The Ontario Chapter (OC) is the local organization for the American Fisheries Society (AFS) in Ontario. Its members encourage and foster the exchange of information among members of the Chapter, the Society and others in the Province of Ontario. To support that ideal, the AFS-OC honours the most outstanding graduate student research poster presentation at our Annual Meeting & Conference with an award. In 2024, the AFS-OC dedicated this award in honour of Al Dextrase.
The Al Dextrase Award consists of a copy of The ROM Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of Ontario, second edition (Holm, Mandrak and Burridge), and a another publication relevant to Ontario’s aquatic fauna (e.g. fishes, mussels, crayfishes, etc.).
AWARD WINNERS
The winner of the Al Dextrase Award for Best Student Poster Presentation at the 2026 AFS-OC Annual Meeting was Emma Geffros from Trent University. Emma (right) received her award from Ontario Chapter President Connor Reid (left). Her poster was titled “Insights from Ontario’s Broad-scale Monitoring program: Trends in sport fish abundance” and the abstract is available in the 2026 AFS-OC Conference Program.
The 2025 award recipient was Jacob Lasci from University of Western Ontario. Jacob (right) received his award from Ontario Chapter President Silviya Ivanova (left) and Vice President Connor Reid (middle). His poster was titled “Effects of introduced salmonids on native Lake Trout in Lake Huron” and the abstract is available in the 2025 Joint OCTWS AFS-OC Conference Program.
The recipient of the inaugual 2024 Al Dextrase Award was Cole MacLeod from Carleton University. His poster was titled “River-Scale Evaluation of Light as a Behavioural Guidance Mechanism for Out-Migrating American Eel Anguilla rostrata“. Cole (left) received his award from Ontario Chapter President Erik Tuononen (right).
