2023 Annual Meeting of North American Sturgeon and Paddlefish Society symposium at AFS
The North American Sturgeon and Paddlefish Society (NASPS) is sponsoring a symposium entitled “North American Sturgeon and Paddlefish: Challenges to Adaptive Management During Ecosystem Change” at the American Fisheries Society (AFS) national meeting in Grand Rapids, MI on August 20-24, 2023.
The sturgeon symposium will be held Tuesday (8/22) through the morning of Thursday (8/24). A total of 37 talks will be presented. If you can’t make the meeting in person, check out the AFS meeting website (https://afsannualmeeting.fisheries.org/registration/) for the virtual registration option. All talks in our symposium will be available to virtual attendees for viewing at your convenience
The NASPS will be hosting a social on Tuesday night (8/22) from 6-8 PM at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in the Grand Gallery Overlook A&B. Appetizers will be provided and attendees will receive one drink ticket, good for a glass of wine, beer, or soda. A cash bar is available after that. We hope you can attend.
Opportunities to view sturgeon releases before and after AFS
For those NASPS members who will be attending the national AFS meeting in Grand Rapids Michigan, there are several lake sturgeon viewing options associated with releases being conducted by the Michigan DNR and Michigan State University in Black and Mullett Lakes and in tributaries to the Saginaw River. First, on Saturday August 19, the day immediately before the conference begins, releases will occur in four tributaries to the Saginaw River. Local community members, Michigan Sea Grant, Michigan State University Extension, the Michigan DNR, and local sponsors have activities associated with each release. Second, on Saturday August 26, following the conclusion of the AFS meeting, there will be a release of juvenile lake sturgeon into Black Lake and Mullett Lake. There will also be an open house and tour of the Black Lake Streamside Rearing and Research Facility on the upper Black River. The release is hosted by Michigan State University, Michigan DNR, Sturgeon for Tomorrow – Black Lake Chapter, and Tower-Klieber Limited Partnership. More details will be provided in a NASPS listserv email closer to the conference date. Information, maps, and directions will also be posted in the Black Lake project web site (www.glsturgeon.com) and the AFS website (https://afsannualmeeting.fisheries.org/sturgeon-releases/).