In July 2022, having received the AFS International Fisheries Section (AFS-IFS) Fellow Award, I had the opportunity to travel to the UK to attend the 2022 FSBI Symposium. Having only attended more niche meetings and workshops during my PhD up until that point, I was excited for the opportunity to meet international colleagues and to learn about a diverse range of fisheries research.

The 2022 FSBI symposium was held at Nottingham Trent University, a beautiful campus and the perfect setting for such a meeting. The theme of the meeting was Fish in a Dynamic World, and the presentations covered a variety of topics ranging from effects of anthropogenic stressors to physiology and behavioral ecology to tools being developed to conserve at-risk species and populations. The goal of the symposium was to “explore the ways in which fish are able to occupy a broad range of naturally dynamic environments, as well as their capacity to adapt to habitat loss and directional environmental change”; I was excited to present some preliminary results from my PhD research studying the diversity of chars (Salvelinus spp.) in the central Canadian Arctic. There were a few other Arctic char presentations throughout the week, mainly focused on European populations, and it was interesting to learn new things about the species! The week wasn’t all work – there was a decent amount of fun sprinkled in as well, in the form of a high-energy pub quiz, a tour of the nearby Nottingham Castle, a banquet, and a barbeque.

I was pleasantly surprised at how international the meeting was; it was great to meet so many scientists, especially other grad students and early career researchers, who had traveled from all over to present on research conducted around the globe. There were a few people at the FSBI meeting who I had met at a previous salmonid ECR workshop, and it was nice to have the opportunity to catch up with them. I also enjoyed meeting the 2021 AFS-IFS Fellow, Sarah Borsetti, at the symposium.

I am very grateful to the American Fisheries Society – International Fisheries Section and to the FSBI for the opportunity to attend the 2022 FSBI Symposium; without the Fellow Award, this is not a meeting I would have been able to go to. So many people on the ground at the symposium made the week a seamless experience, and I am thankful for all of their efforts. It was my first time in the UK, and I hope to be back for another FSBI meeting in the future!