The 6th North American Echinoderm Conference will be held on 14-19 August 2011 at the Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory in Anacortes, Washington. This conference will allow the scientific community in the Americas (North, Central, South) and beyond to share their recent research experiences and ideas with fellow echinoderm enthusiasts. These meetings serve this geographical region between the International Echinoderm Conferences, last held in 2009 in Hobart, Australia, and scheduled for 2012 in Brussels, Belgium.

The 6th NAEC will be the first time this group meets on the west coast of the US. The five previous regional meetings were held on the Gulf and east coasts:
            1989 - Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alabama
            1992 - Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida
            1998 - Wallops Island Marine Science Center, Virginia
            2001 - Darling Marine Center, Maine
            2008 - Florida Institute of Technology, Florida

Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory is in the northwest corner of Washington state, facing Rosario Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, within the Salish Sea ecosystem. The marine waters of this area are rich in marine life due to temperate water conditions, geographical diversity, and age of the basin. Approximately 180 echinoderm species live in this region.

The anticipated size of the 6th NAEC (80-100 participants) will allow significant interaction between scientists of all levels - undergraduate students, graduate students, research associates, professors - and a personal atmosphere.