Ron Schmied Award Winners

William Dailey graduated summa cum laude with double degrees in Marine Biology and Marine Fisheries from Texas A & M at Galveston in December 1998. During his tenure as an undergraduate he had the good fortune to enroll in Bruce Collette’s Biology of Fishes course at the Bermuda Biological Station, Karla McDermid’s Atoll Ecosystems course at Midway Island and André Landry’s Field Ichthyology course at Texas A & M at Galveston. This coursework continued to develop and nurture his interest in saltwater and freshwater fisheries ecology, and recreational fishing.

Dailey is currently working on his doctorate at Texas A & M at College Station. His dissertation, titled ‘Early life history and stock structure of young-of-the-year tarpon, Megalops atlanticus Valenciennes, in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, has allowed him to immerse himself in their biology and ecology, and their recreational fishery. He has attended tarpon rodeos in Louisiana and Mexico, and worked with numerous silver king anglers and guides throughout the northwestern Gulf. Dailey has worked with International Game Fish Association, Tarpon Tomorrow and Coastal Conservation Association members regarding tarpon management and conservation.

Among his other memorable experiences as a doctorate student was serving as crew chief and fish taxonomist of EPA’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) for wadeable streams in Nevada in 2004. The job assignment in Nevada created an opportunity for him to rekindle a passion for masters and open water swimming. Dailey entered and completed the 2004 Donner Lake Open Water Swim (2.7 miles) proximate to Reno, NV. He has since swam in two Alcatraz Sharkfest Swims (~ 1.5 miles; 2005 and 2006) and the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim (1 mile; 2006).