Background
The First International Symposium on Stock Enhancement and Sea Ranching (ISSESR)
was the brainchild of Dr. Erlend Moksness and was hosted by the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research in Bergen, Norway, in 1997. The global significance of the meeting was soon apparent and the Japanese Sea Farming Association quickly offered to host the 2nd ISSESR in Kobe, Japan, in 2002. Thus began this dedicated symposium series.
An important feature of the ISSESRs is that the driving forces behind the meetings have been a group of scientists, and they have been either hosted by or sponsored by national fisheries agencies, with a strong interest in this discipline.
The aim of the first symposium was to clarify the biological, ecological, judicial and economic basis for new industries in coastal areas based on sea ranching of Atlantic salmon, Arctic charr, Atlantic cod and European lobster through stocking of hatchery reared juveniles. The symposium coincided with the culmination of the Norwegian program, including the Norwegian cod enhancement project, one of the most systematic and productive examples of investigations of the potential of using releases of reared fish as a means to enhance the yield of natural populations.
Peer-reviewed papers on presentations made at the first symposium were published together as the proceedings of the conference in a Blackwell Science book edited by B. Howell, E. Moksness and T. Svåsand in 1999, entitled Stock Enhancement and Sea Ranching.
The Second International Symposium on Stock Enhancement and Sea Ranching
was sponsored by the Japan Fisheries Agency and the Japan Sea Farming Association (JASFA). Koji Imamura, President of JASFA, convened the second symposium in Kobe, Japan, in 2002. The aim of the second symposium followed the tradition established by the first symposium in Norway of highlighting scientific developments made around the world in the stocking hatchery-reared organisms to help replenish depleted fisheries and increase yields of recruitment limited stocks.
The proceedings of the second symposium were peer-reviewed and published in a Blackwell Science book edited by K.M. Leber, S. Kitada, H.L. Blankenship and T. Svåsand in 2004, entitled, Stock Enhancement and Sea Ranching: Developments, Pitfalls and Opportunities.
The Third International Symposium on Stock Enhancement and Sea Ranching
The 3rd ISSESR was hosted by the NOAA-NMFS / NOAA Aquaculture Program, an agency program of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce. The third symposium was convened in Seattle, Washington, USA in 2006 by Colin Nash, NOAA - NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center.
The proceedings of the third symposium were published in a special edition of the peer-reviewed journal, Reviews in Fisheries Science, in 2008, edited by J.D. Bell, K.M. Leber, H.L. Blankenship, N.R. Loneragan, R. Masuda and G. Vander Haegen.
The Fourth International Symposium on Stock Enhancement and Sea Ranching
was sponsored by the Dalian Zhangzidao Group Ltd, Shandong Homey Marine Development and Shandong Oriental Fishery Ocean Sci-Tech Co., Ltd. with additional assistance by Shanghai Ocean University, Murdoch University and the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute's Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences. The forth symposium was held in Shanghai, China, in 2011 at Shanghai Ocean University. The symposium was integrated with the 9th Asian Fisheries Forum.
The proceedings of the forth symposium were published in a special edition of the peer-reviewed journal, Reviews in Fisheries Science, in 2013.
The Fifth International Symposium on Stock Enhancement and Sea Ranching
was held in Sydney, Australia in mid October 2015. Visit the 5th Symposium web site for more details. The theme for the 5th ISSESR was Fisheries enhancement and restoration in a changing world, and the symposium highlighted how our field can develop and adapt to help meet the challenges faced in sustaining fisheries in the 21st century. The specific session themes and keynote speakers for the 5th ISSESR are provided at the 5th ISSESR Program link.
The proceedings of the fifth symposium were published in a special edition of the peer-reviewed journal, Fisheries Research, in 2017.
The Sixth International Symposium on Stock Enhancement and Sea Ranching
The 6th ISSESR was held in Sarasota, Florida, USA in November 2019, where the FSU-Mote International Symposium on Fisheries Ecology and the International Sympoisum on Stock Enhancement and Sea Ranching joined forces to hold a combined symposium in Sarasota to explore the scientific basis and practice of aquaculture-based and habitat-based fisheries enhancement, and identify where these approaches can be improved and integrated to provide innovative solutions and create new opportunities for resource management.
The proceedings of the sixth symposium were published in a special edition of the peer-reviewed journal Bulletin of Marine Science in 2021.
The Seventh International Symposium on Stock Enhancement and Sea Ranching
We invite you to join us in Puerto Varas, Los Lagos, Chile in November 2024, to review, explore and further develop the scientific basis and practice of conservation aquaculture and fisheries enhancement sciences, with a focus on adapting to shared challenges associated with ecological and fishery restoration. Visit the 7th Symposium web site for more details. ISSESR7 is part of the activities to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Instituto de Fomento Pesquero (IFOP), the institution that since 1964 has been working for the sustainable and ecosystemic use of the country’s aquatic resources, significantly stimulating aquaculture and sustainable fishing in Chile, as well as contributing to the generation and transfer of fundamental knowledge for environmental decision-making in the era of climate change.
Guidelines for Future Symposia
The guidelines and planning protocols for the International Symposium on Stock Enhancement and Sea Ranching were established by the convener of the first symposium in Norway, Erlend Moksness, Director of the Coastal Resources Program of the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research.
