The 3rd National EM Workshop Series will engage and educate new participants and foster an environment for collaboration across different fisheries and stakeholders regarding the opportunities and challenges associated with EM. Fishermen will have a platform to share their perspectives and to hear what is working and what needs improvement. The workshops will offer best-practices from different regional EM programs and include presentations and panel discussions that will address national EM challenges such as:
- Technology development and integration to support fishermen
- Expanding applications and uses of data from EM programs
- EM program and policy development: How can fishermen and other stakeholders can get involved
- Reducing cost while increasing fishermen and stakeholder benefits
- Using EM to increase data collection and support science-based decisions
In addition to presentations and panel discussions on the topics listed above, the workshop will host an evening vendor exposition; vendors will share EM tools, applications, and experiences with workshop participants and EM users will be able to express their experiences and needs with vendors. The expo will expose managers and fishermen to currently available EM tools and provide an opportunity for conversations between vendors and stakeholders about practical aspects of EM implementation costs and benefits with the aim to move the industry towards more beneficial technology.
Fishermen and fishing industry groups are strongly encouraged to attend. We also welcome stakeholders from a range of perspectives, including federal and state agencies, fishery management councils, NGO’s, and EM providers. Even if you do not have any experience with EM, we value your participation and look forward to hearing from you. People located in other areas such as the Pacific Islands or Gulf of Mexico are encouraged to attend the workshop closest to them but are welcome at either or both. Participation at both conferences is encouraged for stakeholders with national interests.
More information
If you have questions after visiting the event websites, contact K.C. Wilson at [email protected], (301)-427-8131 or Brett Alger at [email protected], (301)-427-8217.
