Theme: Changing Fisheries in Ontario
February 20-22, Frost Centre, Dorset, Ontario
The 2004 Annual General Meeting & Conference was held February 20th to 22nd, at the Leslie M. Frost Centre in Dorset, Ontario. Neither snow nor sleet nor the threat of freezing rain could keep approximately 90 attendees away from the meeting. The attendance was the highest in recent years and reflected the strong line-up of talks and posters. By all accounts it was a very successful meeting. Some of the feedback we received from members included “You did a great job with the conference”, “Once again, great job to the ExComm”, “Had a blast, learned a lot” and “Congratulations on an excellent meeting”.
The presentations included Dr. John Casselman’s plenary address from the 2003 Annual Meeting in Quebec City. A total of 14 presentations and 3 posters graced the presentation hall at Dorset covering a wide range of fisheries and aquatic resource topics. The theme of Changing Fisheries in Ontario was well represented by a variety of talks that outlined research and results ranging from the Great Lakes to our smallest stream fish communities. New management strategies were highlighted and successful habitat restoration in support of aquatic communities was discussed. We were also happy to have four student presentations and one student poster representing the Universities of Guelph, Waterloo, Windsor and Trent. Here is a summary of the talks we enjoyed. The Annual Meeting Program includes abstracts from many of the presentations and two of the posters that were presented are available for viewing in our Member Publications area.
On a more somber note, we honoured the memory of Dr. E.J. Crossman and his contribution to fisheries and the American Fisheries Society. Dr. Casselman, one of Dr. Crossman’s former graduate students, gave a heart-warming tribute via a series of slides outlining the research and life of Dr. Crossman. To honour Dr. Crossman, the chapter dedicated the E.J. Crossman Award; the first recipient was Mark Poos, a M.Sc. candidate with Dr. McLaughlin at the University of Guelph. Mr. Poos’ presentation dealt with the assessment of the presence and abundance of fish species at risk in southwestern Ontario (“Can single factor remediation recover fish species at risk in a complex system?”) and is part of a larger Department of Fisheries and Oceans initiative.
A very busy business meeting included an announcement of the passage of updated Chapter Bylaws, a vote on a name change from the Southern Ontario Chapter to the Ontario Chapter, unveiling of our new logo to go along with the name change and the announcement of the formation of a committee including the Chapter and Ministry of Natural Resources to bring the 2008 American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting to Ontario.
Obviously, after such a hectic business meeting we were ready for the entertainment of the Lost Anglers who provided an excellent musical performance. Debbie DePasquale was the Grand Prize Raffle winner of a one day guided drift boat fishing adventure for two. Congratulations Deb! Overall it was a wildly successful meeting and we would like to thank all the volunteers and speakers for their efforts.
We would also like to thank our sponsors of the who provided financial support and/or prizes. They include:
Algonquin Power, Biosonics Inc, Credit Valley Conservation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Gartner Lee Limited, Grand River Conservation Authority, Great Lakes Power Limited, Grindstone Angling, Halltech Environmental Inc., Hook Line & Sinker Fishing Tackle, Hoskin Scientific Ltd, Lotek Wireless Inc, Minnow Environmental Inc, Natural Resource Solutions Inc, Natural Sports, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Waterpower Association, Rainbow Sports, Stantec Consulting Ltd, Tarandus Associates Limited, Tim Hortons, Totten Sims Hubicki Associates and Trout Unlimited Canada.
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