Rich Cailteux Award

The purpose of the Rich Cailteux Award is to recognize individuals who have maintained a long-term commitment to research, management, and/or conservation of Florida fisheries and aquatic resources. This award aims to honor individuals for their career contributions to the fisheries profession and enhancing the visibility of the Florida Chapter. The Rich Cailteux Award is the highest honor Florida AFS may bestow upon an individual member.

Candidates will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • A minimum of 20 years spent in a fisheries related field in Florida
  • Substantial career contributions to Florida aquatic resources and the fisheries profession
  • An imaginative and successful program in fisheries and aquatic sciences education
  • A history of mentoring young fisheries professionals, and involvement and leadership with the Florida Chapter of the American Fisheries Society

2024 Cailteux Award Recipient

Debra Murie

For nearly 30 years, Deb has conducted research on age and growth, diet, reproduction, release mortality, and migratory patterns of many species of ecological and economic importance including Greater Amberjack, Gag Grouper, Goliath Grouper, Sheepshead, White Grunt, Yellow Bullhead, Gray Snapper, and Florida Gar. She has investigated the impacts of the BP oil spill on fish growth and the impacts of dredging on community composition in nearshore waters of Florida. She has authored or co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications, written a chapter on sampling commercial fisheries for the third edition of AFS’s Fisheries Techniques book, and contributed to the Practical Handbook for Determining Ages of Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Coast Fishes. She has been extremely active in AFS at the chapter, section, division, and parent society levels. She served as the Florida Chapter president from 2009 to 2010. She was a program co-chair for the 2001 Southern Division meeting, a member of the sponsorship and tradeshow committee for the 2011 Southern Division meeting, and poster chair for both the 2011 Southern Division and 2017 Parent Society meetings. She was the Marine Fisheries Section treasurer from 2000 to 2004, president from 2006 to 2008, and newsletter editor from 2010 to 2014. She is a past subject editor and current editor in chief for the AFS journal Marine and Coastal Fisheries. Beyond her dedication to AFS and her research contributions to Florida’s fisheries, she is a faculty member at the University of Florida that has mentored countless undergraduate volunteers and technicians, advised or co-advised over 20 masters and doctoral students, and served on thesis and dissertation committees for numerous other students.

How to Apply

Nominations for the Rich Cailteux Award should be sent to Eric Nagid (eric.nagid@myfwc.com). Nominations should be limited to one page, but descriptive enough to convey why the individual is deserving of the award.

Current Application Deadline: March 2nd