Rick Hansen, a Paralympian and activist for people with spinal cord injuries, will deliver the opening address at an international sturgeon conference in Nanaimo this July.
The seventh International Sturgeon Symposium, co-hosted by Vancouver Island University’s International Centre for Sturgeon Studies and the City of Nanaimo and expected to attract more than 600 delegates from around the world, takes place July 21-25 at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre and at VIU’s Nanaimo campus.
Hansen, founding chairman of the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society and co-chairman of the Rick Hansen Foundation, who received an honorary doctor of laws from VIU in 2009 for his leadership and inspiration to millions of people around the world, has been named honorary chairman of the conference.
He will welcome delegates to the conference along with VIU president Ralph Nilson and Harald Rosenthal, president of the World Sturgeon Conservation Society, and deliver the opening address of the conference on the topic of public involvement as a necessary strategy for sturgeon conservation.
“As part of a collaborative team, we’ve spent more than a decade investigating issues that affect the recovery of Fraser River white sturgeon,” said Hansen, in a press release. “This symposium will make a difference – it represents the next step in attaining world awareness of preserving vibrant, diverse ecosystems and developing a healthy planet.”
The Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society develops and promotes education, public awareness initiatives, award-winning research programs and recovery plans for the Fraser River white sturgeon population.
For more information about the conference, please go to http://iss7.viu.ca.