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The American Fisheries Society (AFS) Fellows are selected based on outstanding efforts or contributions in leadership, research, teaching and mentoring, resource management, conservation, and public outreach in various scientific fields under the AFS. Individuals are nominated by existing members of AFS, and the fellowship is awarded to one nominee per year. This year, National CASC Chief T. Douglas Beard, Jr. joins this elite group.

Beard has maintained an award-worthy career ranging from state-level management to United Nations policy negotiations. Over the course of his career, Beard has authored or co-authored 58 peer-reviewed publications, edited two books, written numerous book chapters, organized and led over 12 scientific symposiums, given over 100 invited and contributed talks, and participated on planning committees for four international conferences. Beard is a world leader in inland fisheries research and management, having served as the Associate Editor for North American Journal of Fisheries Management, Science Editor for Fisheries, and President of the World Council of Fisheries Societies.

More recently, Beard has contributed internationally by working with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) for his extensive work on global fisheries sustainability. He helped plan the 2015 global conference on inland fisheries and is a founding member of InFish, an international voluntary research network with over 125 members from over 65 organizations in over 25 countries that seeks to address challenges facing inland fisheries. Beard is also the President of the World Council of Fisheries Societies, and has co-authored two recent scientific articles which helped improve estimates of inland fisheries across the globe.