March 12, 2001 Mary Silver to deliver Ricketts Memorial Lecture in Monterey By Tim Stephens Professor of ocean sciences Mary Silver will give the Ricketts Memorial Lecture at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Symposium this week in Monterey. Silver's talk, entitled "A Local Story: Harmful Algae in Monterey Bay," will take place on Saturday, March 17, at 2:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Monterey. The event is free and open to the public. Professor of ocean sciences Mary Silver will discuss harmful algae. The Ricketts Memorial Lecture is named in honor of marine biologist Edward F. Ricketts, the inspiration for John Steinbeck's character "Doc" in Cannery Row and author of Between Pacific Tides, a landmark book about intertidal marine life. The invitation to give this prestigious lecture recognizes "life-time achievement in the field of marine science, based in part on studying natural history and excellence in teaching." The lecture is part of a two-day symposium, "Sanctuary Currents 2001: Fishing for our Future," on March 16 and 17. Researchers, educators, students, and the public are invited to learn about salmon, steelhead, and marine fisheries conservation and management issues in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. On Friday, March 16, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the National Marine Fisheries Service will jointly present the current status of salmonid populations in the sanctuary, the complex suite of causes underlying their decline, and various local activities under way to restore populations. On Saturday, March 17, a variety of fisheries experts--scientists, managers, conservationists, and fishing industry representatives--will discuss marine fisheries conservation and management issues in the sanctuary. Silver's lecture that afternoon will focus on work that she and other scientists are conducting to understand the blooms of toxic algae that periodically occur in Monterey Bay. (See previous Currents story). Return to Front Page