World Aquaculture 3 Editor’s note This issue of World Aquaculture is the last one for which I will have served as Editor-in-Chief. John Hargreaves, who is very well qualified, has been selected as the next Editor-in-Chief. A guest editorial in which he introduces himself to the readership appears in this issue. I retired from my position as Director of the Texas Sea Grant College Program and Professor of Oceanography on 31 August of this year. When I finally made the decision to retire, I decided to relinquish my editing activities with respect to World Aquaculture with this December 2011 issue. It was 1998 when I was asked by the WAS board to take over the position of Editor-in-Chief of this magazine. After the board members did a bit of arm-twisting, I told them my only request was to be allowed to select the staff that would be working with me. I had in mind Amy Broussard as layout editor. She was heading up the communications arm of Texas Sea Grant (the Marine Information Service) and had been responsible for creating and laying out a very successful quarterly magazine that was published for several years by Texas Sea Grant. My good friend and colleague Lou D’Abramo continued to serve as editor for a year or two, after which Mary Nickum assumed that position. Colin Nash also served with Mary as an editor for a period. Mary has been responsible for soliciting articles and doing the initial editing to get manuscripts in the proper format. Both Amy and Mary have been a delight to work with. They deserve the credit for all the positives associated with the magazine, and as final copy editor, I deserve the blame for the errors that have crept in from time to time. The accomplishment of which I am most proud is that as a team we have managed to publish every issue and have it in the mail to our members during the month that is printed on the cover (March, June, September or December). The World Aquaculture Society has been a part of my life since its second year of existence. It began as the World Mariculture Society and only became WAS after several years. The group that assembled in 1969 to found the society was audacious in selecting their name for it, since the organization for several years had a membership that was nearly entirely comprised of North Americans. Question: Can you name another scientific society that truly believes that it is global? Most (all?) are nation, continent or region specific. WAS now has members from each of the continents, except Antarctica, but insofar as I know, penguins don’t join scientific societies. As it turned out, the selection for the society name by the founding members was prescient. Over the years the society has evolved, not only from the broadening of its focus on mariculture to the more inclusive term aquaculture, but also to begin holding meetings outside of North America. The leadership of the society has also evolved. For many years the board was almost entirely comprised of individuals from the United States and Canada, along with the occasional European. Today, the board has members from around the world, the annual conferences move around the globe from year to year, with the exception that the triennial meetings sponsored by WAS along with the Fish Culture Section of the American Fisheries Society and the National Shellfisheries Association are held in North America. Of significance, the financial condition of the society is sound. The annual meetings seem to set new attendance records each year. It’s a far cry from the period in the early 1990s when Bill Hershberger, followed by me and then Lou D’Abramo served as Was presidents. A frequent topic of discussion at our meetings was which of the three of us would turn out the lights and shut down the society. Of course that never happened. In fact, the society has not only survived, but is much stronger today than any time in its history. I’m pleased to say that the same is true for World Aquaculture magazine. At the same time I know that the magazine can be improved. I look forward to seeing how the magazine evolves under John Hargreaves and wish him all the best in taking World Aquaculture to the next level. I treasure the friendships that I’ve made with so many WAS members from a wide range of countries over the years. Seeing friends old and new at WAS meetings has always been a highlight when I’ve attended meetings sponsored by the society or one of its chapters or affiliates. As I shut down my magazine office (physically located in my home), I close with a quote from Douglas Adams. “So long, and thanks for all the fishes.” — Robert R. Stickney, Ph.D. Editor-in-Chief
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