In Memoriam: John (Jack) F. Dequine, 1917–2011

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Jack graduated from the University of Maine in 1940. After a brief time overseas, Jack took a position as the chief of fisheries for the Kentucky Game and Fish Commission and shortly thereafter moved to Florida in 1946 as the first fishery biologist for the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission. Much of Jack's work in the late 1940s and early 1950s attempted to resolve conflicts between commercial and recreational fishing interests and to properly establish rules governing take of freshwater fishes. Jack was dedicated to using science to inform management actions, rather than making decisions based solely on popular public sentiment. Jack left the agency in 1954 and started Southern Fish Culturists, Inc., a private production and environmental consulting business related to fish, fisheries, and aquatic resources. As a businessman, Jack was known as someone that you could call anytime and get a helpful response. Jack is appropriately recognized as a founding father, energetic leader, and persistent supporter of the SDAFS. Following the AFS (parent society) annual meeting in 1947, Jack and colleagues approached the directors of the Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissioners, who endorsed the concept of inclusion of a fisheries component at their annual meetings. The first such meeting was held in St. Petersburg, Florida, in November 1947. Jack spearheaded a working group to successfully petition AFS for recognition as the Southern Division and was officially elected first president of the SDAFS in Dallas, Texas, in September 1952. The first official session of the SDAFS followed in October 1952 at the southeastern meeting held in Savannah, Georgia. About 40 fisheries workers representing all Southeastern states, academia, and federal agencies were in attendance and affirmed Jack Dequine as the first president of the division. The 2002 Southern Division Meeting represented the 50th anniversary of this important event, and Jack attended this celebration. Perhaps Jack's greatest accomplishment and contribution to the AFS was the creation and maintenance of AFS award programs that recognize and encourage excellence in fisheries professionals. In 1967, Jack and other members of a former-presidents committee recommended the establishment of a best paper award to recognize excellence of fisheries contributions at the annual Southeastern conference. He served as chair of the division's awards committee from its inception in 1967 through 1987 (21 years of service). In 1979, Jack led new efforts to create a second type of award for fisheries professionals in the south, the Outstanding Achievement Award. This award remains the most prestigious offered by the Division by recognizing significant long-term individual contributions to the field of fisheries and aquatic biology. Through these awards, and by his encouragement and personal example, Jack influenced the professional development of fisheries biologists throughout the southeast. Over the years Jack remained involved with many important Division activities. He attended nearly all of the SDAFS meetings in the past 60 years. Jack was a fastidious compiler of correspondence and other paperwork relevant to business of the Division, and he maintained a set of files that was essentially complete through the mid-1980s. Jack's perennial presence at Division business meetings and past-presidents’ meetings provided continuity of conduct and an infallible corporate memory. As late as January 2011, Jack presented the award in his name (John F. Dequine Best Paper Award) to Eric Nagid and coauthors at the SDAFS annual meeting, Tampa, Florida, and he escorted incoming SDAFS First Vice President M. Allen into office at that same conference. Along the way Jack continued his lifelong hobbies of hunting and fishing. He fished with the authors of this tribute regularly over the last decade, sharing his history, humor, and wisdom. He harvested a large turkey gobbler in spring 2011, and well into his 90s Jack also hunted deer in Georgia with M. Van Den Avyle and Bob Garrett. Jack is survived by daughters Jeanne and Joy, of Miami, Florida. He will be remembered and missed by his friends, family, and the AFS. We offer this as a celebration of his life and his accomplishments, from which all of us in the AFS have benefited. We are grateful for his friendship, for the opportunities we shared afield with him, and for his mentorship.