (or both), and attended meetings of interest to our membership.  Four are from Australia and one new person is from Barbados.  All are very active professionally within international fisheries science and interested in future collaboration with AFS/IFS.  We believe the three year term will act as an incentive for encouraging long term involvement in society activities.

 

We are continuing to work with the Australian Society for Fish Biology (ASFB) and the Fisheries Society for the British Isles (FSBI) to finalize an agreement that will allow the ASFB and the FSBI to submit membership applications for students to receive grants as candidates for our program.  IFS will receive up to four new applications each year. Both Societies have endorsed this and the ASFB has offered a similar cross-society program to AFS members.  This program holds the promise to recruit excellent student involvement with endorsements of each respective society. We should have the details worked during the 2002 membership year.

 

MS 1.2: I'm extremely happy to report that contributions to the newly established International Endowment Fund have been accumulating at quite a rapid pace. As of this date the Fund has almost quadrupled from the original $1,000 seed money contributed by the International Fisheries Section. Here is a grateful acknowledgement subunit support to date:

 

                                                Marine Fisheries                       $400

                                                Fisheries Law                           $100

                                                Water Quality                           $500

                                                Early Life History                      $500

                                                Estuaries                                   $150

                                                Computer User                         $250

                                                Fisheries Management              $250

                                                Fish Administrators                   $250

                                                Equal Opportunity                    $500

                                                Original seed money                 $1,000

 

                                                TOTAL                                    $3,900

 

                                    The IFS offers a sincere thank you to all who have supported the Fund.

 

                                    Because of high level of support and keen interest expressed by AFS subunits, as well as some confusion about what the fund is for and what it is called, the IFS feels it is appropriate to repeat some background information on the goals of the fund.

             

                                    The International Fisheries Section Endowment Fund will provide long-term future opportunities for the Society and the International Fisheries Section (IFS) to support international fisheries activities that support the Society's long term international goals. Currently, international members  are not subsidized by American Fisheries Society (AFS) dues pass back to Divisions or Chapters. The Endowment Fund is a way to "payback" the international members who have and will continue to support the Society. AFS members have wanted for many years to provide a source of funding support for international activities. This fund will help the Society meet its Strategic Plan goals for international programs.

           

                                    This endowment will be managed by the AFS and IFS and when sufficient investment revenues become available, proceeds will be administered by a committee established by the International Fisheries Section, and used for a variety of international programs and projects. The committee will prepare guidelines, protocols, and related administrative tasks. We see proceeds from the fund being used to support activities such as sponsoring international memberships, purchasing books and journals, supporting speakers here and abroad, providing seed money for international conferences, symposia and workshops, and helping to publish articles and books. We are planning on targeting students, biologists, managers and scientists during the early stages of their career as recipients of grants and awards.

             

                                    At the 3rd World Fisheries Congress the International Fisheries Section Executive Committee voted to contribute $1,000 from the section’s treasury to start the fund. The IFS offers this contribution as a challenge to other AFS subunits to begin building for our Society's future in international fisheries. The IFS presented a proposal to establish the fund at the 2001 midterm AFS governing board meeting and the proposal was approved by the Governing Board. All AFS subunits will be encouraged to participate and support the fund's activities. Also 50% of the raffle proceeds from the next AFS meeting will be devoted to building the fund.

             

                                    MS 1.3:  At the recent 3rd World Fisheries Congress the International Fisheries Section Executive Committee voted to contribute $1,000 to start the fund.  The IFS contribution of $1,000 was offered as a challenge to other AFS subunits to begin building for our Society's future in international fisheries.

 

            Aquatic Stewardship

 

                                    AS 1.2:  IFS members hosted many scientists and managers from a variety of countries and continue to receive requests for books, journals, symposium proceedings. 

 

                                    As part of its ongoing journal donation program, the IFS is preparing to donate a long list of AFS titles to the Shanghai Fisheries University in China.

 

III.  Financial Status

 

            A copy of the Section’s Annual Financial Report can be provided upon request.