 |
 |
 |
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Symposium on the Effects of Fishing Activities on Benthic Habitats
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the American Fisheries Society (AFS), and the Ecological Society of America (ESA) co-sponsored the meeting, which was organized by Peter Barnes (USGS, Menlo Park, CA) and James Thomas (NOAA, Silver Springs, MD). Ellen Raabe (USGS, St. Petersburg, FL) was the local coordinator, and Page Valentine (USGS Woods Hole, MA) and Gary Brewer (USGS, Kearneysville, WV) served on the program committee. Lori Hidinger of ESA, who was the overall meeting coordinator, deserves the credit for the smooth running of the meeting. The symposium was an attempt to bridge the gaps in research, technology, and social and economic sciences, while linking research to industry and stakeholder issues, as well as to the needs of resource managers. The symposium was well attended by researchers in academia and government, with strong international representation. A final count of close to 400 participants far exceeded the expected 150 to 200. Chip Groat, Director of the USGS, and William Hogarth, Assistant Administrator of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), gave lead presentations on the roles of the USGS and NOAA. Plenary sessions and poster presentations focused on all aspects of fisheries activities and their impacts, benthic-habitat-mapping technology, fish/benthos interactions, and management and socioeconomic factors. The final panel session served as a forum for a lively discussion on lessons learned, keeping the attention of a full house. More than 50 contributions were received at the symposium for compilation in an AFS publication in 2003. USGS contributions to the symposium represented benthic-habitat research in the Northeast, Florida, Gulf of Mexico, West Coast, Alaska, and the Great Lakes. On the final day of the meeting, Ellen, Chris Smith (NOAA), and James Thomas (NOAA) led a field trip for 10 participants. The trip included visits to restoration sites operated by NMFS, a fish-processing facility, and Fort De Soto Park, and a tour of the USGS' Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies at St. Petersburg, FL. Many thanks go to Dennis Krohn, who led the tour group around the St. Petersburg facility, and to Noreen Buster, who received the guests on short notice and explained her laboratory work on sediment cores. The visitors were impressed with the USGS facility even after a long week of conferences and field trips.
|
 |
in this issue:
Adriatic Sea Sediment-Transport Cruise Assateague Island Vegetation Mapping Field-Testing New Portable Drilling System Woods Hole Field Center Open House St. Petersburg Field Center Open House Fourth-Graders Tour St. Petersburg Field Center
Planning Gas-Hydrates Research Science and Politics in Ecosystem Decisions Louisiana Coastal-Restoration Advisory Board Air Medical Transport Center Tour  |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
U. S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
previous story
cover story:
