AFS Beneath the Surface

Today's podcast guest is AFS Executive Director, Jeff Kopaska. Jeff provides a recap of his first year in his position with the American Fisheries Society. Join as we look back at 2025 and forward to what's coming next in 2026!

Episode guest:

Updates:

AFS Membership

2026 AFS Annual Meeting - Call for Sessions

Upcoming continuing education opportunities

Today's guest is Gary Whelan, 2025-2025 AFS President. Gary stopped by the podcast recent to share insights on his plan of work for the coming year and offer advice for students and early-career fisheries professionals.

Episode Guest:

Gary Whelan

[email protected]

AFS Updates:

Webinar - November 19:

Science Communication Through Emotionally Charged Extreme Events

December Fisheries Community Check In

December 16 at 1 pm ET

In case you missed it - here are links to recordings of two recent online sessions!

Advancing the understanding, appreciation, conservation, and management of native nongame fishes in the United States - recorded on November 12

AFS Certification Online Application Review and Q&A - recorded on November 6

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.