The American Fisheries Society’s Northeastern Division (NED) supports student travel to its annual meeting through the John Moring Student Travel Award. The award was established in 2003 to honor John’s legacy and promote student engagement in the NED. All award recipients will receive $300 for travel expenses and a one-year AFS student membership

Nominations for the 2025 John Moring Student Travel Award are due by July 10, 2025 (5:00 pm ET).


Who is Eligible?

The John Moring Student Travel Award is competitive and eligible to all students who will be presenting a poster or oral presentation in person at the division’s annual meeting and for students who will be attending the meeting to carry out NED business (see procedure manual pages 2-21 and 2-22 for evaluation criteria).


How to Apply:

  1. Prepare a copy of your abstract (if you are presenting a paper or poster) and/or a statement of how your activities at the meeting will support NED business.

  2. Prepare a letter specifying your involvement with AFS and your need for travel assistance or financial support to attend the annual meeting. Please include your AFS member number.

  3. Solicit a Letter of Support from your advisors(s).

  4. Email materials electronically to Andrew Bade, the Northeastern Division President, at [email protected]. Please include “John Moring Student Travel Award” in the title of your email. Applications are due by 5 PM, Thursday, July 10, 2025.




In Remembrance of John R. Moring

John R. Moring was born in San Diego, California in 1946. He completed his B.S. and M.S. degrees in fisheries from Humboldt State University before earning a Ph.D. in fisheries from the University of Washington in 1973. In 1979, John became the assistant leader of fisheries for the Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, with parallel appointments as professor of zoology and marine sciences at the University of Maine, positions he held until his untimely death in 2002.

John’s research interests included salmonid and stream ecology, the effects of forest management on fish habitat, and the ecology of tide pool fishes. He published 159 scientific papers and dozens of reports, summaries, and abstracts. He was also an accomplished freelance writer, having produced more than 60 articles, humor pieces, short stories, and poems, and two non-fiction books.

John joined AFS in 1967 and served at all levels of the Society, including president of the Northeastern Division (1989-90) and president of AFS’s Fisheries History Section (1995-98). In 1997, John received the Dwight Webster Memorial Award, the Northeastern Division’s highest honor.

John was a dedicated researcher and educator, and served as major advisor to 32 graduate students. He was a natural mentor, allowing stumbles but averting disastrous falls, encouraging or pushing as needed, supporting career decisions, and always seeing a project through. John was a wonderful person, extremely considerate of others, generous with his time, and full of lighthearted fun. He reveled in introducing students to science and fisheries, and worked tirelessly to make newcomers feel welcome, both at the university and at society meetings.









Last updated March 2025. Spot an error, missing info, or broken link? Contact NED-AFS Webmaster Sarah Hudak at [email protected].