Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting | Fisheries Administration Section

September 21, 2020, 3:15 – 5:00 PM EDT

Agenda

3:15 Welcome/call to order- Jim Fredericks

Introduction of AFS and FAS officers/staff, guests
Review agenda- no changes were proposed
Determine quorum- a quorum was present
Approve March 2020 meeting minutes- Minutes were provided to members in advance of the meeting, and no changes were proposed. Minutes were accepted as submitted.

3:30 Reports and Updates

Financial Update- Jason Olive
- Current balance is $3,712.58, a decrease of $483.06 from last year. Charges for SFR plaques are still pending.
2020 SFR Project Award Recipients- Gary Whelan
- NC Wildlife Resources Commission 2019 Award Presented on August 27^th to their Commission and Christian Waters after short presentation by Corey Oakley on their wiper project in Lake Norman.
- 2020 Review Committee
  - Mike Stone (WY)
  - Craig Bonds (TX)
  - Lynn Quattro (SC)
  - John Lott (SD)
  - Mike Leonard (ASA)
  - Gary Whelan (MI)
- 2020 Winning Awards
  - 5 nominations in 2 categories (Sportfishery Development and Management; and Research and Surveys) from TX, MI, NC, and IA
    - No nominations for R3 in spite of rebranding
  - Award Winners
    - Sportfishery Development and Management – Repatriation of Guadalupe Bass (State Fish of Texas) to the Blanco River (TPWD)
    - Research and Surveys – Characterization of the Population Genetics and Phylogeography of North Carolina’s Brook Trout (NCWRC)
AFWA Bird/Fish Related Conflicts Working Group- Craig Bonds/Jim Fredericks
- Key objectives
  - Managing piscivorous bird and interactions with fish populations
  - Develop better understanding, relationships and trust between avian and fish biologists
- Have only been in existence for two years
  - One in-person meeting and multiple virtual meetings over the past year
  - An additional in person meeting was scheduled for July but was cancelled
  - The value of having these meetings in-person was noted
- Engaged in the USFWS rule making process for double-crested cormorant management
  - Submitted comments on proposed rule on behalf of AFWA
    - It was noted that it would have been difficult for AFWA to come to a consensus on comments on this issue if not for the formation of this working group
  - Sent a letter to state agency directors encouraging more intra-agency communication relative to flyway council meetings to ensure that fisheries staff are involved
  - Upcoming work
    - Monitoring release of final rule on double-crested cormorants
    - Other species – White pelicans, etc.
FAS Website- Ken Kurzawski
- Was discussed at March meeting that it needs to be migrated from the existing WordPress site to the AFS site. Has not been addressed due to everyone involved being out of the office due to Covid-19.
- Ken will work with Beth Beard at AFS this winter to move the site.
AFS Update- Scott/Doug/Drue
- Drue Winters-
  - ACE Act that passed the Senate last week and is expected to be acted on by the House on September 28.
    - AFS has not engaged due to lead tackle issue.
  - Climate
    - Announced a position statement on climate.
    - Training upcoming on communication on climate change with support from Multistate Conservation Grant (MSCG)- will be targeting state agency biologists.
    - Will be developing talking points for members.
  - Marine Aquaculture
    - There is a House bill, but no companion bill in the Senate yet.
    - A Fisheries article on this topic is coming.
  - RAWA
    - Included in Moving Forward Act that passed in the House in July. Was a 5 year authorization- not permanent funding.
    - Unlikely to be acted on in the Senate.
  - WOTUS
    - AFS continued to engage. Have filed amicus briefs and will be filing more in various courts.
    - Doug Austen
      - Incoming President Brian Murphy coming in with a new plan of work. Diversity, equity, and inclusion will be a major focus. Will continue themes of science outreach and climate change. Also will be focusing on professional development and AFS branding.
      - New section on coordinating research- will be primarily focused on marine fisheries but could have some potential with fresh water.
      - Baltimore meeting- hoping for in person. Hoping to carry over a lot of the 150th anniversary plans to next year. Maryland DNR has committed to a tremendous amount of support.
      - MSCG- AFS submitted four applications and all were approved.
        
        Next phase of development for gray literature database- full build out. Want to get more states involved.
        
        Fisheries research database. Going to tie this to the gray literature database.
        
        Climate communications effort mentioned above. Develop strategies to teach people how to tell stories that relate climate issues.
        
        R3 project collaborating with Southwick and Responsive Management- looking at how we retain new 2020 fishing license buyers.
        
        Collaboration with Instream Flow Council on developing a business plan for a new proposed Instream Flow and Water Level Conservation Training Research and Development Center. There is a tremendous need for this type of center due to there being no consistent training for instream flow practitioners, particularly those working for state fish and wildlife agencies.
      - Brian Murphy
        
        Plan of work will include a) science outreach and building public trust; b) diversity, equity, and inclusion- converting diversity and inclusion committee into a standing committee. A report will be drafted on where we are on this issue currently; c) career skills and development- will be surveying members to ask what we are missing in professional development. Communicating with other fisheries societies around the world about what works for them. Trying to link this with certification. d) rebranding the society based on 2018 recommendations for rebranding. e) planning Baltimore meeting- hopefully in person
        
        The Governing Board approved sending a proposal to the membership for a vote on making the Climate Committee a standing committee.
FAS representatives to AFS Committees
- Emmeline Moore Award Committee- Justine Hasz and Eileen Rice
- Resource Policy Committee- Ken Kurzawski
- Distinguished Service Award Committee- Joe Larscheid
- Reservoir Fish Habitat Partnership- Joe Larscheid

4:00 USGS Fisheries Program, Fisheries Summit, and state involvement- David Hu (USGS)

USGS reorganization recently completed.
USGS Concept of Operations- moved from seven mission areas down to five mission areas. Fisheries is within the Ecosystems Mission Area. Soon to be final business plan has been developed- includes requirements for stakeholder engagement to determine needs and expectations. Will be developing “Program Councils,” that will be like stakeholder advisory boards. These will ensure transparency and establish and document processes.
Rebranding Fisheries
- Long term vision and strategy
- Maximize coordination and leveraging
- Improve internal and external communications
- Scope – Organisms, Species Biology, Species Stressors, Species ecology, and Other
- Fisheries – Regions, Ecosystems Mission Area
- External Collaborators – State agencies a key audience
- Coop Research Units – 40, Ecosystem Science Centers- 16, Water Science Centers- 28, Climate Centers – 9, Regions, Water Mission, Fisheries Program
- Process for 2020-21
  - Fisheries Community Collaborative
  - Create Fisheries Program Interface
  - Baseline Snapshot
  - New and updated fisheries program vision
  - Business and Strategic Plans
  - Communications Plan
  - Program reviews and adjustments
- Federal Fisheries Summit- have produced a concept paper and a draft framework. Intent is to convene federal agency fisheries workers to try to improve alignment. Received good feedback from AFWA that states weren’t clear on what this was or how states might be involved. Organizers decided to initially convene federal agency staff before incorporating state input. AFS was added to the planning team. Dave was asked to keep the FAS in the loop as this idea is developed and implemented.

4:20 National Creel and Angler Survey Database- Dr. Abigail Lynch (USGS)

Overall goal is to attempt to get a handle on food value of inland recreational fisheries. This tends to be undervalued as part of our food supply. We currently have no national estimate of inland fish harvest. NMFS combines marine commercial and recreational along with Great Lakes commercial harvest. Started with inland commercial harvest data. Found that inland commercial harvest is double what is reported. Next moving on to inland recreational harvest data. Received state level harvest data from three states- NE, NM, AZ. No one else had it. Expanded project to incorporate state creel survey data. Hosted a virtual conference with state, federal, and university scientists to set up a nationwide database- discussed goals, format, application. Have summarized workgroup findings into a white paper and into a Fisheries magazine article. A new R- Shiny database has been developed. Emerging applications- working on Southeast data to develop a regional harvest estimate; Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee is working on regional creel survey harmonization; WI and MN working on joint bluegill angler behavior surveys; discussions with AFS on ways to integrate this database with the new AFS gray literature database. Tribal harvest data are also being considered by the team. Some challenges with this project include the widely varying methods used to collect the data, minimizing burdens on data providers, and receiving permission to use some data.

4:40 SFR Awards – Categories and Nominations Discussion- Gary Whelan/Jim Fredericks

Three categories
R3 category was changed to try to get more nominations this year, but none were received
Struggling getting nominations for all three categories
Options
- Keep as it is it – Consensus was to leave as it is and work to get more nominations
- Reduce categories
Need to get information out earlier to Chiefs and emphasize the need to get the information to agency staff working on R3 initiatives
- Get list of agency I&E Chiefs
- Be more proactive with R3 and send multiple requests for nominations
Get out award announcement to Fish Chiefs about this year’s winners

5:00 Adjourn