ACCESS NEWS

I began the last Newsletter with the sentence: "The open-water field season is almost over and now we have a lull..." I was wrong on both counts. Winter has not really arrived here -- the ice that has formed is still is not thick enough for those inclined to do winter sampling. Consequently, it looks as if it will be a bad year for harp seal pups (they are usually born on the pack ice). This winter is showing us is that our time series used to differentiate a normal winter from an abnormal one is very short. It turns out that the 1960-61 and 1968-69 winters were just as ice-free. Hmmm, I wonder if there also were federal elections in Canada during those winters.

There has been a little progress on ACCESS-related matters since the last Newsletter - the members of our executive have been busy as beavers. The preparations for the annual meeting and conference are moving along quite well but the web-page is still "under construction". One area that is proving successful, in terms of recruitment, is in using university web pages to contact new staff working in coastal and estuarine habitats to let them know that ACCESS and ERF exist. A couple of newly-minted assistant professors have even joined ACCESS without waiting for the May meetings. The only condition was that I agree to give Departmental Seminars at their institutes -- yet another opportunity to advertise our societies in the University community.

Advertising our existence seems to have become one of my major tasks. We have been using the news groups (Atlantic Coastal Zone Information Steering Committee and Coastal Zone Canada Association) to further our cause. As a result, two groups, the Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership (BoFEP) and Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Coalition on Sustainability, have asked us (well, me) to address their steering committees and executive too on exactly who we are and to investigate how they can co-ordinate their work with that of ACCESS (and, by default, ERF). Yet another opportunity to troll for new members!

Just a reminder, our annual meeting is coming up and that President-elect Simon Courtenay (courtenays@dfo-mpo.gc.ca) and Vice-president David Methven (dmethven@unbsj.ca) are handling all arrangements as well as receiving titles and abstracts for both oral and poster presentations. The ACCESS 2006 conference and Annual General Meeting is in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and will occupy the 16th and 17th of May. On the 18th, we are joining with the Canadian Rivers Institute for a symposium titled: "Rivers are connected to the sea -- and it does matter".

The 2006 ACCESS conference theme is: "The connectivity of Maritime aquatic habitats". We are accepting titles for 15-minute oral presentations in any of four topics:

1. The trials and tribulations of estuary and lagoon living
2. Life goes on: beyond the barrier islands
3. Aquaculture: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
4. Open

As in past years, we are soliciting reports on original research, policy issues, social and management issues, and their interactions. We are particularly interested in having students present their work and as motivation there will be cash awards for the best oral and poster presentations.

For those presenting papers, or just participating in the meetings, you can pre-register by contacting me, Mark Hanson (hansonm@dfo-mpo.gc.ca) for a 2006-07 membership form or you can register at the meeting. Your registration fee (CDN$30.00 regular, $15.00 for students) is also your membership fee. Those not attending the meeting can renew their memberships by contacting me for a membership-renewal form.