World Fisheries Congress 2024 – 3-7 March 2024, Seattle, Washington, USA

Fish and Fisheries at the Food-Water-Energy Nexus

We look forward to welcoming you to Seattle, Washington for the 9^th World Fisheries Congress from 3-7 March 2024 hosted at the Hyatt Regency Seattle.

Organized through the World Council of Fisheries Societies, every four years delegates from around the world meet to exchange ideas and perspectives about new research, emerging issues, scientific breakthroughs, and governance related to fisheries science, industry, conservation, and management.

Join us in 2024 as we explore the congress theme of Fish and Fisheries at the Food-Water-Energy Nexus. We are preparing a program composed of an opening plenary, general sessions, education workshops, and planned symposia related to sustainability, fish and aquatic ecosystems, fisheries and society, and innovations in fisheries.

As host city, Seattle is an ideal location for an international fish and fisheries conference, with an international airport, a light rail system, and public transportation. Home to several academic, governmental and industry leaders in fish and fisheries sciences, Seattle has a vibrant downtown surrounded by verdant forests, snowcapped mountains, lakes and rivers, Puget Sound, and several National Parks.

Additional details about registration and the congress program will follow shortly. We look forward to welcoming you to Seattle.

Conference Timeline

Session submission open

Session submission closes

Abstract submission open

Abstract submission closes

Registration open

Early registration rates end

Congress begins

September 2022

13 January 2023

10 February 2023

30 June 2023

Summer 2023

31 January 2024

3 March 2024

Join Fisheries Professionals from Around the World

More than 1,200 oral and poster presentations have been submitted from over 70 countries.

Sessions

> Browse all sessions

Symposium / Abstracts closed

Application Of Population Models To Predict Dynamics Of Fish Exposed To Anthropogenic Changes

This session will explore mathematical models that have management implications for fish populations exposed to anthropogenic changes. Organizer: David Miller, USEPA, [email protected]

Hybrid Session, Symposium / Abstracts closed

Enhancing Coastal and Ocean Observing Networks for Ecosystem and Fisheries Monitoring and Prediction

Integrated multidisciplinary ocean observations are a key contributor to understanding ocean processes, variability and changes which have profound implications to support robust climate- and ocean-related forecasts, predictions, and projections to

Symposium / Abstracts closed

Innovations in On-Demand Fishing

This full-day session will focus on the latest advancements, obstacles, and problem-solving pertaining to on-demand fishing. On-demand, or “ropeless,” systems eliminate static rope in the water column compared to fishing

Symposium / Abstracts closed

Addressing Contemporary Fisheries Issues Through Effective Scientist-Stakeholder Collaborations

Fisheries around the world, including in marine and freshwater ecosystems, face a myriad of issues that challenge the long-term sustainability of fisheries resources, fishing industries, and the associated communities. Efforts

Symposium / Abstracts closed

Mitigating for Dam Effects to Migratory Fish: Balancing Benefits and Costs

Human uses of water—such as for food and energy production—can unintentionally impact aquatic ecosystems and migratory fish species that are valued by society. In particular, the construction and operation of

Flex format / Abstracts closed

Battling Ghost Fishing: Ecosystem Impacts, Policy and Search and Retrieval

Ghost fishing is the continued capture of fishes and invertebrates by lost fishing gear. In addition to being an animal welfare issue, ghost fishing harvests from local resources and the

Hybrid Session, Round table discussion / Not accepting abstracts

Market-Based Tools for a Global Sustainable Seafood Future: Solutions for Addressing Equity, Inclusion and Transferability

This session will discuss the transferability of tools in the sustainable seafood movement, examining the challenges, successes, lessons learned and unsolved problems of implementers. Experts will discuss how systems designed

Symposium / Abstracts closed

Making a Case for Ending Bottom Trawling

Bottom trawling is a very common and highly destructive type of fishing gear, imposing significant ecological, social and economic costs. Decisions on trawl fisheries management pose notable policy challenges. During

Symposium / Abstracts closed

Rockfishes, Marine Protected Areas, and Anglers

Rockfishes are vulnerable species to overfishing and in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, a series of Marine Protected Areas across North America’s west coast were implemented in an effort

Round table discussion / Not accepting abstracts

Defining Indicators for the Ten Steps to Responsible Inland Fisheries

The 2015 global conference, Freshwater, fish, and the future – cross-sectoral approaches to sustain livelihoods, food security, and aquatic ecosystems produced a forward-looking call-to-action characterized by the 2015 Rome Declaration’s

Expert panel, Hybrid Session / Not accepting abstracts

Mobilizing a Basic Income in the Fisheries

Fisheries are crucial to the social and economic well-being of coastal regions and Indigenous communities across North America and globally. However, those who work in the sector, which includes small-scale

Workshop

Marine Stewardship Council’s Fisheries Conformity Assessor Fundamentals Course

Time: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM – SOLD OUT Second session added: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM The course is open to everyone who holds a university degree in fisheries,

Flex format, Hybrid Session / Abstracts closed

Status of Fish and Fisheries in the Himalayan Region

Over 1.3 billion people depend on water and the associated aquatic resources in the Himalayan region. The ecosystems of the “third pole” and the animals inhabiting them are threatened with

Flex format / Abstracts closed

Assessing the Status of Inland Fisheries for Policy

Global policy frameworks (e.g., the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Ramsar Convention, and Sustainable Development Goals) provide opportunities to assess how well inland waters and their ecosystem services are being conserved

Symposium / Abstracts closed

Fish and Hydropower: Impacts, Opportunities, and Constraints

Hydropower is an important source of renewable energy that also contributes important ancillary services related to grid reliability; however, construction, and operation of hydropower facilities can have significant impacts, including

Flex format / Abstracts closed

Operationalizing Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management (EBFM) through Inclusive Research, Engagement, and Partnerships

Over the past decade, advances in scientific research have highlighted the importance of managing marine fisheries at ecosystem scales. However, the practice of ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) remains patchy across

Flex format / Abstracts closed

Dam Removal as a River Restoration Tool at the Water-Energy-Food Nexus

The dam removal movement has taken hold in the United States, Europe, and other developing countries, leading to thousands of dams being removed worldwide. A combination of improved scientific understanding,

Symposium / Abstracts closed

The Potential of Digitalization of the Whole Value Chain of the Fishing Sector Towards Sustainability, Quality and Safety

Digitization and advanced tools applied to fisheries, like Electronic Monitoring (EM) or Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM), artificial intelligence, machine and deep learning, data from different sensors or blockchain technologies, have

Hybrid Session, Round table discussion / Not accepting abstracts

Bringing Salmon Back From The Brink

Salmon are central to the economic, cultural, and spiritual existence and identity of peoples who live, work, and play in the temperate regions of our planet. oday, salmon populations distributed

Expert panel / Not accepting abstracts

Accelerating Progress: Solutions Through Innovative Technology, Selective Fish Passage and a Dynamic Science-Knowledge-Policy Interface

Fisheries science tells us that we have a fish sustainability crisis. Climate change and decades of human intervention have disrupted the balance of river ecosystems. Clean, renewable energy resources are

Expert panel / Not accepting abstracts

Enforcement and Observer Programs: An Essential Partnership to Protect Observers, Maintain High-Quality Data, Combat IUU, and Ensure Sustainable Fisheries Management

This session seeks to highlight the essential relationship between fisheries observer programs and enforcement in order to foster the support of observers and ultimately sustainable management of our marine resources.

Round table discussion / Not accepting abstracts

Aquaculture-aided Fisheries Enhancement, Conservation, and Restoration: Towards Responsible Development and Effective Reform

Aquaculture-aided fisheries enhancement, conservation, and restoration initiatives have long been pursued worldwide and are receiving renewed attention in the context of adaptation to global environmental change. Experience with such initiatives

Flex format, Hybrid Session / Abstracts closed

Climate Change Impacts on Inland Fish and Fisheries

Freshwater and diadromous fishes are mired in an extinction crisis, and the irreversible loss of biodiversity has consequences for human food security and economic opportunity due to declining inland fisheries

Symposium / Abstracts closed

Participatory Modelling and Stakeholder Engagement for Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management

Ecosystem-based fisheries management requires a profound understanding of the dynamics and feedbacks that occur within ecological systems, the human systems, and at the social-ecological interface. A number of different quantitative

Expert panel, Hybrid Session / Not accepting abstracts

Solving Sustainability Challenges at the Aquatic Food-Climate-Biodiversity Nexus

This section provides a platform for an international and interdisciplinary panel to discuss the development of marine and aquatic food-climate-biodiversity solutions that explicitly consider their complex social and ecological contexts.

Expert panel / Not accepting abstracts

Onboarding Fisheries Scientists to Open Science: Integrating Collaborative and Inclusive Principles into Education, Workforce Development, and Community Management

The world’s fisheries are in a period of rapidly changing ocean conditions; Open Science will help the field adapt by promoting rapid innovation and collaboration to make science transparent, reproducible,

Round table discussion / Not accepting abstracts

Providing Mobile Tools to Report Activity and Scientific Data for Both Inshore Commercial and Recreational Fishers

This session is intended to explore the challenges and opportunities that exist in providing mobile tools to report activity and capture scientific catch and effort data for both inshore commercial

Workshop- Half Day

eDNA (Environmental DNA)- technology and its utility in assessing aquatic biodiversity

Time: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM Environmental DNA (eDNA) assessment is a powerful tool for studying fish biodiversity in rivers, and it has become increasingly important for the management and

Flex format / Abstracts closed

Incorporation of Ecosystem Information into Fisheries Management Decisions

Failure to translate ecosystem science into management action can result when information is not conveyed to the appropriate management body or because of the nature of the information or the

Workshop- Half Day / Not accepting abstracts

Reckoning with Colonialism in Fisheries: First Steps for Researchers

Time: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM There is growing recognition that colonialism shapes fisheries sciences and management in contexts around the globe. Calls for justice in fisheries governance require systems-level

Workshop- Full Day

Fisheries Strategies for Changing Oceans and Resilient Ecosystems

FishSCORE2030 was endorsed as a decadal program by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The program will build a global network of scientists, stakeholders, and practitioners to

Flex format / Abstracts closed

Evolutionary Effects of Species Distribution Shifts: Building Adaptive Capacity for Conservation and Management

This session will bring together geneticists, ecologists, and modelers focused on understanding and managing the evolutionary, genetic, and ecological processes that maintain adaptive capacity in fish populations under rapid climate

Hybrid Session, Round table discussion / Not accepting abstracts

Blue Economy and Its Impacts on Small-Scale Fisheries: Moving Towards Just and Equitable Ocean Use and Protection

A critical challenge facing our growing human population on this primarily ocean-covered planet is how to equitably and justly manage, use, and protect marine resources across local, national, regional, and

Symposium / Abstracts closed

Pathways for a Sustainable Co-existence of Offshore Energy, Fisheries and Marine Conservation: From Local Empirical Evidence to Global Perspectives

Offshore wind development is central to planning for renewable energy worldwide and reduction of carbon emissions. Existing, proposed, and planned offshore development overlaps with diverse marine ecosystems, and the effects

Flex format / Abstracts closed

Social and Ecological Dynamics of Global Distant Water Fleets and Emerging Policy Opportunities

Despite a recent increase in research on distant water fleets (DWFs), many details regarding their scale and scope remain unknown. Similarly, there is much to learn about their impacts on

Networking event / Not accepting abstracts

Indigenous Fisheries Gathering – Transboundary Waters, Fish, Peoples, and Governance

The session, “Indigenous Fisheries Gathering – Transboundary Waters, Fish, Peoples, and Governance”, will bring together knowledge holders and rights holders from waterways and water bodies that intersect Indigenous territories and

Symposium / Abstracts closed

Thiamine Deficiency in Fishes: A Symptom of Dysfunctional Aquatic Ecosystems

Thiamine (vitamin B1) availability influences community structure and dynamics across scales from microbes to fisheries. This essential coenzyme is required by all living organisms where it functions to catalyze key

Expert panel / Not accepting abstracts

Going Beyond Environmental Sustainability: Integration of Social Responsibility into Sustainable Seafood Interventions

Embedding social responsibility into the definition of sustainability has accelerated across fisheries and their supply chains, as human rights and labor issues are increasingly being included as key elements of

Flex format / Abstracts closed

The International Pacific Halibut Commission: 100 Years of Science-based Fishery Management

In 1923, the Convention for the Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea was signed by Canada and the United States of America (U.S.A)

Workshop- Half Day / Abstracts closed

Using Citizen Science To Solve Gaps In Fisheries Research And Management By Recruiting Anglers To Do The Work

Time: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM In this workshop, participants will learn how to run a wide range of citizen science programs that can address specific research and/or management objectives.

Workshop- Full Day / Not accepting abstracts

Advancing The Contribution Of Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures To Ocean Conservation And Local Communities In Fisheries

The need for integrating effective conservation measures into more holistic ocean management strategies has never been greater, making marine conservation critical to sustainable development efforts. Other effective area-based conservation measures

Symposium / Abstracts closed

Managing Fisheries Bycatch of Threatened Species

Fisheries targeting relatively productive species can harm incidentally caught bycatch species with low fecundity and other life history traits that make them vulnerable to anthropogenic mortality. There has been increasing

Environmental art / Abstracts closed

Gespe-gewa’gi: Mi’kmaw Fisheries and Their Connection to the People, Their Traditions and Homeland

The Mi’kmaq have fished and stewarded the waters in Mi’kma’ki for millennia, but mismanagement, conflict, and infringement of Treaty-protected rights have limited the extent to which Mi’kmaw can continue to

Round table discussion / Not accepting abstracts

Tools, Approaches, and Best Practices for Scaling Sustainable Coastal Fisheries Management

To meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and secure livelihoods for growing coastal populations in a changing world, it is clear that we must rapidly increase the scale and pace of

Symposium / Abstracts closed

Current State of Plastic Pollution and Fisheries

Plastic debris, including microplastics, have the potential to impact fisheries globally. Plastic affects aquatic environments and organisms, including many key fish and fisheries species, as well as the ecosystems where

Expert panel / Not accepting abstracts

Crafting Usable Science to Inform Fisheries Decision-making in a Changing Climate – Lessons from the Science-Policy Interface

Climate-driven impacts on marine species are a complex problem. The myriad challenges climate change poses for managers, stakeholders, and scientists are cross-cutting, cross-disciplinary, and contentious. The ability to move beyond

Round table discussion / Not accepting abstracts

Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Approaches for Understanding Recreational Fishers

Understanding recreational fishers is challenging. We united experts in social and ecological sciences to produce an edited book focused on disciplinary and interdisciplinary overviews of attitudes and behaviors of recreational

Speed talks / Abstracts closed

Management, Governance, Scientific and Socio-economic Attributes Driving Successes or Failures in Meeting Fishery Objectives

Fisheries vary along a wide range of attributes, which may influence the extent to which numerous fishery objectives are met. Some attributes may enable some objectives to be met while

Flex format, Hybrid Session / Abstracts closed

Managing Fisheries in a World of Shifting Stocks: Integrating Biological, Policy, Behavioural, Social and Economic Aspects

This session will convene discussions on current advances in fisheries management adaptation in response to changes in distribution and productivity of fish stocks due to climate change. These changes are

Round table discussion / Not accepting abstracts

A Synoptic Framework for Assessing Synergies and Tradeoffs between Decarbonization Solutions and Fishery Ecosystems

This session invites participants to apply their knowledge to practical problem solving by contributing to a resource that will guide decarbonization planners and policy makers in harmonizing emissions-reductions objectives with