WDAFS Awards, Grants and Scholarships

Award of Excellence

Dr. Gary Sakagawa
Presented in San Diego, California, April 2003

The WDAFS Award of Excellence is the most prestigious award offered by the Division. It is intended to recognize sustained professional excellence, outstanding achievement, and exceptional competence in Fisheries resource applications. Dr Gary Sakagawa is most deserving of this level of recognition. He is the Senior Scientist for Highly Migratory Species at the National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Throughout his career, Dr. Sakagawa has been an effective and influential fisheries scientist. He began his career 40 years ago as a fisheries aide in Honolulu. In 1971, he came to La Jolla and has remained ever since.

Dr. Sakagawa’s research has been focused on the management, population dynamics, and fishery aspects of tunas and billfishes in all oceans of the world. He has served on more than 50 scientific committees, he has completed over 30 peer-reviewed publications and over 35 scientific papers presented at international meeting and forums and published. He has been professionally active in international fisheries, helping to develop US policy via the following appointments:

US delegations to ICCAT 1972-1986
US scientific advisor to US delegation to IATTC 1973-2001
US delegate to the Commission for managing Indo-Pacific tunas
US scientific advisor, S. Pacific Albacore Fisheries Mgmt Commission
US scientific advisor for consultation on South Pacific Tuna Treaty, 1993-2001
US scientific advisor to the multilateral High Level Conference on the Conservation and Management of HMS fish stocks in the western and central Pacific 1994-2001

Dr. Sakagawa has been very active in promoting professional fisheries science, with an emphasis on international aspects. He has been

Director AIFRB, So CA District, 1977-79
President of the AFS Marine Fisheries Section 1981-82
President AFS International Fisheries Section 1991-93
President of AIFRB 1998-2001
Convener or organizer of over 6 significant symposia.

Dr. Sakagawa is a life member of AFS and is an AFS Certified Fisheries Scientist.

He has been particularly supportive of professional development of non-US scientists by organizing and facilitating recent AFS symposiums like the 2003 WDAFS “Biology, ecology & management of sharks of the Pacific coast of Mexico and the US” which helped to meet one of the goals of this year’s meeting: to bridge the gap with our Mexican professional colleagues. Dr. Sakagawa continues to promote and mentor students, as evidenced by his activities to encourage interested high school students to attend this year’s AFS meeting.

The Western Division of the American Fisheries Society is honored to recognize the exemplary career accomplishments of Dr. Gary Sakagawa with the prestigious Award of Excellence.

Presented by Eric Knudsen
WDAFS Past-President &
Awards Committee Chair
April 16, 2003