ICSR2026

The Global Gathering for Shellfish Restoration

The 2026 International Conference on Shellfish Restoration will bring together practitioners from around the world for three days of cutting-edge research, practical workshops, and invaluable networking at the Little Creek Resort in Shelton, Washington, on the ancestral lands of the Squaxin Island Tribe. Wherever you work — the Gulf Coast, the Chesapeake, Europe, Australia, or Asia — this is where the global shellfish restoration community comes together.

ICSR2026 will explore the intersection of Indigenous knowledge, climate resilience, and modern restoration science, with keynotes and panels from six Indigenous Nations across four countries — Squaxin Island Tribe, Suquamish Tribe, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Halalt First Nation, Dunghutti Nation, and Māori (Aotearoa New Zealand) — opening with a Welcoming Address from Chairman Kris Peters of the Squaxin Island Tribe. Sessions span the full breadth of restoration-relevant shellfish — from Pacific and eastern oysters to Olympia oysters, clams, mussels, and freshwater mussels — ensuring that practitioners working across all species and regions will find their work represented in the program.

Conference Theme: Engaging Communities, Collaborating with Knowledge Holders,
and Advancing Restorative Aquaculture

Why Travel to ICSR 2026?

The challenges facing shellfish restoration in your region are being solved — or have already been solved — somewhere else in the world. ICSR is where that knowledge gets shared.

🌏

A Truly Global Program

Presenters and practitioners from around the world, including strong representation from the East Coast, Gulf Coast, and West Coast of the U.S., as well as Europe, Australia, and the Indo-Pacific. Wherever you work, your peers will be in the room.

🧭

Knowledge You Can't Get at Home

14 thematic sessions covering genetics and biosecurity, substrate innovation, urban restoration, freshwater mussels, seascape-scale ecology, and more — across every shellfish-bearing coast on earth.

🤝

Indigenous-Led Science

Six Indigenous keynote speakers from six nations across four countries, plus two full Indigenous-led sessions — a structural commitment to centering Traditional Ecological Knowledge, not just acknowledging it.

✈️

Easy to Get To

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is a major hub with direct flights from across the US and internationally. Shelton is 90 minutes away — and October in the Pacific Northwest is spectacular.

Key Dates

Registration

Now Open ✓

Submit Poster

by July 17 →

Oral submissions closed · posters welcome · 300-word max

Final Program Posted

July 20

Early Bird Ends

Aug 7

Hotel Block Deadline

Sept 4

Conference

Oct 4–7

View full dates, hotel booking & travel details →

Keynote & Welcoming Speakers

Welcoming Address — Monday, Oct. 5

Chairman Kris Peters

Squaxin Island Tribe

Kristopher K. Peters has served as Chairman of the Squaxin Island Tribal Council since 2020, leading a nation whose identity, culture, and economy have been inseparable from shellfish for thousands of years. The Squaxin Island people — known as the People of the Water — have harvested from the tidal flats of South Puget Sound under treaty rights guaranteed by the 1854 Medicine Creek Treaty. Chairman Peters has been an active voice in Congress for tribal shellfish funding and access, and under his leadership the tribe secured the return of 125 acres of ancestral tidelands on Little Skookum Inlet — some of the most productive shellfish beds in the region. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at The Evergreen State College. We are honored to welcome Chairman Peters to open ICSR 2026 on the traditional lands of the Squaxin Island people.

Keynote Address — Tuesday, Oct. 6

Chairman Leonard Forsman

Suquamish Tribe

Leonard Forsman has served as Chairman of the Suquamish Tribe since 2005, guiding the Tribe's work to restore and protect the health of the Salish Sea. The Suquamish people have depended on shellfish such as geoduck, oysters, clams, and more, as a treaty right and a cornerstone of cultural and economic life since time immemorial. The Suquamish Tribe established Suquamish Seafoods in 1996 following a federal ruling reaffirming tribal treaty rights to half of the harvestable shellfish in their traditional fishing grounds, and has pursued active geoduck and oyster cultivation, Manila clam enhancement, and habitat restoration throughout their usual and accustomed areas. Chairman Forsman also serves as a Regent of the University of Washington, President of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and is a recognized leader in tribal governance and Salish Sea stewardship.

Keynote Speaker — Monday, Oct. 5

Nicole (Coly) Norris

Halalt First Nation, British Columbia

Ala̱g̱a̱mił Nicole "Coly" Norris is a member of the Xeáltxw, Halalt First Nation, and one of the most respected Indigenous knowledge holders working in Pacific Northwest shellfish and clam garden restoration. With more than 25 years in the aquaculture industry, she serves as an aquaculture specialist and knowledge holder for the Hul'q'umi'num peoples, and has earned the affectionate title "clam queen" for her exceptional work reviving ancient intertidal clam gardens along the British Columbia coast. Coly has worked with researchers to document more than 50 clam garden walls in B.C. — ancient rock-walled terraces built by coastal First Nations to enhance shellfish productivity — and has led active restoration of several within her traditional territory. Her approach challenges academic partners to move beyond the lab bench and genuinely connect with the environments they study, centering Indigenous stewardship and community access to traditional foods.

Keynote Speaker — Tuesday, Oct. 6

Dr. Mitchell Gibbs

Dunghutti Nation, University of Sydney

Dr. Mitchell Gibbs is a Dunghutti man through kinship and postdoctoral researcher in geosciences at the University of Sydney, working at the intersection of Traditional Knowledge and Western science to restore shellfish reefs and reimagine coastal management. Raised near Willawarrin in the Dunghutti nation, he has spent years in conversation with Elders along Australia's eastern coast, drawing on oral histories and traditional ecological knowledge to develop community-driven approaches to oyster reef restoration in Gamay (Botany Bay). His work with the Gamay Rangers and La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council has demonstrated how centering Indigenous communities — not consulting them — produces more durable and meaningful restoration outcomes. In 2025, Dr. Gibbs received the Australian Academy of Science Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scientist Award. His current research includes cross-continental collaboration with Coast Salish communities in the Pacific Northwest, making his participation at ICSR 2026 a natural bridge between Indigenous-led restoration on opposite sides of the Pacific.

Keynote Speaker — Wednesday, Oct. 7

Professor Kura Paul-Burke

Ngāti Whakahemo, Ngāti Mākino, Ngāti Awa — Aotearoa New Zealand

Kura Paul-Burke is a pioneering Māori marine shellfish restoration ecologist from Aotearoa New Zealand. Her intergenerational, quantitative research methods using traditional materials deliberately prioritise Māori environmental wisdom and practices alongside marine science to restore degraded mahinga kaimoana (marine food systems). The ground-breaking success of her work is re-shaping marine science research and restoration for Māori, science, and government entities — and most importantly, our collective moana (ocean) and mokopuna (grandchildren) of tomorrow.

Keynote Speaker — Wednesday, Oct. 7

Eric Quaempts

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) — Director, Department of Natural Resources

Eric is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). As Director of CTUIR’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) since 2004, Eric has developed their First Foods management approach, implementing these practices across DNR’s River and Upland Visions. Eric served on the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board for nearly eight years, including five as Co-Chair, and for eight years on the Oregon Water Resources Commission, including 15 months as Commission Chair. In August of 2023, the Ecological Society of America recognized Eric with its 2023 “Regional Policy Award.” The CTUIR is the first Tribal organization, and Eric the first Tribal member, to receive the award in its 16-year history. He has also been recognized by the Potlatch Foundation (2011 Billy Frank Jr. award) and Eco Trust (2014) for Indigenous leadership. Eric earned his B.S. in Wildlife Science from Oregon State University in 1990. His keynote brings First Foods management and freshwater mussel restoration to ICSR 2026.

What to Expect

🔬

Cutting-Edge Research

Oral presentations and lightning talks on oyster dynamics, habitat monitoring, urban restoration, species interactions, reef structures, and climate adaptation

🛠️

Hands-On Workshops

Interactive sessions on restoration planning, monitoring protocols, community engagement, traditional knowledge, funding, and data analysis

🚣

Field Sessions

Guided, site-based learning at restoration sites, working farms, a conservation hatchery, the Squaxin Island Museum, and South Sound waterways, led by regional scientists and practitioners. Shuttle provided.

🐚

Indigenous Leadership

Keynotes and sessions centering Indigenous communities, clam garden restoration, traditional ecological knowledge, and Tribal stewardship

🎓

Continuing Education Credits

ICSR 2026 is pre-approved for up to 10 Continuing Education Credits (CECs) through the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) CERP program.

🦪

Arrive Early: 45th Annual Oyster Fest

October 3–4 in Shelton, WA — right before ICSR 2026. World champion oyster shucking competition, seafood feast, local art, and music. Shuttles available from Little Creek Casino Resort.

Learn More →

🐚 Bring a Shell from Your Waters

We invite all attendees to bring one or more shells of native shellfish from your home waters. Label each shell with the species and location. All shells will be displayed in a woven kelp basket — a collective, global symbol of the shellfish we are working to restore.

Please ensure shells are thoroughly dry-cured and free of organic material.

Early-Career & Emerging Professionals

ISRS and the ICSR 2026 host committee welcome students, early-career researchers, Indigenous practitioners, and scientists in professional transition.

Student rate $300 with valid ID
We are actively exploring mechanisms to support travel and registration for attendees with limited institutional resources. If cost is a barrier to your attendance, please email inbox@shellfish-society.org — we want to hear from you.
Questions welcome at any time