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A joint committee of the American Fisheries Society and the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists published the first edition of “A List of the Common and Scientific Names of the Better Known Fishes from the United States and Canada” in 1948. The list is now in its 7th edition.
The Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, also called the Dingell-Johnson Act, was passed in 1950. This new source of funding dramatically increased the number of fisheries professionals across state agencies.
The Northeast Division of the American Fisheries Society was established in 1951.
The Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society was established in 1952.
The North Central Division of the American Fisheries Society was established in 1955.
Robert F. Hutton became the first Executive Director of AFS in 1965. Previously Society business was handled by the volunteer elected secretary or secretary-treasurer.
A new professional certification program was developed in 1968 to replace an earlier professional and nonprofessional certification program in place from 1951 to 1967.
William E. Ricker became the first recipient of the AFS Award of Excellence in 1969.
The first section to form within AFS was the Fish Health Section in 1972.
The first Fisheries magazine was published in 1976.
The Fishery Conservation and Management Act (better known as the Magnuson-Stevens Act) was passed in 1976. The act established the regional fishery management council system and the 200-mile exclusive economic fishery zone.
The North American Journal of Fisheries Management was first published in 1981.
AFS headquarters moved into its current home in the Glascock Building in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1981.
The Journal of Aquatic Animal Health was first published in 1989.
AFS members helped organize the first World Fisheries Congress, held in Greece in 1992, and members have remained active in the planning of the subsequent congresses.
Formerly published as The Progressive Fish-Culturist beginning in 1935, the journal was renamed the North American Journal of Aquaculture in 1999 to reflect the expanded importance of aquaculture in the 21st century.
The first class of Hutton Scholars participated in the Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology high school internship program in the summer of 2001. Since its inception, the Hutton Program has provided scholarships and mentoring experiences in fisheries biology to 646 students with the help of almost 700 mentors in over 150 host and financially sponsoring institutions. Over the past 18 years, 58% of Hutton Scholars have been women and 57% have been from minority backgrounds.
Marine and Coastal Fisheries was established as an online only, open access journal in 2009.