Chester, UK, 4th – 7th November 2010

 

The 4th International Zoo and Aquarium Symposium is being held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the FFSG. The symposium is being organised by Chester Zoo, ZSL and the FFSG and is endorsed by WAZA. The meeting will be held in Chester, UK from 4th – 7th November 2010 and will take place in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which is located in the city centre. (Please note: this symposium has been re-scheduled after being postponed in April, due to travel disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano eruption).

 

There will be free entry to Chester Zoo for delegates all day on Wednesday 3rd November, with the Ice Breaker taking place in the evening. The four day meeting commences on Thursday morning. Optional social activities include a historic walking tour of Chester city, a fireworks display at Chester Racecourse and the official conference dinner is planned for the Saturday evening.

 

Please see the provisional Draft Symposium Programme attached below. To summarise, the programme comprises a series of invited speakers, delegate presentations, workshops and poster sessions covering the following themes:

 

Limited slots are available for additional presentations and delegates also have the opportunity to present posters on any of the themes listed above.

 

We are particularly seeking potential speakers to give presentations on Zoo and Aquarium freshwater fish priorities for the following regions:

Any delegate interested in giving a presentation or presenting a poster will need to complete and submit an Abstract Form (attached). The symposium Scientific Committee will review all abstract submissions and delegates will be notified whether their submission has been selected for the symposium schedule. If your proposal for a presentation is not selected, there may instead be opportunities for you to create a poster presentation.

 

The deadline for submitting abstracts is Sunday 1st August 2010. One of the anticipated products of the meeting will be the publication of the next volume in the ‘Public Aquarium Husbandry Series’ Volumes, which will be edited by the symposium Scientific Committee.

 

Participation is open to all. We are pleased to be able to offer a special conference registration of £200*, which covers the costs of all meetings, coffee breaks and lunches as well as the social programme, including the Ice-breaker, Conference Dinner, walking guided tour of the historic city centre and the fireworks display. Delegates wishing to obtain wireless internet cards for the conference will need to purchase these separately from the hotel. We have negotiated special rates as follows: 60mins within 24hr period – £2.35, 24hr unlimited economy (suitable for checking emails only) - £4.70, 24hr unlimited business (suitable for checking emails, plus internet browsing, uploading and downloading) - £7.04.

 

*Please note that the deadline for Early Registration and payment is Friday 30th July 2010.  After this date, the registration fee will increase significantly.  If you would like to take part in the 4th International Zoo and Aquarium Symposium, please complete the attached Registration Form and return it to Claudine Gibson at c.gibson@chesterzoo.org. 

 

The conference venue is The Crowne Plaza Hotel (http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hotel/chets).  During the conference all delegates will receive complimentary use of the leisure club facilities (including gym and swimming pool) between the hours of 07:00 – 23:00. We have set up an accommodation booking website specifically for the conference with Visit Chester and Cheshire who have been able to negotiate special rates for us in a number of hotels and guest houses to suit a range of budgets. Please see the accommodation booking website at https://www.conferencebookings.co.uk/delegate/CHSFRESH.

 

If you would prefer not to book accommodation online, please use the attached Accommodation Booking Form. Please refer any queries regarding accommodation you may have to Visit Chester and Cheshire (tel: + 44 1244 405600, e-mail: info@visitchesterandcheshire.co.uk ), ensuring you mention you are attending the Freshwater Fish Symposium.

 
Please note: the deadline for booking accommodation through Visit Chester and Cheshire to guarantee special rates is 4th October 2010.

 

Climate change is a big threat to global biodiversity conservation and we will be making this a carbon neutral event. Further information on this will be circulated in the near future.

 

We very much look forward to seeing you in Chester in November; in the meantime if you have any questions, please contact Claudine (c.gibson@chesterzoo.org).

 

 

Very best wishes from the Organising Committee.