Stripers Forever - Striped Bass Game Fish 2006

Registration	Saturday, May 20, 2006 12-1pm
Russell Nelson, PhD Nelson Resources Consulting, Inc.	"How snook and red drum became game fish in the Southeast" Russell Nelson has a doctorate in Marine Fisheries Ecology and over twenty years experience in marine fisheries research and management. He has served as a research biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service, Director of Marine Fisheries for the State of Florida, and fourteen years as a member of both the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils. Dr. Nelson is currently a chief scientist and director of Nelson Consulting, a firm specializing in international marine fisheries science, management and policy development. Dr. Nelson has particular expertise in coastal and highly migratory pelagic species and reef fish assemblages. He has worked on management plans for over three hundred species of marine resources at the state, national and international level
Bruce Freeman Fisheries Director/New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection	Managing the Striped Bass as a Game Fish Mr. Freeman is approaching a forty-year milestone of dedicated service to the fisheries management programs that span the Atlantic Coast. He began his career in 1965 with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Bureau of Sport Fisheries collecting data on statistics. He subsequently moved to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) when the Bureaus of Commercial Fisheries and Sportfisheries were merged. In 1980 he was assigned on a NMFS fellowship to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife and shortly thereafter became a permanent New Jersey employee. He has continued to work for New Jersey with the exception of a hiatus of two years to serve as Director of North Carolina's Division of Marine Fisheries.
Rob Southwick Southwick Associates	Social and Economic Effects of Striped Bass Game Fish Rob Southwick founded Southwick Associates, Inc. in 1990. An economist specializing in the fish, wildlife and natural resources field, Rob has in-depth experiencing directing and conducting economic impact analyses, quantifying industries and their related trade patterns, natural resource investigations, and more. Rob also has significant experience managing complex projects, successfully recruiting industry participation in research projects, and public speaking. Prior to founding Southwick Associates, Rob worked as an economist for the Sport Fishing Institute in Washington, D.C. He is currently affiliated with the American Fisheries Society, the Wildlife Society, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the International Association for Impacts Analysis (IAIA), and has served on numerous volunteer committees in the professional natural resources field. Through all, Rob Southwick has developed a unique perspective on the business and recreational aspects of fish and wildlife, and has developed many valuable relationships throughout the government agencies and private sector firms in the natural resources field.
Mike Freeze KEO Fish Farm, Inc.	Striped Bass Aquaculture: A Replacement for the Wild Commercial Harvest? Mike Freeze operates Keo Fish Farms, in Keo, Arkansas. He is chairman of the Arkansas State Fish and Game Commission. Freeze graduated in 1975 from Arkansas Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in fisheries and wildlife management. He received a master’s degree in biology in 1977 from Murray State University in Kentucky. He and his wife, the former Betty Blaylock, have two daughters, Rachel and Kelly.
Steve Williams ED of the Wildlife Management Institute	Historical Precedents for Striped Bass Game Fish Steve Williams is the President of the Wildlife Management Institute, a non-profit scientific and educational organization dedicated to providing leadership to conserve, restore, and enhance North American wildlife and their habitat. Prior to serving in this role, Steve was the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service within the Department of the Interior. He has also held the positions of Secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Deputy Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and Assistant Director for Wildlife and Deer Project Leader for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Steve received a Ph.D. in Forest Resources from The Pennsylvania State University, a M.S. in Biology from the University of North Dakota and a B.S. in Environmental Resource Management from The Pennsylvania State University. He and his wife, Beth, reside in McLean, VA and Gardners, PA.
	Join us in thanking our speakers for coming a long way to make these important presentations!