Monday December 29, 2014
2014 has been another busy year for us at FISHBIO, and we wanted to take a look back at a few of the highlights while also taking the opportunity to thank all of our clients, project partners, and collaborators who make the work we do possible. In addition to our ongoing projects, we participated in a number of fish rescues, donated a second summer of fish snorkel surveys on Big Chico Creek, and monitored the effects of excessive water hyacinth growth on salmon migration in the Central Valley. We also presented our work at a number of conferences, including the Bay Delta Science Conference in Sacramento, the Science for a Sustainable Mekong River System conference in Vietnam, the World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress in Mexico, and the World Parks Congress in Australia.
It was a big year for us on the communication and outreach front. We redesigned our website and continue to receive positive feedback on its new look and feel. We have also embarked into the world of videography and released a number of new films on our YouTube channel, including our recent spotlight on the Stanislaus River habitat restoration project at Honolulu Bar. This spring, we kicked off our Three Rivers Education Program in California and Laos, with a number of classroom visits building up to World Fish Migration Day, when we also hosted the first ever 5K Salmon Run in Chico’s Bidwell Park. We also hosted two trainings for teachers in Oakdale and Chico, as well as a number of college class visits, and attended two salmon festivals, reflecting our commitment to education and outreach at a range of levels and in a variety of forms.
Things have also been ramping up with our work in the Mekong region as well. We held opening ceremonies for three fish conservation zones (FCZs) in northern Laos as part of our project to protect Probarbus fishes sponsored by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. The video we produced about our work on FCZs won a contest sponsored by Pushing Boundaries, a conservation organization for young professionals. We also built a demonstration PIT tag antenna system that we brought to Laos to introduce this technology to our collaborators in the region. Sinsamout, our principal Lao staff, is busier than ever managing our various activities, and still found time for a trip to Vietnam to accept an environmental photography prize. We have built a number of exciting new partnerships and have several new projects in the works that we look forward to sharing more about in the coming year.
We hope you enjoy this video we’ve put together of a few fun highlights (and outtakes) from the past year. We’re looking forward to many more memorable moments in 2015!
This post featured in our weekly e-newsletter, the Fish Report. You can subscribe to the Fish Report here.