Delegates from around the world will gather; Bycatch is a big agenda item
Several Alaskans will be presenting at the 9th World Fisheries Congress when it meets from March 3-7 at the Hyatt Regency in Seattle.
Organized through the World Council of Fisheries Societies, delegates from around the world meet every four years to “exchange ideas and perspectives about new research, emerging issues, scientific breakthroughs, and governance related to fisheries science, industry, conservation, and management.”
More than 1,200 oral and poster presentations have been submitted from over 70 countries, aligned with this year’s theme: Fish and Fisheries at the Food-Water-Energy Nexus.
See the program lineup HERE
Highlights include a panel discussion titled “Bringing Salmon Back from the Brink” that includes Mike Williams of Akiak discussing Yukon Chinook and chum salmon. Dani Evenson of the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game also is on the panel.
The Alaska Marine Conservation Council (AMCC) will present its paper titled The Myth of “Midwater” in the Alaska Pollock Fishery as part of the Making a Case for Ending Bottom Trawling symposium. This summit will report on biological, socio-economic and policy research into bottom trawling.
In fact, the topic of bycatch is included in several presentations over two days. One by Blue Ventures will describe its “Transform Bottom Trawling Coalition.” Another is titled “Making a case for ending bottom trawling; and “Smartrawl: A Vision for Sustainable Fishing and An End to Trawl Bycatch.”
Other reports include: Current state of plastic pollution and fisheries; Sustainable small-scale fisheries; Reckoning with colonialism in fisheries; Storm water, contamination and toxic effects; Fishery dependent communities, and much more.
