American Fisheries Society Honors Dr. Walt Courtenay

Citation from American Fisheries Society:

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Dr. Walter Courtenay has worked tirelessly for more than 30 years, conducting research, educating students, and raising public awareness of the environmental threats posed by invasive species. His studies and his publications encompass exotic fish populations throughout their ranges -introduced and indigenous. Most of these species are important in the ornamental and aquaculture industries and can be extraordinarily destructive to native communities. Consequently, the work of Dr. Courtenay influences trade and conservation policy at scales ranging from regional to international. His work benefits conservation of native aquatic communities in North America and elsewhere in the world.

First working as a fish morphologist in the late 1960's, Dr. Courtenay soon began intensive study of the ecology of invasive fishes in Florida. His work, describing and publicizing environmental dangers of these sometimes innocuous-appearing species, made his name synonymous with invasive species research by the mid 1970's. At that time, he was conducting innovative pond studies to evaluate impacts of cichlids and walking catfish on native fishes. In the following decades, Dr. Courtenay and his students continued to provide the scientific community and the general public with case studies and comprehensive overviews of the introduction, spread, persistence and ecological effects of invasive fishes. Because of his work, people of all backgrounds have been sensitized to impacts of invasive species; they are less likely to release non-native species and more likely to support management and control programs.

Walter Courtenay merits this award for two very basic reasons. He has spent a lifetime devoted to fish conservation and education. And-he is sharing that lifetime of experience, insight and wisdom with new generations of conservationists.

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