Southern Division American Fisheries Society EXCOM Meeting Minutes February 2004

President Steve Filipek called the EXCOM Meeting to order at 0806. Secretary/Treasurer Vic DiCenzo determined there was a quorum present. Dave Rizzuto (TN) was an official proxy for Tim Churchill and Brian Wagner (Non Game Technical Committee) for Steve Rider. President Filipek recognized Past Presidents Fred Harris, Jeff Boxrucker and Mike Van Den Avyle as well as AFS President Ira Adelman. Fred Harris was also noted as past AFS president.

President Filipek introduced the other Southern Division officers: Larry Connor, President-Elect, Pat Mazik, Vice President, Vic DiCenzo, Secretary/Treasurer, and Jeff Boxrucker, Past President.

AFS President’s Remarks: The theme for Ira Adelman’s presidency is “Science to Influence Outcomes”. Ira did a PowerPoint presentation to bring the audience up to date on the Fisheries Conservation Foundation (FCF) of the American Fisheries Society. The purpose of the FCF is to (1) promote fisheries science education, (2) inform the public and decision-makers outside of the fisheries profession of the scientific knowledge underlying global fisheries conservation issues, (3) help provide direction and focus to worldwide fisheries conservation efforts, (4) identify and nurture strategic partnerships with individuals, organizations, and the fishing industry, and (5) provide the ways and means to shape informed, principled, and inspired actions for the sake of the world’s fisheries resources. Ira invited everyone to the AFS Annual Meeting in August in Madison, Wisconsin. The theme of the meeting is “The Gathering: Leopolds Legacy for Fisheries”. The World Fisheries Congress is in Vancouver in May 2004. The Fisheries Administrators Section will be redoing a salary survey. The Membership Concerns Committee will be sending out a survey in the fall covering a wide range of Society topics.

President Steve Filipek’s stated that we needed a motion to approve the minutes from the EXCOM meeting in Mobile (the minutes were in the winter newsletter and on the web page). A motion was made by Fred Heitmen and seconded by Bob Curry. The motion carried without discussion.

President’s Report: President Filipek mentioned that he is proud to have been involved in the Hutton Junior Fisheries Biologist Management Committee and he recommended members to become involved. The number of applicants has increased each year. President Filipek attended the AFS Governing Board Meeting and was a member of the AFS Professional Certification Appeals Committee. Steve also attended the Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky Chapter meetings. Steve assisted in getting some grants for the Equal Opportunities Section and the International Fish Section. President Filipek also assisted the Western Division in the formation of a Mexican Chapter to recruit more Mexican biologists. Don Jackson (MS) has served as Division liaison to the Mexican Chapter. President Filipek reiterated the importance of students to the Southern Division and encouraged students to take advantage of all that is offered. Steve also wrote an article in the latest newsletter informing the members about the Farm Bill. Finally, two ad hoc committees were formed (Marine/Estuarine and Catfish Management.

President-Elect’s Report: Larry Connor indicated his report would stand as printed in the Briefing Book. Larry also noted the importance of attending Chapter meetings as a Division representative. Larry also served as the Division rep to the AFS Management Committee. Larry organized the past presidents breakfasts at the past two meetings and organized the safety session at the past two meetings.

Vice President’s Report: Pat Mazik attended the Tidewater Chapter meeting and mentioned that they are considering absorbing the Potomac Chapter. Pat has been active with the SEAFWA meeting and working with South Carolina in sponsoring an inter-disciplinary symposium with the Wildlife Society. The process for getting the SEAFWA Proceedings out has been shortened considerably (Proceedings will now be available at the following meeting). Also, the guide for authors for the Proceedings has been revised and is more like AFS journals.

Past Presidents Report: Jeff Boxrucker served on the AFS Leadership Institute and the salary survey and provided guidance to the EXCOM.

Audit Report: The report stands as printed in the Briefing Book.

Newsletter Report: No one from Virginia Tech was present, so President Filipek spoke for the Newsletter Editor. Virginia Tech has requested that the primary format for Newsletter distribution be electronic. Currently, less than 20 Division members do not have Internet access, but printing for those few individuals would not be a problem. It is therefore imperative that members keep their email addresses current. Tom Kwak (NC) mentioned that the NC Chapter has hi and low bandwidth versions of the their newsletter to accommodate people with different Internet capabilities. A motion was made, seconded and passed with no more discussion. It was then decided to allow for $1,000 plus expenses for Virginia Tech to cover the newsletter and ballot.

Webmaster: Fred Janssen (TX) made a motion to upgrade the SDAFS web site to allow for 1 gb storage space which would cost $1,081 annually compared to the $650 we currently pay. Mike Allen seconded the motion and the motion passed with no further discussion.

Because there were several items discuused with budget implications, Jeff Boxrucker motioned to amend the budget and Fred Heitman seconded it. The motion passed. Therefore, the 2004 budget that was approved at the October EXCOM meeting in Mobile was amended so that $1,100 was allocated for Internet expenses and $2,000 was allocated for the newsletter and ballot.

Secretary/Treasurer’s Report: Vic DiCenzo indicated his report would stand as printed in the Briefing Book. Vic attended the NC and TN Chapter meetings in 2004 and has completed the IRS tax return for 2003.

Chapter Reports:

Alabama – None given.

Arkansas – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

Auburn University – Sold videos to raise money to send eight students to professional meetings.

Florida – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book. Mike Allen reported that because of the number of universities with fisheries programs, that a statewide student subunit will be formed. Also, the University of Florida will host the 2004 Student Colloquium. Larry Connor added that an additional $15,000 to the endowment fund to cover the cost of scholarships.

Georgia – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

Kentucky – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

Louisiana – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

Mississippi – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

North Carolina – Tom Kwak mentioned that the NC State Subunit had six monthly meetings with guest speakers and they hosted the Tagging Models workshop at the 2003 Spring Meeting. Proceeds from the workshop have been used to assist students in attending professional meetings. Last year the Environmental Concerns committee passed a resolution on nuisance/invasive aquatic species. To get this information to the public, a poster was done and 35,000 copies were made for distribution. It is available at the NC Chapter web page. This year, the Environmental Concerns committee passed a resolution on sedimentation. The continuing Education workshop at this year’s annual meeting was entitled “Fisheries Technology” and representatives from six biological and engineering companies discussed recent advances in technology for fisheries science. The Distinguished Service Award went to Fred Harris. Additionally, the chapter received a donation of stock which amounted to $45,000 from an anonymous past member. It is known as the Ichthus fund and will be predominantly for students. Much more information is available in the Briefing Book.

Oklahoma – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

Potomac – None given.

South Carolina – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

Tennessee – Dave Rizzuto mentioned that TN would be hosting the 2007 spring meeting in Memphis and maybe hosting the 2009 Parent Society meeting in Nashville. The Chapter sponsored five fishing rodeos for more than 2,000 kids. The 2003 annual meeting was a joint meeting with Arkansas.

Texas – The annual meeting this year was in College Station. The chapter co hosted a workshop on golden algae with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The chapter will also be hosting the Propogated Fishes Workshop in San Antonio (the workshop is a by-product of the symposium in Boise, Idaho). Finally, the Texas Chapter wrote a position statement on the impacts of off road vehicles on streambeds that was instrumental in getting legislation passed.

Texas A&M – None given.

Tidewater – None given.

Virginia – None given.

Virginia Tech – None given.

West Virginia – Pat Mazik mentioned that the past annual meeting was held jointly with the Society of American Foresters and there were many good interdisciplinary talks. PopwerPoint and Excel workshops were done for WV DNR employees. The WVU Student Subunit hosted the 2003 Colloquium and had 120 students from 17 universities in attendance. The subunit also hosts an annual game dinner with the Wildlife Society.

Standing Committees:

Audit Committee Report – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

Awards - Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book. Fred Heitman mentioned that more nominations are needed from members.

Mail Ballot - Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book. Dave Rizzuto added that on future mail ballots, members need to be able to vote anonymously. Bob Curry (NC) was elected as Vice President and Dick Luebke as the SDAFS Representative to the Nominating Committee

Membership – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

Nominating – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

Program – Report stands as added to the Briefing Book. Larry Connor thanked the many folks from Oklahoma for a job well done. A safety session was conducted at the SEAFWA meeting in Mobile and done again in Oklahoma as a plenary session. The quantity and quality of presentations and workshops in Oklahoma City was excellent.

Resolutions – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book. Dennis Reicke (MS) said that the committee has worked on two resolutions, one on funding for a Lower Mississippi River fisheries and habitat survey and another on black carp. Larry Connor will send a letter showing the SDAFS’s support of the Lower Mississippi River study.

Student Affairs - Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book. Stuart mentioned that the committee worked on providing student lodging at the SEAFWA and SDAFS Spring meeting, judging student papers, organizing the student-mentor luncheon, student awards, and assisting with the Colloquium.

Ad Hoc Committees:

Catfish Management – Elise Irwin (AL) reported that committee members have been added and that a productive meeting was held on February 26 in Oklahoma City and a mission statement was written. A comprehensive sampling survey will be conducted . Research needs and suggested sampling procedures will be identified. Elise made a motion requesting $2,000 start-up money for the committee. It was seconded by Fred Heitman. Jeff Boxrucker then moved to amend the budget which was seconded by Dave Rizzuto.

Marine Resources - Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

Technical Committees:

Aquaculture – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book. The committee is considering expanding the list serve to include the Northeast.

Instream Flow - Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book. Committee members joined the Warmwater Streams Committee via conference call for the Oklahoma City meeting.

Nongame Aquatics - Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book. The committee is considering hosting a mussel workshop at the 2005 Spring Meeting in Virginia Beach.

Pollution – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

Reservoir - Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book. The committee will donate $500 to the 2004 Colloquium and annually gives 2-$1,000 scholarships. The online habitat manual is receiving positive feedback. The committee organized a catch and release symposium at the 2003 Spring meeting. The committee has also begun plans for the 4th Reservoir Symposium, perhaps in Atlanta in 2007. The focus will be ecosystem/basin wide management rather than single reservoir/species.

Small Impoundments – The committee is considering doing a Bass 101 workshop in 2006 or 2007 to assist students and young professionals with small impoundment management.

Striped Bass – Dan Wilson (VA) is the new committee chair.

Trout – The trout committee wrote a position paper on managing Appalachian brook trout. The next East Coast trout workshop may be in WV in 2005. There is also a subcommittee working on getting the MICROFISH program in a Windows-based format.

Warmwater Streams – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book. John Copeland reported that at the summer meeting, a mini symposium was done to help plan the symposium at Oklahoma City. Nineteen presentations were made in Oklahoma City and extended abstracts will be published by AFS. A total of 601 copies of the committee’s video have been distributed. Virginia Tech will take over video distribution as an extension project.

Appointed and Elected Positions:

AFS Nominating Committee Representative – Dick Luebke informed everyone that the two candidates for 2nd Vice President were Don Jackson (MS) and Mary Fabrizio.

Continuing Education - Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

Newsletter Editor – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

SEAFWA Proceedings, Fisheries Editor – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book. A new guide for authors has been written.

SEAFWA Director’s Liaison – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book. Mike Van Den Avyle added that at the SEAFWA meeting in Mobile, a focus group survey was done to help the directors determine the future of the meeting. He also added that the SDAFS needs to remember the unique opportunities that the SEAFWA meeting has to offer (those that are not being met by the spring meeting).

Watson Award Committee Representative – Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

Webmaster - Report stands as presented in the Briefing Book.

New Business:

Steve Lochman (AR) mentioned that he is working on two brochures, one on careers and one on academic institutions that offer fisheries coursework and degrees. Steve needs updated school info for the latter and requested assistance. Tom Kwak mentioned that state AFS chapters would be good sources for colleges and universities that have fisheries programs.

Elise Irwin moved and Larry Connor seconded to adjourn the EXCOM meeting and the motion carried. President Filipek adjourned the meeting at 1203.