This position statement is the outcome of several years of preparation and review within the American Fisheries Society (AFS). In 1991, the AFS Executive Committee (Excom) directed the Environmental Concerns Committee [ECC; later to become the Resource Policy Committee (RPC)] to initiate development of an AFS position statement on biodiversity. ECC Chair Hat Tyus assigned this task to Cochair Brian Winter, who developed a draft: statement. The draft was reviewed by the RPC and members of the AFS Endangered Species Committee. At this point, Robert Hughes was added as coauthor because of his expertise. The comments received were incorporated in a new draft, which was then reviewed by a second RPC. The draft statement was again modified and returned to the RPC, which then forwarded it to the Excom for review. The Excom approved the draft statement at the 1994 AFS annual meeting for publishing in Fisheries for membership comment; it was included in the April 1995 (Vol. 20, No. 4) issue. Eight AFS member comment letters were received within a 90-day period, and the statement was revised accordingly. The Governing Board approved the revised statement on 27 August 1996. All AFS position statements are intended to reflect the diversity and geographical scope of the AFS membership. Every effort is made to ensure that each position statement is acceptable to most AFS members.
