2026 Annual Meeting of North American Sturgeon and Paddlefish Society
Tulsa, Oklahoma – River Spirit Casino Resort
October 18-22, 2026
The North American Sturgeon and Paddlefish Society (NASPS) invites you to attend our 2026 annual meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma on October 18-22. We are excited to be offering an in-person meeting, providing a forum for sturgeon and paddlefish professionals to discuss new and emerging research geared toward several themes including conservation, restoration, and sustainable management. The 2026 annual meeting will be held at the River Spirit Casino Resort. The welcome social will begin Sunday evening October 18th followed by presentations October 19th-22nd. Our banquet will be held the evening of October 21st. Planning for workshop(s) is underway for Thursday morning, October 22nd.
This meeting is designed to provide great amenities within your registration cost. Your registration cost includes a welcome social on Sunday (5-8 PM), all breakfasts (Monday-Wednesday), all lunches (Monday-Wednesday), and a poster social (6:00-7:00 PM) and dinner banquet (7:00-10:00 PM) on Wednesday.
Location: The River Spirit Casino Resort is located along the Arkansas River, which is home to lake sturgeon, pallid sturgeon, shovelnose sturgeon, and paddlefish. Tulsa International Airport is 20 miles from the River Spirit Casino Resort. The hotel does offer complimentary roundtrip airport shuttle service. It is recommended to call the hotel in advance to confirm pickup and departure times.
A room block is available at the River Spirit Casino Resort for the NASPS annual meeting. The room rate is $110 plus 6% resort fee on Sunday-Wednesday and $139 plus 6% resort fee on Thursday. Please call the River Spirit Casino Resort to reserve your room 888-748-3731 or use the following link
2026 NASPS Annual Meeting – River Spirit Casino Resort
Please ask for a room in the room block reserved for the North American Sturgeon and Paddlefish Society. The room block will be released September 18, 2026.
Abstract Submission:
Please submit your abstract using the following link:
NASPS 2026 Abstract Submission
Abstract submission is open until September 16.
Program at a Glance:
Please click on the following link for the Program at a Glance
NASPS 2026 Annual Meeting Program at a Glance
Workshops:
The meeting program will include two workshops that are both free but require sign up.
1. Paddlefish restoration aquaculture, tagging, management, and live sonar.
Overview: This half-day workshop on nearby Keystone Lake will be led by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Paddlefish and Native Nongame Program in collaboration with Tishomingo National Fish Hatchery and Last Cast Fishing Guide Service. Hands-on content will highlight paddlefish restoration aquaculture techniques, coded wire tags (insertion, extraction, and decoding), field sex identification, management strategies, and use of live sonar for recreational snagging. Attendees will be divided into multiple groups for both onshore demonstrations and sonar technology demonstrations on Keystone Lake.
Time: 8am-12pm, Thursday October 22, 2026.
Location: Meet at the main resort circle drive at 8am for carpools to Keystone Lake.
Capacity: The workshop is limited to 20 participants due to offsite logistics and pre-registration is required Sign up here
Cost: $0
What to wear/bring: The workshop will be outdoors, so dress for the weather and consider sunglasses, hat, sunscreen, and bottled water/snacks as appropriate. Restroom will be available onshore. Personal Flotation Devices will be provided for the watercraft portion, though we require that all attendees be adept swimmers. The workshop will not require you to enter the water. Lunch will be on your own upon return to River Spirit.
2. Innovasea Telemetry for Paddlefish and Sturgeon.
Overview: Please join us for a workshop sponsored by Innovasea on how to effectively use acoustic telemetry technology to understand aquatic animal behavior. Along with a refresher on the basics of acoustic telemetry, Innovasea professionals will provide best practices related to study design, range testing, deployment, data retrieval, and analysis. They will explain how to incorporate Fathom into your study workflows as well as practical guidance on using NexTrak receivers and Increased Residency tag programming alongside your VR2 receivers.
Time: 8am-12pm, Thursday October 22, 2026.
Location: In the Locker Room (main conference location).
Capacity: Attendance for this workshop is not limited, but pre-registration is required Sign up here
Cost: $0
What to bring: Attendees likely represent a spectrum of levels and needs; therefore, time will be available in this interactive workshop for individualized Q&A and data/technology troubleshooting.
Registration:
NASPS Regular Member $375 (USD)
NASPS Student Member ** $300 (USD)
Non-member $450 (USD)
Single Day Rate $150 (USD)
**Note, early career professionals within two years of their terminal degree can register for the meeting at the student rate.
Cancellation Policy: All refund requests must be made in writing by email to the NASPS Treasurer (naspstreasurer@gmail.com) and received no later than 5 PM PST on September 4, 2025. A total of 80% of the meeting charges will be refunded. After this date, no refunds will be possible. Registration transfers are possible upon request. Please email these requests to nasps@nasps-sturgeon.org.
