The standout contributors were presented by chair of ICES Science Committee (SCICOM) Simon Jennings at the ASC's closing ceremony last week.
The Best Presentation award went to Tom Langbehn from the University of Bergen, Norway. His presentation, entitled The deadly midnight sun: visual predators and northern range limits in mesopelagic fish was part of Theme Session A on mesopelagic ecosystems.
The Best Poster award was granted to Ellen Pecceu from the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO) in Belgium for her work in Theme Session R on better understanding of human behaviour for improved fisheries science and management. Her poster was entitled Introducing a voluntary assessment scheme enabling transition towards a more sustainable fishery.
The works of Early Career Scientists were also recognized. The Best Early Career Scientist Presentation award was given to Catarina Frazão Santos from the University of Lisbon in Portugal. She presented her work Impacts of global environmental change in ocean planning and the Blue Economy in Theme Session C on marine spatial planning.
The Best Early Career Poster Award went to Maarten Soetaert from the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO) in Belgium for his poster Beam me up Scotty! How electric pulse stimulation can scale down bycatch rates in shrimp trawl fisheries. He presented the work for Theme Session N on technical approaches to reduce the environmental impact of fishing
Cheers to the chairs
Several service awards were also presented to outgoing Chairs of several groups: to Eskild Kirkegaard, Chair of the ICES Advisory Committee (ACOM), Mark Tasker, Vice-Chair of ACOM, Daniel Duplisea of the Training Group, and Henn Ojaveer of Human Activities, Pressures and Impacts Steering Group (HAPISG).
The ASC is a meeting point for the ICES community and a platform for engagement in the latest innovative marine research. This year's event drew over 650 participants from 34 countries, representing a wide range disciplines and sectors.
Next year's ASC edition will be held 9-12 September in Gothenburg, Sweden.
