This week, we're making another stop on the tour of AFS Sections, and this time it's the Marine Fisheries Section (MFS). Susan Piacenza, the current president of the Section, stopped by the podcast recently to share updates about MFS activities - and to chat about her work with sea turtles!

Episode guest:

Susan Piacenza

Oregon State University

Marine Fisheries Section President

https://fwcs.oregonstate.edu/users/susie-piacenza

[email protected]

Marine Fisheries Section: https://mfs.fisheries.org/

AFS Updates and Links:

AFS Membership - renewals and new members

Upcoming online sessions include:

Fisheries Community Check In - October 14

Invasive Species Database Webinar - October 28

Higher-Level Thinking online course - October 30

AFS Certification - online application overview - November 5

Fisheries Community Check In - November 6

AFS is back with a new "Beneath the Surface" episode! This time, we're highlighting 2025 Excellence in Public Outreach honoree, David Shiffman. David shares insights on social media best practices and why sharks matter!

Episode guest:

David Shiffman

https://davidshiffmancv.com/

[email protected]

July 2025 Fisheries article:

https://academic.oup.com/fisheries/article/50/7/316/8107657

AFS Updates:

The AFS Sections roundup continues today with an introduction to the Invasive and Introduced Species Section! Today's guest is Nathan Lederman, the Section's current president. Join us to learn about this section's history and current projects. To learn more, join their business meeting at the AFS Annual Meeting next month!

Episode guest:

Nathan Lederman

[email protected]

Learn more about the American Fisheries Society and our upcoming Annual Meeting!

Comments or suggestions? Submit via email to [email protected]

What's an ELMA? To find out more, I went to Drew Holloway and Patrick Cooney, who are both former participants in the Emerging Leaders Mentorship Awards (ELMA) program. Drew and Patrick are currently serving as the ELMA committee chairs, working to mentor the current class of ELMAs and passing on lessons to the incoming class.

Episode Guests:

Patrick Cooney

Emerging Leaders Mentorship Awards

Updates:

San Antonio Annual Meeting registration-the early bird deadline has been extended through July 8

July webinar- Meeting Planning: A deep dive

Today's episode features a preview of the first open access book to be published by AFS! Freshwater and Diadromous Fishes of Puerto Rico authors Gus Engman and Wes Neal recently stopped by the podcast to recap the book's development and the authors' history of freshwater research in Puerto Rico.

Freshwater and Diadromous Fishes of Puerto Rico

Authors:

Gus Engman

Wes Neal

AFS is excited to announce the launch of Fishbook - a fisheries collaborate network! In this episode, we're visiting with Beth Beard, to learn about the Fishbook project and how to join this online community.

Episode guest:

Fishbook is now online at https://fishbook.fisheries.org!

Update:

Questions, comments, and suggestions for future podcast guests: [email protected]

Have you ever wondered how the AFS Second Vice Presidential candidates are selected each year? With the AFS election completed for 2025, we thought it would be a good time to reflect back on the candidate selection process.

Episode guest:

Eric Fetherman

2024-2025 AFS Nominating Committee Chair

Colorado Parks & Wildlife

Updates:

Fisheries Community Check-in

May 7, 3 pm Eastern Time

Join the session!

Webinar - Great Lakes

May 13, 2 pm Eastern Time

Register Now

Webinar suggestion form

In this episode, San Antonio local meeting chair, Shaun Donovan, joins the podcast to preview the 2025 Annual Meeting. Learn about conference sessions and events, San Antonio travel tips, and more!

Episode guest:

Shaun Donovan

San Antonio River Authority

Local Chair, 2025 AFS Annual Meeting

https://afsannualmeeting.fisheries.org/

Interview recording date: April 2, 2025

2025 AFS Annual Meeting - abstract submission deadline:

Extended through April 22

2025 AFS Officer Election:

April 22 is the last date to vote! All members are encouraged to vote, via emailed instructions.

On today's episode, we're talking all about the AFS Awards program! Our guests are current AFS Awards Committee chairs - Jessica Mistak and Natalie Coash. Jess and Natalie stopped by to talk about current efforts to update to the awards program and this year’s schedule for announcing the 2025 award recipients. In addition, we spent a fair amount of time talking about how AFS committee leadership can positively impact career development.

Episode guests:

Natalie Coash

Missouri Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Unit

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Updates:

Annual Meeting:

Abstract submission deadline: April 15

Upcoming Webinar:

Applied Genetics for Fisheries Management: April 16

AFS Election:

Now open through April 22, 2025 - members should vote via instructions sent through email

Comments or questions?

Email us at [email protected]

Join us for another stop on our tour of AFS Sections! In this episode, we're featuring the Student and Early Career Professionals Subsection of the Education Section. Hadley Boehm, the current president of the Subsection, joins Beneath the Surface to chat about the Subsection's projects, as well as the benefits of mentoring and getting involved with AFS.

Episode guest:

Hadley Boehm

President, Student and Early Career Professional Subsection

https://students.fisheries.org/

Email: [email protected]

Updates and Deadlines:

2025 Awards nominations deadline: April 1

Spring webinars:

Applied Genetics for Fisheries Management: April 16

Annual Meeting:

Abstract submission deadline: April 15

AFS Election:

Now open through April 22, 2025 - members should vote via instructions sent through email