My name is Apria Valenza, and I was fortunate enough to receive the 2025 International Fisheries Section of AFS Fellow Award. This award is jointly funded by the IFS of AFS, and the Fisheries Society of the British Isles, both of whom funded my travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland for the 2025 FSBI/IFM Joint Annual Symposium. This year, the theme of the symposium was ‘Turning Strategy into Science: Advancing Fish Conservation and Management,” and was jointly held by FSBI and the Institute for Fisheries Management on Queen’s University Belfast campus.

Up until this point, I had never traveled to the United Kingdom, let alone attended an international conference. I was so excited for the opportunity to present my research to such a diverse audience and meet international fisheries researchers, explore the country of Northern Ireland, and try my first Guinness! From the moment I stepped foot in Belfast, I was greeted by the kindness of the Irish people and the uncharacteristically warm sunshine (even with the beautiful weather of early July, there was a heat wave in Belfast the week of the conference). As a Ph.D. student at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, I like to think I brought a little bit of the hot southern sun with me to the UK!

My first full day in Belfast started off with a true Irish breakfast and a stunning peak at Queen’s University campus. Workshops were the first thing on the agenda for the conference, and I felt so welcomed to immediately meet such wonderful Ph.D. students and researchers from around the world at my table, who each had a beautifully unique name like my own. The meeting opened with an inspiring talk by Dr. Robert Rossel, who discussed his experience stocking and reintroducing Atlantic Salmon in the Lagan River, here in Belfast. That same day, I was thrilled to give my oral presentation on changes in management intensity of NC’s state-managed fisheries. I was so grateful for the interest the audience had in my research, and for all the compliments I received on my presentation. Later that day, I met Dr. Paul Hart, who gave an eye-opening presentation about the importance of incorporating fishers and stakeholders in fisheries science and management procedures. His presentation was especially fascinating to me, as many of the points he made are proving to be critical points for consideration in my state of North Carolina, as our legislature updates and improves its state fisheries management process.

After many crucial presentations about the management and conservation of Atlantic Salmon in the UK and Ireland, many of us took an excursion to the Bushmills to visit the River Bush Salmon Station & Hatchery. This station has two main goals: rearing salmon for conservation purposes and monitoring the wild salmon run each year. 

It was remarkable to see all the effort and groundbreaking aquaculture practices applied to preserving this historic species. I also greatly enjoyed all the other networking events FSBI had planned during the week-long conference, including a pub fish quiz, a whiskey tasting during the Bushmills excursion, a “spawning run” along the River Lagan, and a delicious three course gala dinner held at the Belfast Harbour Commissioners Office.

The real pleasure of this trip for me, however, was meeting and chatting with all the MS and Ph.D. students from around the world. Hearing about their projects firsthand, talking about life in (and outside of) graduate school, and comparing programs and stories was such a fun and heartwarming experience. It truly made the world feel small and re-assured to me that the future of the world’s fisheries is in good hands. Within a week of time, I made countless connections that I will be cherishing for years to come.

I could not be more grateful to both AFS and FSBI for this incredible opportunity to attend the 2025 FSBI/IFM Annual Symposium. I would not have been able to attend my first international conference without their support. I had a remarkable time networking at the conference, exploring Belfast, and learning all about the incredible conservation research presented throughout the week. Thank you so much to Dr. Holly Sheils, Dr. Sarah Helyar, all the organizers of the conference, the IFM organizers, and the council representatives from the Journal of Fish Biology. I hope to attend another FSBI conference soon!