AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

President's Message

Greetings, Chapter members! I know that with spring upon us that we are all busy with field sampling and other professional activities. On the heels of a very successful 2000 meeting, the Chapter, under the leadership of President-elect Mr. Bob Curry and Mr. Keith Ashley, Local Arrangements Chair, is currently planning the 2001 meeting. The Chapter will be holding a joint meeting during 2001 (tentative dates are Jan. 17-18) with our neighbor, the South Carolina AFS Chapter. The meeting will convene along the southeastern coast of North Carolina around the Sunset Beach area. This location is just a few miles from the SC border so that our SC colleagues will not have to stay "out of state". Bob and Keith are busily organizing this event, and judging by the track record of these individuals, we can expect another highly successful joint meeting. Look for details about the 2001 meeting, including the call for papers, in upcoming newsletters.

And speaking of newsletters, the Chapter is going totally electronic in its communication with members. That's right, no more paper in the mailbox. We will be sending out newsletters and other timely announcements via our AFS website. Mr. Dave Coughlan has graciously agreed to serve as newsletter editor. The compiled newsletter will be sent to NCSU computer wizards, Dr. Joe Hightower and Mr. Chris Taylor, for posting on the Chapter website. The Chapter has an ambitious goal of publishing quarterly newsletters (March, June, September, and November), beginning this year, and we will strive to give you timely chapter information (although we are a bit tardy on this one!). Dave brings a lot of energy and good ideas to the Chapter newsletter, and I am sure we can expect a lot of topical information. Please remember that the newsletter is what you help make it. Send Dave any pertinent information that you would like to include in the June and other upcoming newsletters, including any local environmental employment opportunities for students and recently graduated professionals (and maybe old professionals for that matter). Also, any meetings of pertinent interest to Chapter members can be brought to Dave's attention.

The EXCOM recently met during April for its spring meeting and several items were discussed that will influence Chapter activities this year. First, an Ad Hoc Finance Committee has been appointed to examine and recommend the best financial method of investing our hard earned monies from the successful 1999 AFS national meeting held in Charlotte last year. The Committee will bring a recommendation to EXCOM on how to invest these funds for Chapter use.

Revisions to the Chapter Bylaws continues. Initiated by Dave Coughlan, we continue to revise and rework our bylaws. The Chapter will form a permanent Finance Committee and the EXCOM will draft the Committee's charges in the Bylaws. As related to the Chapter's Bylaws, an Ad Hoc Committee, led by Mr. Bob Curry, will review the Long-Range Plan drafted by the Chapter in 1993 and determine the best approach on updating and utilizing this plan for the long-term vision for the Chapter.

Taking to heart comments made by Mr. Fred Harris, Second Vice-President of the AFS, the EXCOM has discussed the use of funds generated from this investment. We are considering allocating a certain portion of investment funds each year to help sponsor a student or young professional to a AFS-sponsored meeting. This should help nurture and cultivate these young professionals to grow and become a viable part of the AFS as a whole and our Chapter, in particular. Additionally, starting with this newsletter, we intend to spotlight student, young professional, and the old and wise professionals members to let you get to know the people within our chapter.

In this issue, we spotlight Mr. Scott Waters, recent recipient of the Chapter's "Best Student Paper Award" at the 2000 meeting, and Dr. Randy Jackson, long-time student and biologist at N.C. State. We wanted to spotlight Randy due to his upcoming career move to Cornell University. We will all miss Randy as a dedicated and studious biologist and as a person who can bring good humor to the situation at hand. Good luck, Randy, and come back down south to see us from time-to-time!

Finally, although I just am barely through the first quarter of my tenure, I would like to add my reflections on the AFS and volunteerism. I certainly have a much better appreciation for those who have served in volunteer positions in the Chapter and the Society as a whole. One does not fully appreciate the planning and execution of meetings until one is put in that position (and particularly when your first speaker has computer/projector interface problems!!). The AFS represents diverse backgrounds and ideas, and I have personally benefitted from taking advice from members on how to help the Chapter move forward. I challenge those Chapter members who have not "stepped up to the plate" to consider volunteering for a committee position or running for elected office, if asked. What we put into our Chapter is what our profession and future will be. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your President!

Bob Curry, Kim Baker, John Crutchfield, Chris Taylor, and Dave Coughlan

NC to Host the Southern Division AFS Mid-Year Meeting?

Past newsletters have been hinting at the need for the NC Chapter to host an AFS Southern Division Mid-Year Meeting. The Executive Committee has decided that we should act on this subject and make a request to the SDAFS, thus ensuring that we have plenty of lead time to adequately prepare. We have asked the SDAFS Executive Committee to allow the NC Chapter to host the 2003 Mid-Year meeting. Mr. Marty Hale, SDAFS President, has accepted this offer and it will be discussed at the EXCOM meeting held at the SEAFWA meeting next fall. We are currently investigating a meeting site in the Wilmington-Wrightsville Beach area.

The magnitude and scale of this event will be about one-third that of the recent National AFS meeting in Charlotte. Our newly acquired experience, an extensive committee structure (to distribute the load), and the fantastic assistance of chapter members should guarantee another successful and highly informative meeting. We will be soliciting ideas for technical sessions from Chapter members in the future. Look for details in upcoming newsletters.

The EXCOM is reviewing several proposed new sections of the Chapter Bylaws and the committee structure outlined in the NCAFS Procedure Manual. Joe Margraf, AFS Constitutional Consultant, has reviewed the Bylaws and made several helpful modifications. In the near future, a revised version (showing all editorial changes since the 1993 version) will be placed on the webpage for review by the membership. A separate e-mail will be sent out at that time letting you know that a fairly mature draft of the Procedure Manual is "on-line". We anticipate that, eventually, we will try and approve the Manual via an "on-line" ballot. We will keep you posted on this.

NCSU Student Subunit Report

The Student Subunit held its final meeting of the spring 2000 semester on April 4. This semester's theme was Freshwater Fisheries Management in North Carolina. Three biologists from the NC Wildlife Resource Commission, Lawrence Dorsey, Chad Thomas and Scott Van Horn, gave presentations on current management issues from the mountains, piedmont and coast, with special attention given to involvement of the fishers/stakeholders.

We have had a couple of field outings this term. Mr. Jim Dean, former editor of NC Wildlife Magazine, invited us to assist him with the draining one of his farm ponds, quantifying the fish biomass, and transferring some larger fish to other ponds on his property. Under cloudy skies and near-freezing temperatures, we began by seining most of the inch-thick ice off the pond before we could begin electrofishing.

A summary of the data is available on the Subunit's web page (see link at bottom of this summary).  Mr. Dean invited us to return to his ponds on Sunday, April 30 to hold our First Annual Crappie-a-thon. More details regarding the Crappie-a-thon will be sent out before the event.

The Subunit would also like to congratulate the recent award recipients among our members. John Bichy (Subunit Secretary/Treasurer) won runner-up best paper at the Tidewater Chapter meeting held on March 9-11 in Nags Head, NC, for an invited paper entitled, "Life History Assessment on the Reproduction and Age and Growth of Striped Mullet in North Carolina". Regan McNatt won best masters paper during the Third Annual Zoology Graduate Student Symposium held this past January. Finally, we would like to once again congratulate Scott Waters for his best student paper award at the Chapter meeting this past January.

Thanks to the overwhelming success of the raffle at the Chapter meeting, the Subunit was able to initiate three new programs with the proceeds. Two scholarships ($150 each) will be offered for undergraduate fisheries students to attend the Fisheries and Wildlife Inventory Techniques summer camp this summer. Another portion of the raffle proceeds will be used to purchase some field supplies needed for continuing the monitoring of Walnut Creek on NCSU's Centennial Campus development zone. Funds will also be available to support students travelling and presenting at Southern Division or State Chapter meetings. The Subunit would like to thank the students and professional members of the Chapter for their help with soliciting prizes and selling tickets (Jim Rice could sell an ice machine to the Eskimos!).

The Subunit's web page is always being updated with new information and images of the recent events and a tour of fisheries research in North Carolina currently being conducted by faculty and students at NC State. The web page can be linked from the Chapter home page or directly at http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/users/j/jctaylo4/ncsu_afs/ .

If you have any questions or comments for the student Subunit, please contact the current president, Chris Taylor. (Phone: 919.515.8090, Email: chris_taylor@ncsu.edu, Snail-mail: NCSU Dept. of Zoology, Campus Box 7617, Raleigh, NC 27695).
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Environmental Concerns Committee

President Crutchfield is interested in getting the Environmental Concerns Committee active again. One possible issue that may be addressed is a Chapter position statement on dam removal. Please check future newsletters for further developments.

Education Committee

President Crutchfield has been the chairman of the Education Committee for several years and has organized many fine continuing education opportunities (Please see the summaries of the recent Continuing Education classes below). However his current responsibilities as Chapter President will keep him extremely busy and we need to solicit a new chairman. Please contact John if you would like to assist the NC Chapter and become the chairman of the Education committee. The Education committee chairman will ". . . work in close contact with the Chapter President to provide continuing education opportunities for Chapter members in conjunction with the annual Chapter meeting. Educational opportunities for the public and user groups of North Carolina fisheries resources may also be initiated."
E-mail: john.crutchfield@cplc.com

Participant Feedback on Continuing Education Courses Held at 2000 Chapter Meeting - Seventy biologists participated in two continuing education courses offered at the 2000 North Carolina AFS Chapter meeting held in New Hill, NC during January. The first course, taught by Mr. Jeffery Smith, Research Biologist with Smith-Root, Inc., was a four-hour refresher course on electrofishing principles and safety practices. The course covered the basics of electricity and wave form of electrofishing, safety practices and considerations in electrofishing, and fish injuries associated with electrofishing. The second course, taught by Dr. Wayne Starnes and his staff from the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, focused on taxonomy of minnows, suckers, and darters of the Carolinas. Ms. Lynn Fullbright, Ms. Gabriela Hogue, and Dr. Morgan Raley assisted Dr. Starnes in this well-attended and highly successful course. The four-hour course reviewed current taxonomy classifications of these species, distribution of minnows, suckers, and darters within the Carolinas, and a hands-on lab fish identification session for participants.

Course evaluation questionnaires were provided to participants of each course to obtain feedback on the effectiveness of course material and teaching methods and to determine topics of interest for future course offerings at annual Chapter meetings. Eight questions were posed to participants on course expectations, teaching methods, material handouts, course fees, and future course offerings. Quantitative ratings were obtained for six of the eight posed questions with a rating scale ranging from 1 to 10.

Electrofishing Principles and Safety Practices Course - Participants of the electrofishing course responded slightly better than somewhat satisfied (score of 7.2, n = 30) to the question of "Did this course meet your expectations in terms of the description of course objectives?" The scale ranged from 1 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (extremely satisfied). The amount of material reviewed in the course was rated as 5.3 or "just enough material" (1 as not enough covered material, 5 as just enough material, and 10 as too much covered material). The effectiveness of the instructor teaching methods was rated as 6.9 or slight higher than "somewhat effective" (1 as not very effective, 5 as somewhat effective, and 10 as very e ffective). On the same response scale, the effectiveness of course material presentation was rated slightly lower at 6.5 but still considered effective by participants. Handout materials (Smith-Root electrofishing book and course outline) used in teaching the course were rated as useful (score of 7.2) (1 as not very useful, 5 as somewhat useful, and 10 as very useful). The fee charged for the course ($10) was rated as about right or 4.9 (1 as too low of a fee, 5 as about right fee, and 10 as too much of a fee).

Minnows, Suckers, and Darters Taxonomy Course - Participants of the fish taxonomy course responded that they were very satisfied (score of 8.2, n = 40) to the question of "Did this course meet your expectations in terms of the description of course objectives?" The scale ranged from 1 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (extremely satisfied). The amount of material reviewed in the course was rated as 6.1 or slightly above "just enough material" (1 as not enough covered material, 5 as just enough material, and 10 as too much covered material). The effectiveness of the instructors' teaching methods was rated as 8.7 or better than "effective" (1 as not very effective, 5 as somewhat effective, and 10 as very effective). On the same response scale, the effectiveness of course material presentation was also rated as being effective (response score of 8.3) by participants. Handout materials (taxonomy keys and classification scheme) used in teaching the course were rated as useful (score of 8.8) (1 as not very useful, 5 as somewhat useful, and 10 as very useful). The fee charged for the course ($10) was rated as about right or 4.9 (1 as too low of a fee, 5 as about right fee, and 10 as too much of a fee).

Future Continuing Education Classes - Concerning the offering of continuing education courses at future chapter meetings, 56 of participants from both courses responded yes to continued course offerings, 4 responded no, and 10 offered no response (n = 70 participants). Topics of interest included other fish taxonomy workshops including larval fish identification, fish population modeling, nonparametric statistics, taxonomy of freshwater crayfish, mussel, and other invertebrates, wetlands identification, age and growth of fish, stream restoration issues and techniques, safety and CPR, computer hardware/software applications, GPS/GIS use and techniques, and Internet Web page design.

News from around North Carolina

Fred Harris - The AFS (parent society) actually closed the year with a surplus of $8k or so. This was mostly due to cost savings achieved by Gus. We still have to find new sources of revenue to expand services & be doing more things that need doing. The budget for the current year is also balanced & I think we have a realistic chance of ending the year with it still being balanced.

AFS will have a static display (the same one that is used at the Annual Meeting) at the Outdoor Writers of America annual meeting in Greensboro (June 24-28). There may be a need for some chapter members to man the display at times. Please contact Fred if you would like to help out. E-mail: harrisfa@mail.wildlife.state.nc.us

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences - The new North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences opened its doors to the public Friday, April 7, 2000. The museum includes four floors and over 200,000 square feet of new exhibits. Check out the webpage for a virtual tour and then make plans to see it all in person http://www.naturalsciences.org/. The museum is also looking for new members to help support its activities, so please consider making a donation.

Sicklefin Redhorse News from Wayne Starnes - On the week of March 6, Wayne Starnes of the NC State Museum of Natural Sciences and Bob Jenkins of Roanoke College joined personnel of TVA, USFWS, and Fish & Wildlife Associates to survey the Hiwassee and Nottely rivers for the undescribed "sicklefin redhorse". This distinctive species, which develops elongate anterior dorsal-fin rays reminiscent of a carpsucker, was not discovered until recent years. It thus far appears restricted to portions of the Little Tennessee and Hiwassee basins in North Carolina. Earlier surveys have failed to confirm its presence in the Tennessee portion of those rivers or in other basins. Seventeen additional specimens were collected in the Hiwassee a few miles above Murphy, NC, and in the Valley River-Hiwassee confluence area in Murphy. Several additional specimens were sighted in the Valley River at points a few miles above Murphy. Past observations indicate the Valley is a very important spawning area for this geographically restricted species. No specimens were taken in the reach of the Nottely draining into Hiwassee Reservoir or in the Hiwassee River above Mission Dam. However, David Yow of NCWRC has just reported the probably capture of a young (8") specimen from Hiwassee Reservoir in the Beech Creek arm below Nottely River. Jenkins, who plans to describe the species, has had the new redhorse under study for 4-5 years and recently submitted a report to FWS outlining current knowledge of its status, distribution, and biology. An additional study, employing molecular techniques, is planned by Jenkins, Starnes, and researchers at the University of Georgia to investigate the possible origins of the species. One theory to be tested is possible hybrid origin involving river- and shorthead redhorse via an ancient hybridization event. The species currently "breeds true" and is not the result of ongoing hybridization events.

Robust Redhorse News from Wayne Starnes - In other redhorse news, a massive survey, organized by John Crutchfield of CP&L, is planned for the Peedee River from Blewett Falls Dam, NC, to Cheraw, SC, during the week of 24 April. The primary object will be to confirm or not the continued presence of robust redhorse and the undescribed "Carolina redhorse" in that river, both known in the Peedee from one or few specimens but not taken in recent surveys.

An armada of electrofishing boats supplied by CP&L, NCDWQ, NCSU, NCWRC, SCDNR, and GaDNR will be involved. Personnel of the NC State Museum and perhaps Jenkins will join the effort. Currently, the robust redhorse is known to maintain populations only in limited portions of the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers, GA, and a portion of the Savannah River, GA-SC. The "Carolina redhorse", under study by Jenkins and Starnes, may now be limited to portions of the Cape Fear basin, primarily the lower Deep River above small dams. Its distribution, which probably formerly included much of the riverine portions of the Cape Fear and Peedee basins, appears now to be largely exclusive of that of the introduced flathead and blue catfishes.

Flathead Catfish news from Tom Kwak - The flathead catfish, Pylodictis olivaris, has been introduced to many Atlantic and Gulf slope rivers in the southeastern United States. Given its rapid dispersal, high growth rates, and carnivorous food habits, natural resource managers, aquatic researchers, and anglers are concerned with the impacts that introduced flathead catfish may exert upon native fish assemblages and fisheries. This conflict between native and introduced fishes creates a management dilemma that requires a sound understanding and quantitative information, upon which to base management strategies, but is not currently available.

To address this information need, a workshop was held (8-9 March 2000) to serve as a means for information exchange and to develop research strategies and goals with interaction among biologists from state and federal natural resource agencies, universities, and private organizations. The objectives of the workshop were to compile and summarize existing knowledge on the biology, ecology, and social aspects of introduced flathead catfish populations and to develop a research agenda to guide future expansion and application of that knowledge.

Specific objectives were to: (1) compile a historical chronology of the introduction and dispersal of flathead catfish, (2) summarize existing scientific knowledge, and (3) develop a research agenda for the future.

The results of this exercise will be drafted as a workshop proceedings or an article to be submitted to an appropriate scientific journal. This information may be used by fishery professionals to increase public awareness of facts and to guide physical and biotic research and management actions to improve resource management strategies.

Workshop funding was provided by the U.S. Geological Survey and NC State University. Additional information and workshop photographs may be found at http://www4.ncsu.edu/~tkwak/workshop.html or by contacting Tom Kwak (919/513-2696, E-mail: tkwak@ncsu.edu).

Welcome New Members

On behalf of all the members of the NC Chapter, I would like to take this opportunity to personally welcome the following new members:

        Tom Thompson
        Julia Whitaker

Spotlight on Students and Young Professionals

Spotlight on Scott Waters - Scott received his Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from Kansas State University in May 1997. At Kansas State, he worked as a research technician in the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and assisted with paddlefish tagging studies. As a result of these tagging studies, Scott and his colleagues published a paper on the use of coded tag wires in paddlefish rostrums in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society during 1997.

Scott entered the Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences Program at N.C. State University during June of 1997 under the tutelage of Dr. Richard Noble. His graduate work was quite interesting and unusual in that he conducted his research on largemouth bass population dynamics in a tropical lake ecosystem located in Puerto Rico. His research focused on radio-telemetry tracking of largemouth bass to determine patterns of adult bass mortality in Lucchetti Reservoir. His thesis was entitled "Spawning season and mortality of adult largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) in a tropical reservoir". Scott's insights of working in a foreign country setting during his thesis research were published in a 1999 Fisheries magazine article entitled "Conducting student research in a foreign country".

Scott presented his thesis research at the 2000 NCAFS Chapter meeting in January, and he was awarded the Chapter's "Best Student Paper Award" for his outstanding presentation. Scott graduated from N.C. State during December 1999 and currently resides with his wife, Angela in Cary. We wish Scott the best in his future endeavors in the fisheries field. (Thanks to John Crutchfield for this Spotlight)
 

Spotlight on Dr. Randy Jackson - Randy Jackson began his higher education at Montana State. After honing his slalom and mogul skills, he received a Bachelors degree. He then moved to Texas A&M and received a Masters of Agriculture, specializing in fisheries and wildlife, then spending the next 2 ½ "happy" years as a technician on the S.R. Noble (no relation) Foundation Wildlife and Fisheries Research and Demonstration Ranch in Ardmore, Oklahoma. While at Texas A&M, an acquaintance with one faculty member, Dr. Richard Noble, would foreshadow his future as a fisheries scientist.

In 1987, he was hired as a technician on the new Jordan Lake Project; one of the first cooperative research efforts that brought together the NC Wildlife Resource Commission and NC State University. He immediately demonstrated strong leadership skills and quickly became part of the intellectual backbone to the project, contributing insights and ideas that guided the project as it progressed and evolved over the years. In 1991, Randy recognized a prime opportunity to further advance his academic standing (and income) and enrolled as a doctoral student in the Department of Zoology. The topic of his research was long-term population dynamics of large mouth bass and in it he explored and questioned many of the theories of reservoir community dynamics. The resultant treatise (and 10 publications) is probably one of the first dissertations written on an 11-year dataset, for which the student was involved for the duration and collected nearly all the data. His excellence in graduate research was recognized by his selection as the outstanding Ph.D. student by the NC State Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi.

Additional forays in fisheries science with other faculty at NCSU include working with Joe Hightower, using biotelemetry to estimate natural and fishing morality in land-locked striped bass. He has also explored the history of fisheries science and chose to pursue a minor in history as part of his Ph.D. program. Not to be satisfied with just taking courses as part of the minor, Randy has published a critical review of the history of fish systematics in North America, co-authored by Wil Kimler in the Department of History.

His contributions to fisheries science at NCSU were not limited to mentoring lab and field techs. on the Jordan project. While the department's Fisheries Ecologist position lay vacant, Randy jumped to the charge and taught the Introduction to Fisheries Science course for 75 undergraduates each of 2 years - a noble task for anyone. During many of these years, Randy also represented NC State on the Reservoir Committee of the Southern Division, AFS, and served on the steering committee for the National Reservoir Symposium in 1995. He has also organized or co-organized several symposia for AFS and SEAFWA.

His colleagues describe him as someone who thinks critically about each project with which he is involved and someone who combines the breadth of general scientific knowledge with an in-depth understanding of fisheries science. During his tenure at NC State, Randy has mentored numerous graduate students and undergraduates that worked on the Jordan project. In fact, at least four Biologists working for NCWRC got their start killing and counting fish with Randy and Dr. Rich Noble. Randy is never unwilling to talk about science over one (or ten) cheep beers or a big plate of BBQ or bowling alley specials.

Randy has been offered a Senior Research Associate position at Cornell's Biological Field Station on Oneida Lake, NY. The NC AFS Chapter ExCom, and his friends and colleagues at NCWRC and NCSU wish him all the best on his new endeavors. He will be missed by many in this state! (Thanks to Chris Taylor for this Spotlight)

Donations from the NCAFS

The Executive Committee has approved a request for a $200 donation to the 2000 AFS Raffle. Raffle proceeds will go to the Skinner Memorial Fund and support student travel to future AFS meetings.

The Executive Committee has approved a $100 request to help defray the publication costs of the paper "Distribution and Conservation Status of Freshwater Fishes of the Southern United States". Numerous color photographs have escalated the costs for this work. This paper should appear in a future volume of Fisheries.

The devastating floods from Hurricane Floyd hit eastern NC just after we wrapped up the 1999 AFS Annual Meeting in Charlotte. At that time we had excess meeting T-shirts and a desire to assist in the recovery effort. The Executive Committee agreed to donate all of the proceeds from remaining T-shirt sales to the recovery effort. The T-shirts are gone and our donation to the Govenor's Relief Effort came to $315.

Meetings of Interest

EEEF2000 (ethology, evolutionary (and conservation) ecology of fishes) - May 20-24, 2000, Athens, GA. http://sparc.ecology.uga.edu/~helfman/eeef.html

Riparian Buffer Conference - May 22, 2000, Raleigh, NC. The conference will provide a forum for presentations and discussions on the water quality and habitat benefits and the economic implications of riparian buffers. http://www5.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/wqg/buffer/

East Coast Trout Culture and Management Workshop - June 6-8, 2000, Frostburg, MD. No website address available.

80th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists - June 14-20, 2000, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. http://www.uabcs.mx/asih/

130th Annual AFS Meeting (Reflections) and Black Bass 2000 Symposium. - Aug. 20-24, 2000, St. Louis, MO. http://www.fisheries.org/annual2000/index.htm

Wood in World Rivers - Oct. 23-27, Corvallis, OR. Synthesize current knowledge of the role of wood in aquatic ecosystems and implications for planning and management. http://riverwood.orst.edu/

54th Annual SEAFWA Conference - Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 2000, Baton Rouge, LA. The annual conference is held for state and federal wildlife and fish agencies personnel, conservation groups, and wildlife and fisheries students to address opportunities and challenges affecting wildlife and fisheries in the southeast. http://www.wlf.state.la.us/apps/netgear/index.asp?cn=lawlf&pid=606

2001 SDAFS Mid-Year Meeting - Feb. 21-25, 2001, Jacksonville, FL. This is currently just a link to the Florida Chapter home page. http://nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu/~fafs/

Fourth International Symposium on Sturgeon - July 8-13, 2001, Oshkosh, WI. To provide a forum for exchange of information and knowledge on the biology, culture and management of Acipenseriformes of the world, and to provide an opportunity for scientists, biologists, enforcement specialists and commercial interests working with Acipenseriformes around the world to communicate, share experiences and develop new research and management initiatives for the benefit of sturgeon populations and their users. http://www.sturgeonsymposium.org/

If you are aware of meeting information that would be beneficial to the membership of the NCAFS, please send it to the newsletter editor for inclusion in the next newsletter. E-mail: djcoughl@duke-energy.com

Employment Opportunities

Fishery related jobs can be found on the AFS web site at: http://www.fisheries.org/index_employment_resources.html This site also offers links to job postings on non-AFS web sites.

If you have a fishery-related job opening and would like to post it in the next NCAFS Newsletter, please send your announcement to the newsletter editor. E-mail: djcoughl@duke-energy.com

Valuable Links - Courtesy of AFS

The American Fisheries Society Home Page offers a wealth of links to assist you in your fishery endeavors. Information on ordering AFS books, public outreach, annual meetings, chapter links and joining the AFS can be found at http://www.fisheries.org/

Additional links can be found courtesy of Dr. Mike Allen and the Southern Division, AFS. http://www.sdafs.org/links/msallen1.htm

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