The 2019 NANFA Convention will be May 31-June 2, Mississippi Museum of
Natural Science in Jackson, Mississippi. The museum is located at 2148
Riverside Drive, Jackson, Mississippi.
The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science will host our meeting,
presentations, banquet, and a behind-the scenes tour of the fish
collection and aquarium. Presentations by biologists will include talks
on darters, madtoms, sturgeon, Asian carp, paddlefish, whale sharks,
coastal fishes, mussels and more!
Lodging is at the Cabot Lodge Millsaps, 2375 North State Street,
Jackson, MS. Reserve rooms by phone only: (601) 948-8650 Use
reservation code NANFA. Camping is available at Lefleurs Bluff State Park
Meeting Schedule:
Thursday, May 30, 1:00pm - 5:00pm: Registration and behind the stage
tour of the fish collection and aquariums at 2:00pm and 4:00pm at the
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.
Friday, May 31, 8:00am - 5:00pm: Registration 8:00am - 8:30 am. Meeting
with presentations from 8:30 am – 12:00pm and 1:30 pm – 5:00 pm.
START TIME | END TIME | PRESENTER | Topic |
8:00 | 8:30 | Registration in Rottwein Theater Hallway | |
8:30 | 9:00 | Matt Wagner | 1: Welcome and Mississippi Madtoms |
9:00 | 9:30 | Angie Rodgers | 2: Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee |
9:30 | 10:00 | Paul Hartfield | 3: Mississippi Mussels |
10:00 | 10:30 | Break | |
10:30 | 11:00 | Ken Sterling | 4: Yazoo Darter |
11:00 | 11:30 | Jake Schaeffer | 5: Pearl Darter and Bayou Darter |
11:30 | 11:45 | Karen Dierolf | 6: MMNS Aquariums |
11:45 | 12:00 | Dan Schwarz | 7: Private John Allen National Fish Hatchery |
12:00 | 1:30 | Lunch on Your Own | |
1:30 | 2:00 | Chris Green | 8: Use of historical collections to aid in reproductive assessments of the Bluenose Shiner (Pteronotropis welaka) |
2:00 | 2:30 | Jim Franks | 9: Tarpon in Mississippi Coastal Waters |
2:30 | 3:00 | Eric Hoffmeyer | 10: Whale Sharks |
3:00 | 3:30 | Break | |
3:30 | 4:00 | Jan Hoover | 11: Paddlefish and Asian Carp |
4:00 | 4:30 | Jack Kilgore/Todd Slack | 12: Pallid Sturgeon |
4:30 | 5:00 | Michael Andres | 13: Gulf Sturgeon |
Friday, May 31, 5:00pm - 9:00pm: An evening banquet will be hosted at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science from 5:00pm until 9:00pm.
Saturday, June 1, 7:00am - 6:00pm: Field Trips 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 – All 5 trips will leave from Cabot Lodge parking lot at 7:00am.
Saturday, June 1, 7:00pm – 10:00pm Auction with bar and food at Cabot Lodge
Sunday, June 1, 7:00am - 6:00 pm: Field Trips 1, 2, 3 – All 4 trips will leave from Cabot Lodge parking lot at 7:00am.
Field trips:
All trips have been mapped and are available via google maps here.
Trip 1: Buttahatchie River- Saturday and Sunday, no RSVP necessary, no guide. Clear gravel rivers with high diversity in the Mobile drainage. Site 1 at Highway 45 (33.704, -88.346) and Site 2 Caledonia Bridge (33.673, -90.763).
Trip 2: Homochitto River and Bogue Chitto: Saturday and Sunday, no RSVP necessary, guided by Matt Roberts only on Sunday. Clear gravel rivers with high diversity in the Mississippi River and Gulf drainages, respectively . Site 1 at Homochitto River/McGehee Creek at Scott-Murray Road (31.4705, -90.763) and Site 2 at Stallings Bridge Road (31.057, -90.225). When parking do not block the turnaround for the outfitters.
Trip 3: Bouie River, Black Creek, Big Creek: Saturday and Sunday, no RSVP necessary, no guide. Blackwater Creeks in the Gulf drainages. Black Creek at Old Highway 49 (31.053, -89.192) and Ashe Nursey Road (31.0515, -89.178), Big Creek at Rockhill Brooklyn Road (31.066, -89.269), and Bouie River at Highway 49 (31.425, -89.415).
Trip 4: Strong River, Pearl River, and tributaries: Saturday and Sunday guided by Matt Wagner with lunch included. High diversity sites medium hardpan/gravel river, large gravel/sand river, and small sand/gravel tributary in the Pearl/Gulf drainage. Strong River (31.885, -89.997), is private property and we only have permission in the mornings. Do not go without the group. Afternoon visit to mainstem Pearl River Gravel/sandbar via boat (31.239, -89.848). Time permitting we will visit a headwater tributary to the Pearl River (31.158, -89.846). Must RSVP by April 30th to: matthew.wagner@mmns.ms.gov
Trip 5 – Mississippi River: Mainstem Mississippi River guided by Jan Hoover. This trip will only occur on Saturday and can safely accommodate 12 guests in boats. Boats are open, although the largest has a canopy for shade. This trip will depart from the Vicksburg City Front Boat Ramp (32.351, -90.884) at 8:30am. Must RSVP by April 15 to: Jan.J.Hoover@usace.army.mil
A summary of collection regulations can be found at the meeting website.
Fishing licenses will be required and are available here.
To register click here.
For additional information, if you would like to volunteer, or you have other questions, please contact:
Matt Wagner matthew.wagner@mmns.ms.gov