Wakefield Symposium coming to Kodiak

Heatwaves will be a hot topic at next year’s Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium.

The theme for the event, to be held May 5–8, 2026, at the Kodiak Marketplace event space, is “Marine heatwaves at high latitudes: Tools for tracking and supporting fisheries resilience.” The symposium will explore the impacts of extreme warming events on high-latitude fisheries and highlight tools and strategies to build resilience in fishery management.

“As marine heatwaves become more frequent and intense, they’re increasingly driving change in Alaska’s oceans and disrupting fisheries across the state,” said Franz Mueter, chair of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Fisheries and a member of the event’s science planning committee. “The Wakefield Symposium is a timely opportunity to document what’s happening, and to focus on developing practical tools and strategies that help turn what we’re learning into real-world management and policy responses.”

This event is the 34th iteration of the Wakefield Symposium and the first to be held in Kodiak. The meetings bring together fishery researchers, managers, community members and others to share information on the biology, management, economics and processing of various fish species and complexes. Invited speakers and contributors from around the world will be on hand to share their expertise through presentations, facilitated discussions and poster sessions.

The event will feature three keynote speakers: Alistair Hobday, Katherine Mills and Lisa Kerr. Hobday is based in Hobart, Australia, where he works in the Sustainable Marine Futures Program of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. His research projects include documenting the impacts of environmental change on marine biodiversity and fishery resources and testing adaptation options to underpin sustainable use and conservation. Mills is a senior research scientist at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, Maine. A quantitative fisheries ecologist, she studies marine ecosystem changes and fish-ecosystem-fishery relationships. Kerr is also based in Portland, where she is an associate professor of fisheries science at the University of Maine. Kerr focuses on science that contributes to the sustainability and resilience of marine fishery resources, ecosystems, fishing communities and the seafood industry.

The call for abstracts is open through January 30. Symposium registration is also open, with early-bird registration available through March 30. Students, Kodiak residents and federal employees are eligible for waived registration, and limited travel funding is available for student presenters. Students are able to express interest in travel support during the abstract submission process.

The series is named in honor of Lowell Wakefield and his many contributions to Alaska’s fisheries. Regarded as the founder of the Alaska king crab industry, Wakefield recognized that resource management must be based on the best available scientific data in order for the fishery to survive. Alaska Sea Grant has been coordinating the symposia since they began in 1982, in partnership with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, North Pacific Fishery Management Council and North Pacific Research Board. 

For the latest information and updates, visit the 2026 Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium website.

We look forward to seeing you at the symposium.