Describing our services is one thing; Implementing what we say is another....and is what we do best. These examples provide solid evidence of the types of projects completed for organizations in the past few years.

Many of these files are in Adobe's portable document format (PDF). Adobe's free Acrobat Reader software can be downloaded from www.adobe.com.

In conjunction with the The American Sportfishing Association, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA Fisheries, Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and others, Andrew Loftus and associates are coordinating the outreach and education aspects of the FishSmart program to work with anglers to increase the survival of angler caught and released marine fish species.

Loftus Consulting and Southwick Associatescompleted the first-ever Return-On-Investment analysis for the manufacturers' excise taxes paid into the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Programs for theAssociation of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

The International Game Fish Association , has engaged Andrew Loftus to assist in developing an app for recreational anglers to contribute data supplmenting ongoing fisheries management surveys. Designed with the data needs of fisheries managers in mind as well as friendly to anglers wanting an electronic log of their catches, the app includes the first-ever visual recognition function (based on algorithms developed in conjunction with Columbia University) to help anglers identify catches from a photograph.

Working with constituents, The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Maryland Environmental Service and others, Andrew Loftus and associates developed the first-ever Artificial Reef Management Plan for the State of Maryland.

The International Game Fish Association , retained Andrew Loftus and associates to develop and coordinate the program for the 5th World Recreational Fishing Conference. In 14 months, a full fledged program involving 250 participants from around the world was developed, integrating three concurrent sessions of professional presentations related to socioeconomic and environmental issues impacting recreational fisheries.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, engaged Andrew Loftus to coordinate a review of the Blue Crab Stock Enhancement Program. The review involved an independent peer review team, Maryland DNR staff, University of Maryland personnel, and stakeholders, resulting in recommendations to the Secretary of Natural Resources and Chancellor of the University of Maryland on the efficacy of continued investments into blue crab stock enhancement considering socio-economic and scientific aspects.

The Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies engaged Loftus Consulting to assemble fisheries professionals to develop criteria for the National Fish Habitat Initiative. More than 120 profesionals participated in this landmark scientific meeting to establish citeria and standards for this national initiative.

National Fisheries Data Summit - In conjunction with a conference steering committee, Andrew Loftus coordinated the planning and execution of, and follow up to, this national conference, resulting in the development of strategies through which state and federal agencies could improve the sharing of fisheries information to serve the needs of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.

Andrew Loftus tied together the importance of sound management of natural resources to sound fishing and boating industries during a consultancy to aid the National Federation of Sea Anglers and the Bass Angler's Sportfishing Society in Great Britain.This information was used as they developed their input into the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy.

Working with a team of boating industry leaders and government officials under the auspices of The Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council, Loftus Consulting coordinated the execution and reporting of multi-year reviews of several state/federal funding programs, including (click to view report):

Andrew Loftus teamed with Southwick Associates to produce the widely used legal reference for fish kill restitution values, "Investigation and Monetary Values of Fish and Freshwater Mussel Kills". This contains the first-ever published replacement values for nearly 300 species or subspecies of freshwater mussels found in the United States. Print and CD Rom copies may be ordered from the American Fisheries Society.

Loftus Consulting is involved in the development of several initiatives for the U.S. Geological Survey's Center for Biological Informatics, including development of a North American sturgeon information system; development of a strategic plan for the Aquatic Gap Analysis Program; and feasibility analysis of a mid Atlantic freshwater fisheries information system.

The U.S.D.A. Forest Service enlisted Loftus Consulting to conduct an assessment of the status and trends of aquatic species in the U.S. The resulting report documents general trends in water quality, specific fish populations, resource utilization, and imperiled aquatic fauna. Relationships between land use, water quality, and aquatic species are explored.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission have each used Loftus Consulting's expertise and network of profesionals to conduct indepedent peer reviews of components of their fisheries data collection programs.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission sought Loftus Consulting's expertise in developing and applying the concept of "conservation equivalency" in adaptive fisheries management. The results of this project are used to guide this 23-state organization as they move forward with this management model for Atlantic coast fisheries.

The Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP), involving 23 state, federal, and regional fishery management organizations, engaged Loftus Consulting to provide information to, and solicit input from, fisheries constituents. Through a unique and highly interactive roundtable structure which incorporated the expertise of veteran policy makers, the first comprehensive view of fisheries data collection from recreational fishing leaders was compiled.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources engaged Loftus Consulting to provide technical facilitation for a consensus building process in the allocation of fishery resources. The process led to the establishment of a multi-year allocation scheme between three competing groups and helped alleviate some of the management problems for the agency.

In conjunction with The Maryland Department of Natural Resources ,Andrew Loftus Consulting worked with stakeholders to explore management and allocation strategies for Chesapeake Bay yellow perch fisheries.

The American Fisheries Society, an association of 10,000 fisheries professionals, engaged Loftus Consulting to compile and produce a publication documenting the success of the Sport Fish Restoration Program, a highly popular fisheries funding program. Within 7 months, an 84 page, 4-color , peer reviewed publication involving over 34 authors was produced and distributed to 50,000 individuals, policy makers, and institutions worldwide.

The National Marine Fisheries Service retained Loftus Consulting for assistance in resolving an escalating conflict between private organizations/individuals and fishery management agencies involved in fish tagging. Through facilitated discussions and open forums with fisheries managers, steps were taken to alleviate the conflict by developing protocols and an interactive web-based information system for sharing information about tagging programs.

The Conservation Management Institute at Virginia Tech University and the AFS Fisheries Information & Technology Section retained Loftus Consulting to coordinate the development of the Multi-State Aquatic Resources Information System (MARIS). When fully implemented, this web-based system will provide single-point access for state and federal agencies to fishery information commonly collected by state agencies.

Private organizations and companies have enlisted the assistance of Loftus Consulting to provide expert analysis and testimony regarding fishery issues and policy development. This arrangement allows organizations to significantly expand their available skills base without adding additional staff. (Detailed information is proprietary to clients.)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service have retained Loftus Consulting for a variety of services designed to improve communications. These range from providing professional facilitation services for internal agency meetings and external consensus-based workshops with constituent groups to enhancing web sites to be more user friendly to constituent groups.

DEDICATED TO PROFESSIONAL SERVICE: Andrew Loftus serves as Secretary/Treasurer and Software Lbrarian for the American Fisheries Society's Fisheries Information & Technology Section and served as citizen advisor for the Chesapeake Bay Program's Citizens Advisory Committee to the Chesapeake Executive Council (CAC) for eleven years, including positions of chair and vice-chair. CAC provides advice and guidance to the governors of 3 states, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission on the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.