Meet Exponent's First Certified Fisheries Professional

Andy Deines' new fisheries professional certification expands the capabilities of our Ecological & Biological Sciences practice

Exponent's Andy Deines, Ph.D., has earned certification from the American Fisheries Society (AFS), the world's oldest and largest organization dedicated to strengthening the fisheries profession, advancing fisheries science, and conserving fisheries resources. Dr. Deines has more than 20 years of experience in environmental science, using multiple data-analytic techniques to glean environmental insights for litigation, regulation, and sustainability. He specializes in linking population changes to environmental factors like river flow, temperature shifts, oil spills, and emerging chemicals such as 6PPD-quinone, pharmaceuticals, and invasive species. 

Dr. Deines' experience also includes investigations of fish-focused issues, such as Endangered Species Act (ESA) litigation for Pacific salmon, Clean Water Act temperature impacts on steelhead trout, aquaculture drug permitting, and oil spill effects on reef and fishery populations. He has contributed to major natural resource damage assessments by analyzing ecological risks to fish and aquatic systems from coal ash, oil spills, invasive species, and hydrological changes, including work on Deepwater Horizon and the Florida v. Georgia interstate water conflict decided by the Supreme Court.

As a Certified Fisheries Professional (CFP), Dr. Deines has demonstrated expertise in fisheries management, focusing on sustainable practices and conservation efforts. Professional fisheries management involves the study of fish populations, habitats, and ecosystems to ensure their health and sustainability.

Established in 1870 in New York City, the AFS was originally called the "American Fish Culturists' Association." It currently has more than 8,000 members around the world, including fisheries managers, biologists, professors, ecologists, aquaculturists, economists, engineers, geneticists, and social scientists. The organization promotes scientific research and sustainable management of fisheries resources and organizes scientific meetings where new results are reported and discussed. The AFS publishes five of the world's leading fish journals and many renowned books. There are currently 48 Chapters in North America, including two bi‐national Chapters (Atlantic International, Washington‐British Columbia) and the Mexico Chapter. Chapters may in turn contain many Student Subunits, which serve as a way for students to be involved through their institutions and network with local professionals.