International Travel Award – Sullivan Family Endowment Fund
Mission: The International Travel Award – Sullivan Family Endowment Fund provides funds for International Fisheries Members that reside outside of the USA and Canada for activities that support the IFS goals of promoting worldwide fishery educational, organizational, and research efforts; and fostering the exchange of information and technical assistance among fishery professionals.
Purposes: This award prioritizes travel IFS and AFS sponsored events. Only funding for future events (preferably at least one month after the application deadline) will be considered for the general applicant pool. Students, researchers, and professionals during the early stages of their careers may be given preference. As funds are limited, priority will be given to eligible applicants requiring only partial support (e.g., airfare, registration, lodging, or per diem). The average award is US$500. Full support may be considered on a case-by-case basis, but please be aware that you may need to supplement the funds with other sources to meet all travel requirements. Funding will primarily support individuals who maintain a permanent residence outside of the USA and Canada.
Application for the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting 2025: The International Travel Award supports attendance at the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX. An International Travel Award application must be completed online (https://goo.gl/forms/twrnddHpvdPsksa22). A CV or resume and an itemized budget must be provided. Additional supporting documents may be included such as a cover letter, whether you have a valid Visa to enter the United States, additional budget information, or additional information about the funding request (conference website, workshop itinerary, informational flier, etc).
Selection Criteria: Proposals may be reviewed by other scientists in appropriate fields solicited by the IFS Executive Committee. Recipients of awards will be selected on a competitive basis. Decisions will be made primarily on meeting the program’s criteria, need, justification, research promise, scientific method, and academic and professional achievement. Indigenous Peoples, students, researchers, and professionals during the early stages of their careers may be given preference. Submission of an application acknowledges the applicant’s acceptance that the decision of the Executive Committee is final. In any given year, the IFS may choose not to award any grants from the Fund.
Deadline: The deadline for award applications is 24 March, 2025 to the AFS Annual Meeting in San Antonio.
Notification: Each selected recipient of the International Travel Award will receive an official letter or email notification about the award within one month after the application deadline. Awards will be announced by the Section President. In extenuating circumstances, other requests may be considered at other times of the year. Please contact the IFS Executive Committee to inquire.
Awarded Funds: An award may be made directly to the recipient either a) in advance of or, b) after expenses have been incurred, or c) to the recipient’s affiliated institution in repayment for funds already expended in anticipation of the award. In all cases, the award recipients shall provide receipts to the IFS Treasurer that document the expenditure of the award funds.
Join us in celebrating the 2024 awardees!
Ivana Soledad Friedman, PhD Student
National University of Mar del Plata
Argentina
My experience at the American Fisheries Society annual meeting was incredible, and I made the most of it. Thanks to the recognition I received from the IFS, I was able to travel to Hawaii and participate in the event. During the meeting, I had the opportunity to meet many people who shared insights about their work and gave me valuable advice for my future as a scientist. I also had the chance to volunteer to raise funds that helped cover my stay. Hawaii is an amazing place, and sharing it with so many people was a unique experience.
I really enjoyed the meeting organized by the IFS to present the annual report, where we also had the opportunity to introduce ourselves and share our experiences. Later, during the dinner at the hotel, I was able to converse and get to know the IFS members more closely, which was a very enriching moment for me.
In short, that week in Hawaii will be unforgettable, and I hope to meet again the people I met at this conference.
Sandrine Jueya, PhD Student
University of Ngaoundéré
Cameroon
Sandrine Jueya is a PhD student in Biology of Animal Organisms at the University of Ngaoundéré in Cameroon, her research focuses on the ecology of fish communities in two rivers in the Congo Basin (Boumba and Kadei), East Cameroon. Her interest in fisheries is to reduce overfishing by promoting the breeding in ponds of fish species not yet domesticated and whose flesh is highly prized by local population. Her thesis data have produced a total of four (04) scientific articles, including one published, two submitted and one in correction.
She is also a co-author of the scientific article ‶Land-use and land-cover affect inland fish catch in two rivers of Central Africa ″ written by Professor Leandro Castello of Virginia Tech Institute.
In her thesis research she places particular emphasis on the diversity and feeding ecology of fish in the Congo Basin and notes the aquaculture potential presented by certain species.
For her future projects, she would like to pursue a career in testing and adapting wild species with high aquaculture potential in aquaculture and also research and protect endangered fish species in the Congo Basin.
Dr. Luísa Valentim Melo de Vasconcelos Queiroz Véras, Researcher
Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
Brazil
Hello, my name is Luísa Véras, and I am a biologist and early-career fisheries scientist from Brazil. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the American Fisheries Society for awarding me the International Travel Award to attend the 155th AFS Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. This incredible opportunity allowed me to experience something that would not have been possible otherwise.
Attending the conference was truly remarkable, as it gave me the chance to connect with fisheries scientists from all over the world, many of whom I had long admired and only known through their publications and books. The event provided a unique environment to establish new professional connections and to gain insights into cutting-edge methodologies and innovative approaches being applied in fisheries science today. I am excited to bring these valuable experiences back to Brazil and incorporate them into my work.
This is a conference I will never forget. I am deeply appreciative of the AFS for making such opportunities accessible, and I hope that many other scientists around the globe can also benefit from this kind of experience. I will be forever grateful.
Colton Van Der Minne, M.Sc. Student
University of British Columbia Centre for Indigenous Fisheries
Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
My time at the American Fisheries Society meeting in Honolulu was a wonderful experience for me, both professionally and personally. Over the course of the conference, I was able to attend both highly relevant talks and ones that were outside my normal field of research. I also presented a poster and co-organized a session, both firsts for me.
These were excellent chances for professional development that allowed me to practice new skills. Aside from the conference itself, gathering with so many other fisheries scientists was also an important networking opportunity. I got to reconnect with old colleagues and meet many new ones too. There were plenty of insightful conversations throughout my time at the conference that gave me new ideas for work in my own context and showed me how people are working on similar topics around the world. While the AFS conference was a valuable experience, it presented a large expense as well considering the travel. I am grateful to the International Fisheries Section, whose support helped make this opportunity possible for me.
Dr. Alamrew Zeleke, Assistant Professor
Debre Tabor University
Ethiopia
My name is Dr. Alamrew Eyayu Zeleke, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce myself to AFS_IFS. I am an assistant professor of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences working in a public university in Ethiopia with a strong passion and dedication in freshwater fisheries conservation, fish biology, and river/stream ecology. I have always been passionate about the natural world’s biodiversity and the challenges it faces, which is what led me to join this field of study. With over 15+ years of experience in the field of fisheries, I have been attending number of training in Belgium, The Netherlands, China, Kenya, and Malawi. Currently, I am an active member of the African Great Lakes Advisory Group under the African Center of Aquatic Research and Education (ACARE) belong to the Lake Turkana Advisory Group constituted freshwater teams experts from US, UK, Canada, Ethiopia, and Kenya. This years summit will be in Zambia, Lusaka from 4-6 February 2024 and I will attend the event and some scientific talks. I am also working on projects funded by Debre Tabor University of recurrent budget on dam management, fish population dynamics, water pollution, and biology and evolution of the endemic extant groups Labeobarbus ‘flocks’. In addition to my studies, I am actively involved in different professional associations including the Ethiopian Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Association (elected CEO), the American Fisheries Society, the World Fish Migration Group, the Pan African Fisheries Society, and the Biological Society of Ethiopia, where I have been attending yearly meetings and present my research works. This involvement has not only allowed me to contribute to our community but has also helped me meet like-minded individuals who share my passion. I have been attending many international conferences. In 2024, I submitted an abstract to the AFS2024 annual meeting which were conducted in Honolulu. In due course, I applied to the IFS of AFS to award me a travel grant to attend the meeting and received $725. Unfortunately, the US Embassy in Addis Ababa doesn’t issued me a visa and forced me not attending the precious event ever. However, I am very much grateful to Dr Sara Cannon (IFS president) and all IFS teams. In the year coming, hopefully I will attend the AFS meeting and IFS business session too. I hope it is better if the IFS will request the US embassy to issue visas of participants funded under IFS travel awards. I will renew my AFS_IFS membership of the year 2025.