AFS-OC Membership Update

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As of June 3, 2025, the Ontario Chapter has 135 paid members! The membership includes 62 regular, 41 student, 19 young professional, 12 retired and 1 life members. Have you renewed your membership for 2025? Are you a member yet? If not, see the Become a Member page to find out why you should join. AFS individual members receive free online access to all five American Fisheries Society journals. Join or renew TODAY and don’t forget to contact the AFS Membership Team at membership@fisheries.org to add the Ontario Chapter to your membership!

Volume XXIII, Issue I – The Lateral Line

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HIGHLIGHTS:

2025 AFS-OC AGM & Conference Summary – Silviya Ivanova
Student Subunit Update
AFS-OC Comment on Proposed Changes to ESA
Invasive Crayfish, Old and New – Sam Turner
The Fish Life List: Obvious or Obscure? – Sarah Steele
From the Lab – Jacob Lasci
Fish Focus – Rainbow Smelt – Siobhan Ewert
Book Review – Ignition: Lighting Fires in a Burning World. By M.R. O’Connor, and The Summer Canada Burned: the Wildfire Season that Shocked the World. By Monica Zurowski and Postmedia – Ross Claytor
2025 AFS-OC AGM Sponsors

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NCD-AFS Joint Meeting of the Esocid, Centrarchid, and Walleye Technical Committees – August 5-7, 2025

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2025 Joint Meeting of the Esocid, Centrarchid, and Walleye Technical Committees, Beaver Island Lake Michigan CMU Biological Station

Registration Link: https://forms.gle/N8MbZHSCQistsvr2A

View Announcement and Call for Abstracts

Call for Nominations – 2025-26 AFS-OC Executive Committee

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AFS-OC Members:

We are accepting nominations for the following positions on the Executive Committee of the Ontario Chapter of the American Fisheries Society for 2025-26.

President-Elect: This is the first year of a three-year term starting as president-elect then moving into the role of president and finally past-president. In this role the individual will assist in general operations of the Chapter, including organization of various social events and the Annual General Meeting. The position is primarily a shadowing of the President’s role, with general commitment of 1-hour monthly online meetings from Sept 2025 – June 2026, and additional support during main events.

Vice President: This is an ongoing role, and the position includes a commitment to attend 1-hour monthly meetings from Sept-June each year, and advise the Executive Committee of the Bylaws as they relate to Chapter activities. The VP will also assume the duties of the President-Elect, if the President Elect is absent or unable to act.

Secretary: This is an ongoing role, and the position is primarily to attend 1-hour monthly online meetings from Sept-June each year, record meeting minutes and distribute to the Executive Committee.

Northern Member-at-large: This is an ongoing role, and the position is primarily to attend 1-hour monthly online meetings from Sept-June each year to ensure the interests of chapter members and fisheries issues from northern Ontario are represented, and assist the other officers as needed.

All positions above have voting rights, and therefore an election will be held this spring to select from the candidates. Interested members are encouraged to nominate themself. Please submit nominations or interest to webmaster@afs-oc.org by June 19, 2025. Nominees must be Ontario Chapter members to be eligible to run in the election and will be required to submit a short biography.
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Plight of the endangered Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus) in Canada: end of the road?

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AUTHOR(S): Donald A. Jackson and Nicholas E. Mandrak

CITATION: Jackson, D.A. and N.E. Mandrak. 2025. Plight of the endangered Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus) in Canada: end of the road?. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2024-0391

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Fisheries and Oceans Canada

News – DFO’s new Offsetting Policy and Position Statement for the Consideration of Cumulative Effects

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Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program (FFHPP) has released a new Offsetting Policy and Cumulative Effects Position Statement. The Policy for Applying Measures to Offset Harmful Impacts to Fish and Fish Habitat and the Position Statement on the Consideration of Cumulative Effects in Support of Decision Making on Fisheries Act Authorizations Concerning Fish and Fish Habitat Protection are now available on DFO’s Projects Near Water website. These documents contribute to FFHPP’s efforts to conserve, protect and restore fish and fish habitat for future generations in a way that respects Indigenous rights and supports sustainable development. Both documents provide additional clarity for partners and project proponents.

The Offsetting Policy provides direction on undertaking effective measures to offset death of fish and the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat, consistent with the fish and fish habitat protection provisions of the Fisheries Act. FAQs and a summary of key changes between the 2025 and the 2019 versions of the Offsetting Policy are also available, as well as our 3-page tip sheet Project planning: What is offsetting and how to prepare an offsetting plan. We will be issuing further guidance to support the Offsetting Policy later in 2025, specifically the guidelines for establishing and managing fish habitat banks, guidelines for the development of an offsetting plan, and policy guidance related to the program’s Risk Management Framework and when avoidance, mitigation and offsetting measures are applied.

The Cumulative Effects Position Statement is designed to provide further clarity on the department’s approach to the application of the relevant fish and fish habitat protection provisions of the Fisheries Act during the project authorization decision-making process. It supports decision makers as they consider the cumulative effects of a project, in combination with all other relevant stressors on fish and fish habitat. FAQs on the Position Statement are also available.

Ontario Streams Backpack Electrofishing Training

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Ontario Streams offers electrofishing training courses, in spring and fall sessions. These courses are intended for students and professionals who will be involved in stream surveys and fisheries management.

The main focus is to ensure the safe use of the backpack electrofishing units. The course will cover: electrical theory, safety measures, and an in-field practical where you will demonstrate safe implementation in the field.

See current Backpack Electrofishing Crew Lead Training Course for more information and to register.

ECOPA Natural Resources Training

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Ecopa Environmental provides training programs (including backpack electrofishing certification) designed to give industry professionals, government agencies, First Nations, academic institutions, community partners, and students hands-on experience and expertise in natural resource management See current Natural Resources Training opportunities.

2025 OCTWS/AFS-OC Conference Program

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The 2025 Joint OCTWS/AFS-OC Conference Program is now available!

Join us at our 2025 Annual General Meeting and Conference, co-hosted with Ontario Chapter of The Wildlife Society, at the University of Guelph on March 21-23, 2025. The Conference organizers have put together a fantastic Program, including a keynote talks, oral and poster presentations and workshops.

Conference registration is available through the Online Store. Please also complete the Registration Form. AFS-OC members and students are eligible for discounted rates.

Workshop registration is available HERE. Participation is free for conference registrants, but there is limited space in the workshops.

See 2025 Annual General Meeting and Conference and Workshop Registration Notice for additional information.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

News – DFO FFHPP Risk Management Framework

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Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program (FFHPP) has released its Risk Management Framework Overview on the Talk Fish Habitat website.

This overview:

  • provides information about FFHPP’s risk management approach
  • serves as a foundation for future engagement on policies, guidance and tools related to how DFO manages risks to fish and fish habitat
  • communicates the status of the FFHPP’s Risk Management Framework in the context of the implementation of the Fisheries Act (2019), the Species at Risk Act, the Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act

This overview document will also be posted on DFO’s Projects Near Water website.