Welcome to the 2020 Virtual Bays and Bayous Symposium 

Welcome to the 2020 Bays and Bayous Symposium, I'm LaDon Swann, the director of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium. We're happy that you are joining us on this platform for what will be the first VIRTUAL Bays and Bayous Symposium. 

Over the next three days, you will have the opportunity to attend presentations and panel discussions about coastal issues that are important to the northern Gulf of Mexico. We have more than 165 presentations this year, which is remarkable considering the speakers had to go the extra mile and narrate and pre-record them. That was a learning experience for many of us, and we appreciate the presenters' dedication to sharing their research, education, extension and environmental efforts. 

The theme for the 2020 Bays and Bayous Symposium is "Sound Science, Sound Policy: A 2020 Vision for the Future." Little did our steering committee know in February -- when the theme was developed -- how relevant it would become for all of us grappling with the world we live in today. Our lives have been disrupted in so many ways we would have been unable to imagine 10 months ago.  

When we realized that cancelling the 2020 Bays and Bayous was a real possibility, we reached out to people who had attended past Bays and Bayous and asked them what they suggested we do. The responses ranged from cancelling this year's symposium to postponing until 2021. After much deliberation, the steering committee made the decision to stop planning an in-person meeting in Biloxi and move forward with a virtual event.  

While we are losing the in-person networking that occurs during a "normal" Bays and Bayous, we do see some benefits to going virtual. This year, you will enjoy some of the best developed presentations ever submitted. With the help of our sponsors, we were able to make the event free. And, of course, we will not be facing the COVID-19 risks of a large gathering (which is illegal in many places right now). 

All things considered, we believe the 2020 Bays and Bayous probably is as good of a technical session that we have ever organized. Not only do we have more than 165 online presentations, there are four live panels with 18 speakers. And we have planned two pretty cool live social hours.  

A lot of planning goes into hosting a Bays and Bayous Symposium. Based on history, we typically have a good idea of what needs to happen and when. But, planning this year was quite a bit different in that everyone involved had to adjust and learn how to do things in a new way. That included learning about the virtual platform we are using, learning how to do narrated presentations, and figuring out how attendees would be able to interact with speakers during the online event. In short, there has been a lot of learning going on over the last several months. We hope the end result is justified. 

There are so many people to thank for getting us to today. I'll start with the speakers who made a commitment to prepare their presentations with narration for the virtual world. I know this was not easy, but I also learned speakers spent a lot of time making sure their presentation was "just right." I also thank our sponsors who provided enough funding to allow us to provide free registration as virtual venues come with costs, too. Bays and Bayous always has a strong technical program. This year is no exception. I thank Dr. Dan Petrolia with Mississippi State University and Dr. Zach Darnell with the University of Southern Mississippi, who led the development of the technical program. I also thank all of the abstract reviewers. 

Our virtual conference platform is called Dryfta. They were extremely helpful in providing technical support every time we asked, and we asked often.

I would also like to sincerely thank the steering committee members who made a commitment to the success of Bays and Bayous. The committee had a Zoom, Google Meet or conference call every other week from January through November. This event would not have been possible without their deep engagement in ensuring this year's event is equal to previous ones. Members of the steering committee include 

1. Jim Franks, Chair of Awards Committee, The University of Southern Mississippi 
2. Ryan Bradley, Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United 
3. Melissa Schneider, Chair of Marketing Committee, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium (MASGC) 
4. Steve Sempier, MASGC 
5. Tara Skelton, MASGC 
6. Roberta Swann, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) 
7. Tom Herder, MBNEP
8. Bethany Hudson, MBNEP 
9. Devaney Cheramie, Chair of Finance Committee, MASGC 
10. Marian Hanisko, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 
11. Julien Lartigue, NOAA Science Program 
12. Steve Ashby, Northern Gulf Institute 
13. Tina Miller-Way, Dauphin Island Sea Lab and MASGC 
14. Laura Bowie, Gulf of Mexico Alliance 
15. Bill Walton, Auburn University and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab 
16. Eric Sparks, Mississippi State University (MSU) and MASGC 
17. Amy Newbold, Environmental Protection Agency Gulf of Mexico Program 
18. Dan Petrolia, Co-Chair of Program Committee, MSU 
19. Zach Darnell, Co-Chair of Program Committee, USM 
20. Kirsten Larsen, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information 

I'd like to thank Jim Franks, who chairs the student awards, and his team of judges. I also thank the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Foundation for sponsoring the Mike deGruy Student Presentation Awards.  

Everyone with Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant was involved in planning for Bays and Bayous. I call out Melissa Schneider, Tara Skelton, Devaney Cheramie, and Steve Sempier who have spent many hours behind the scenes working on Bays and Bayous. Melissa provided regular updates as planning evolved and answered many questions from people who are presenting and attending. 

We all hope you enjoy this online event.