Today's podcast guest is AFS Executive Director, Jeff Kopaska. Jeff provides a recap of his first year in his position with the American Fisheries Society. Join as we look back at 2025 and forward to what's coming next in 2026!

Episode guest: Jeff Kopaska AFS Executive Director jkopaska@fisheries.org

Updates:

AFS Membership

2026 AFS Annual Meeting - Call for Sessions

Upcoming continuing education opportunities

Today's guest is Gary Whelan, 2025-2025 AFS President. Gary stopped by the podcast recent to share insights on his plan of work for the coming year and offer advice for students and early-career fisheries professionals.

Episode Guest:

Gary Whelan

gwhelan@fisheries.org

AFS Updates:

Webinar - November 19:

Science Communication Through Emotionally Charged Extreme Events

December Fisheries Community Check In

December 16 at 1 pm ET

In case you missed it - here are links to recordings of two recent online sessions!

Advancing the understanding, appreciation, conservation, and management of native nongame fishes in the United States - recorded on November 12

AFS Certification Online Application Review and Q&A - recorded on November 6

This week, we're making another stop on the tour of AFS Sections, and this time it's the Marine Fisheries Section (MFS). Susan Piacenza, the current president of the Section, stopped by the podcast recently to share updates about MFS activities - and to chat about her work with sea turtles!

Episode guest:

Susan Piacenza

Oregon State University

Marine Fisheries Section President

https://fwcs.oregonstate.edu/users/susie-piacenza

susan.piacenza@oregonstate.edu

Marine Fisheries Section: https://mfs.fisheries.org/

AFS Updates and Links:

AFS Membership - renewals and new members

Upcoming online sessions include:

Fisheries Community Check In - October 14

Invasive Species Database Webinar - October 28

Higher-Level Thinking online course - October 30

AFS Certification - online application overview - November 5

Fisheries Community Check In - November 6

AFS is back with a new "Beneath the Surface" episode! This time, we're highlighting 2025 Excellence in Public Outreach honoree, David Shiffman. David shares insights on social media best practices and why sharks matter!

Episode guest:

David Shiffman

https://davidshiffmancv.com/

David.Shiffman@gmail.com

July 2025 Fisheries article:

https://academic.oup.com/fisheries/article/50/7/316/8107657

AFS Updates:

The AFS Sections roundup continues today with an introduction to the Invasive and Introduced Species Section! Today's guest is Nathan Lederman, the Section's current president. Join us to learn about this section's history and current projects. To learn more, join their business meeting at the AFS Annual Meeting next month!

Episode guest:

Nathan Lederman

nathaniel.lederman@wisconsin.gov

Learn more about the American Fisheries Society and our upcoming Annual Meeting!

Comments or suggestions? Submit via email to lmaza@fisheries.org

What's an ELMA? To find out more, I went to Drew Holloway and Patrick Cooney, who are both former participants in the Emerging Leaders Mentorship Awards (ELMA) program. Drew and Patrick are currently serving as the ELMA committee chairs, working to mentor the current class of ELMAs and passing on lessons to the incoming class.

Episode Guests:

Patrick Cooney Drew Holloway

Emerging Leaders Mentorship Awards

Updates:

San Antonio Annual Meeting registration-the early bird deadline has been extended through July 8

July webinar- Meeting Planning: A deep dive

Today's episode features a preview of the first open access book to be published by AFS! Freshwater and Diadromous Fishes of Puerto Rico authors Gus Engman and Wes Neal recently stopped by the podcast to recap the book's development and the authors' history of freshwater research in Puerto Rico.

Freshwater and Diadromous Fishes of Puerto Rico

Authors: Thomas J. Kwak Augustin C. Engman Craig G. Lilyestrom J. Wesley Neal María de Lourdes Olmeda

Episode guests:

Gus Engman University of Tennessee

Wes Neal Mississippi State University

AFS is excited to announce the launch of Fishbook - a fisheries collaborate network! In this episode, we're visiting with Beth Beard, to learn about the Fishbook project and how to join this online community.

Episode guest: Beth Beard AFS Senior Communications Manager

Fishbook is now online at https://fishbook.fisheries.org!

Update: AFS Annual Meeting Early Bird Registration deadline: June 4, 2025

Questions, comments, and suggestions for future podcast guests: lmaza@fisheries.org