Bill Ricker

William Edwin Ricker, (August 11, 1908 – September 8, 2001) was a Canadian entomologist and important founder of fisheries science. He is best known for the Ricker model, which he developed in his studies of stock and recruitment in fisheries. The model can be used to predict the number of fish that will be present in a fishery. He also had an international standing as an entomologist and a scientific editor. He published 296 papers and books, 238 translations, and 148 scientific or literary manuscripts. His 1958 publication, "Handbook of computation for biological statistics of fish populations" and later updates were the standard books on the subject for decades.

Achievements Born in Waterdown, Ontario; Ricker was an authority in the taxonomy of stoneflies, and evolved an elegant classification which his fellow entomologists praised as "a thing of beauty and simplicity that made evolutionary sense". This 348-page handbook became the standard reference for students and professionals around the world. It is still used in China as the standard text for fisheries science.

Ricker taught himself Russian so he could read the original papers of Feodor Baranov, a Russian fisheries scientist.

Honours His medals and awards include: in 1970 the Flavelle Medal, in 1966 the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada Gold Medal, and in 1983 the F.E.J. Fry Medal. In 1969, he received the first Award of Excellence of the American Fisheries Society. On his death in 2001, the Society established the William E. Ricker Resource Conservation Award. The University of Manitoba, Dalhousie University, and the University of Guelph, awarded him honorary doctoral degrees, and in 1986 he was appointed to the Order of Canada.

The Canadian Coast Guard fisheries research vessel CCGS W.E. Ricker is named after him.