May 5, 1995 Contact: Robert Irion (408/459-2495)

PUBLIC SYMPOSIUM ON CLIMATE AND FISHERIES SCHEDULED AT UC SANTA CRUZ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--"Challenges for the Monterey Bay Region," a series of conferences for researchers and interested citizens, gets under way at UC Santa Cruz on Saturday, May 20, with a critical look at the complex relationship between fisheries and climate change. The symposium, entitled "Climate and Fisheries: Biological and Social Issues," runs from 1 to 5 p.m. in Oakes College lecture hall 105 on the UCSC campus. It is free and open to the public.

The symposium is cosponsored by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Monterey Bay Regional Studies (MBRS), a new program based at UCSC. A major goal of MBRS is to draw together the region's remarkable wealth of natural and social scientists to focus on issues of common concern, and to inform the public of current research and future directions.

Four speakers at the symposium will review the history of fish management and policy in California and other regions, environmental changes that are affecting nearshore ecosystems, and the impacts of these changes on fish populations. Questions from the audience will follow each talk.

Scheduled to speak are the following researchers:

-- Alec MacCall, fisheries biologist and director of the Tiburon Laboratories, National Marine Fisheries Service, Tiburon

-- Arthur McEvoy, professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School

-- Richard Parrish, fisheries biologist with the Pacific Fisheries Environmental Group, National Marine Fisheries Service, Monterey

-- Courtland Smith, professor of anthropology at Oregon State University

"Fisheries have always formed an integral part of human interactions with the Monterey Bay system," says Laurel Fox, professor of biology at UCSC and director of MBRS. "We need look no further than the bay's fisheries to observe the dramatic impacts that we can have on the ocean. In order to form wise policies for the future, we also must understand how climate variations can affect these interactions."

Under the auspices of MBRS, teams of students and faculty are crossing disciplinary lines to study the well-being of the Monterey Bay environment. In addition to the public symposium, the program's early stages at UCSC feature a new course and several research "demonstration projects." Ultimately, MBRS planners envision a baywide network of researchers working together on studies that scientists from any one discipline would find daunting.

For further information about the symposium, call the UCSC Public Information Office at (408) 459-2495.

Editor's note: You may reach Laurel Fox at (408) 459-2533 or .

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