DANBURY, CONN. — Steve Gephard, supervising fisheries biologist for the Inland Fisheries Division of Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, will present “An Overview of the Diadromous Fish Program of the Connecticut DEEP” at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013, in Room 125 of the Science Building on the Western Connecticut State University Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury. The discussion will be part of the “Research Seminar” series sponsored by the WCSU Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences. The event will be free and open to the public.

Diadromous fish species migrate between fresh and salt water to spawn. Connecticut’s DEEP seeks to restore many of these pathways through a variety of techniques, including dam removal, installation of fish-ways, stocking and transplanting of fish, habitat protection and conservation-based regulations. Gephard oversees two of the division’s programs: the Diadromous Fish Program and the Habitat Conservation and Enhancement Program. His experience with diadromous fish species spans more than 30 years.

Gephard serves on a number of regional fisheries management commissions and committees, including a term as chairman of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Eel Technical Committee and is currently the chair of ASMFC’s Fish Passage Work Group. He also holds a presidential appointment as a U.S. Commissioner to the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, an international treaty commission dedicated to conservation of Atlantic salmon in international waters.

Gephard received his Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Aurora University and his Master of Science in Fisheries Biology from the University of Connecticut.

For more information, call the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.

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