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Awards Presented
SNEC Student Travel
Award Recipients
The Southern New England
Chapter of the American Fisheries Society (SNEC) Student Travel Award was
established in 2005. The fund provides monetary travel awards for deserving
graduate students or exceptional undergraduate students to make an oral or
poster presentation at the American Fisheries Society (AFS) annual meeting.
2009 AFS National Meeting, Nashville, TN
Ivan Mateo is the recipient of the of the SNEC $200 travel
award to help defray the costs associated with attending the AFS annual meeting
in Nashville, TN. Ivan received his BS in General Biology at University of
Puerto Rico-Río Piedras Campus. He earned his master degree in Biological
oceanography from the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez. For many years he
worked with the government of the US Virgin Islands as a fisheries biologist,
researching the fisheries and ecology of tropical reef fishes as well as marine
invertebrates, primarily mollusks. He also worked at the Rosenstiel School of
Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Rosenstiel University of Miami and the NMFS
Southeast Fisheries Science Center doing stock assessment of Caribbean Spiny
Lobster. He is currently working as an environmental consultant in the Caribbean
looking at the effects of industrialization on essential fish habitats. In 2004,
Ivan moved to Rhode Island to pursue a PhD. degree as a Sloan Foundation Fellow
in the Department Fisheries Animal and Veterinary Science with Dr. Dave Bengtson.
He recently completed his PhD in Environmental Sciences with specialization in
fisheries sciences. The title of his dissertation is “Assessing Essential Fish
Habitat and Connectivity using Otolith Chemistry and Growth of Temperate and
Tropical Fish.” His main research interests are conservation of marine
ecosystems and ecological linkages of habitats to fish populations.
David Stormer is the recipient of the SNEC $500 student travel
award to help attend the AFS annual meeting in Nashville, TN. He will be
presenting his papers on 1) Movement, habitat use, and survival of shoal bass in
a tributary of the Chattahoochee River, Alabama. And 2) Diet composition of
juvenile bluefish during winter in the northern Florida coastal ocean. David has
a B.S. in Biology from the State University of NY at New Paltz. Post undergrad
- 1 year of service in Americorps (Wildlife educator and assessed biodiversity
of Iona Island and associated tidal marsh in Hudson River, NY). Post Americorps
he moved to Florida where he spent 1 year as an environmental specialist with the
Florida Department of Health then 1+ years as a marine fisheries biologist for
the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in St. Petersburg
Florida. 2 years with the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater Florida as a
wildlife rehabilitator and member of the marine mammal emergency stranding
response team. M.S. in Fisheries Biology from Auburn University. Currently a
PhD student at UMass, Amherst studying the recruitment dynamics of juvenile
bluefish in the Hudson River estuary, NY and along the coastal shelf of northern
Florida.
Student Travel Award information here
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Narragansett Bay Estuary Program (NBEP) named
Outstanding
Organization at 2011 SNEC Summer Meeting
At our 2011 June meeting, the American Fisheries Society’s Southern New England
Chapter’s Outstanding Organization Award goes to the Narragansett Bay Estuary
Program (NBEP) for its efforts to protect and preserve the Narragansett Bay and
its watershed. SNEC applauds NBEP’s holistic perspective on Narragansett Bay and
its watershed that includes social, economic and environmental aspects. NBEP
has been a leader in estuarine management and exemplifies how cooperation among
federal, state, municipal agencies, academia, local environmental groups and
resource stakeholders can result in a highly successful resource management
program. SNEC especially recognizes NBEP’s outstanding efforts to educate the
public on the science and management of Narragansett Bay and its watershed.
Accepting the award for the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program is Rich Ribb.
Narragansett Bay Estuary Program website
Click here to learn more about the Outstanding Organization Award
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2011 Lesa Meng Aquatic Conservation Award
awarded to
Taunton River Watershed Alliance
The staff and volunteers of the Connecticut Fund for the Environment (CFE) were
awarded the Lesa Meng Aquatic Conservation Award for their work to help preserve
natural Connecticut, but especially for their Save the Sound program. The staff
and volunteers at CFE exemplify the spirit of the Lesa Meng award. SNEC
particularly wishes to recognize the importance of CRE’s Stormwater, habitat
restoration and coastal cleanup programs. CFE’s ability to reach out to
children is commended. SNEC especially liked the “hearts” photo in the
junior Long Island Sound Photo contest and the Heroes award for 11 year old
Colin Carlson and his climate change organization. SNEC thinks Lesa would have
approved of these activities. Finally, our compliments to CFE’s webmaster and
content providers, the importance of an informative web page to educate the
public can not be over estimated.
Connecticut Fund for the Environment (CFE)
Website
Previous Award recipients
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Paul Perra Receives 2011 Irwin Alperin
Outstanding Member Award
Paul Perra has been an active member of the American Fisheries Society since
1973 when he first joined the Southern New England Chapter. He is a Past
President of the AFS Potomac Chapter, and has served on many Chapter,
Northeastern and Southern Division Committees, and on committees at the parent
society level. In 2007 he was elected the Northeastern Division’s First Vice
President and in succeeding years became NED President-elect and then President
in 2009. He has organized numerous AFS activities from national symposia events
to local chapter crab feasts. His education includes an MS in Biology (emphasis
in marine science) and a MS in Biology (emphasis in environmental studies), both
from Southern Connecticut State University. He received his Bachelor of Science
in Biology from Central Missouri State University. Paul is currently a
Fishery Policy Analyst for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Gloucester,
Massachusetts. He has spent most of his career working on management of
Atlantic Coast marine and anadromous species, such as striped bass, American
shad and river herrings, as well as summer flounder, Atlantic sturgeon, and
horseshoe crab, and he has played a key role in merging fisheries research into
the fisheries management process. For example, he coordinates the Mid-Atlantic
Research Set-Aside Program, an innovative arrangement that provides special
fisheries quotas to fishermen who partner with researchers carrying out projects
which address management requirements.
Previous Award recipients
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Don Danila Receives 2011 Chapter Award of Excellence
Award of Excellence (initiated circa 1987) - recognizes an SNEC member who has
made exceptional contributions to the field(s) of fishery administration,
education, management or research. Criteria for the Award can include
significant publications, exceptional service, outstanding teaching or training
of students, important discoveries or inventions, or other major contributions
to the advancement of fishery science. This
year’s Award of Excellence went to Don Danila, who
recently retired from a productive and respected career at the
Environmental Laboratory at the Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford, CT
after serving 30 years as Senior Scientist/Biologist. During his time at
the lab, he made significant contributions to the field of fisheries and
dedicated much of that time to studying winter flounder. He has authored
or co-authored over 30 publications and presentations since graduating from
Cornell University, after which he obtained a Master of Science degree in
Biology from Rutgers. He has been a member of AFS for over 40 years and has
served on the SNEC BOD for the last 15 years as the Publicity Officer. He
also has represented the chapter as a member of the Fisheries Advisory Council
to the CT DEP for over ten years and served on the Flatfish Biology Conference
Steering Committee since 1985.
Previous Award of Excellence recipients
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