2025 ICES Annual Science Conference, Klaipėda
Between September 15-18, Gavin, Kam and Sophie attended the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) 2025 Annual Science Conference in Klaipėda, Lithuania. Here, we were joined by other SMAST faculty, staff, students, and alumni and learned all about the fascinating fisheries research happening around the world. It was very inspiring to meet brilliant marine scientists from all over the world and learn about their exciting ongoing work. Kam presented a talk on the Summer Flounder recreational fishery Management Strategy Evaluation, and Sophie was asked last-minute to give a lightning talk on my poster about different treatments of environmental covariates in yellowtail flounder stock assessment projections. SMAST student Sierra Richardson and recent alum Cole Carrano also presented posters on Monkfish catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) standardization and incorporating environmental effects in Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Stock Assessment. It was our first time in Eastern Europe, and some of our favorite parts of the conference were learning about Baltic food, music, and history, exploring the Curonian Spit on the coast, and walking through an underwater tunnel surrounded by giant Sturgeon at the Lithuanian Sea Museum.
