World Aquaculture 19 The strong mussel farming industry has struggled for years with an unreliable supply of wild spat for seed-stock, a situation that has now been resolved through a collaborative hatchery project between the state government and a mussel industry group. The hatchery will be part of one of the conference tours. Benefits to the mussel industry have included a doubling of hatchery output to almost 6000 spat ropes per season, a competitive advantage through the production of spat outside its usual seasonal availability. At least 20 percent of hatchery production will be made available to industry members not directly involved in the hatchery, increasing employment opportunities for regional Victoria. Technology transfer to industry will facilitate potential development of a larger, commercial-scale hatchery. This development has the potential to add a further 1700 tonnes annually to the sector. Since their inception, the biennial Australasian Aquaculture conferences have been organized as a joint venture between the Australian National Aquaculture Council and the WAS-Asian Pacific Chapter. This relationship has prospered over the years and the conference series has been extremely successful. The establishment of this strong relationship recently secured the World Aquaculture Conference and Trade Show to be held in Adelaide 7-11 June 2014. Both Melbourne and Adelaide conferences will have lots of additional activities besides bringing all that comes with such conferences and trade shows. For the upcoming conference in Melbourne there are events every day from 28 April right through to 6 May (see table) so, whatever your connection to aquaculture, you should be able to find an interesting aspect to engage you. Furthermore, there will be many networking opportunities and some events—including the inaugural Australasian Aquaculture Awards—that will be held as part of the ‘Articulture’ function at the National Gallery of Victoria. The naming rights sponsor, Skretting Australia (the leading supplier of fish feed in Australasia), and other important sponsors – Fisheries Research & Development Corporation and Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre – have joined with the State Government of Victoria to ensure that there will be much to remember from the occasion of the conference. Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE is sponsoring the venues for the Recirculation Aquaculture System Workshop and the AquaEd event. Agrifood Skills Australia is the key sponsor for AquaEd along with Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. The Global Aquaculture Alliance is sponsoring the awards program, which is an exciting new initiative for the industry. Intrafish is coming on board as the media sponsor for the first time, as they look to expand their coverage of our industry. We welcome all sponsors’ involvement as we work together to develop a strong aquaculture industry. Aquaculture field trips organized through Department of Primary Industry (Aquaculture section) will be held before and after the conference. These are full-day tours, including lunch. The first covers inland aquaculture and the second marine aquaculture. Both promise to be good opportunities to see industry and government activities, and provide opportunities for discussion and networking. The home of the Conference and Trade Show is the MelNational Gallery of Victoria bourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC), the centerpiece of a new world-class $1.4 billion conference and events precinct, which includes a new convention center as an extension to the current award-winning exhibition center, hotels, restaurants, retail and residential establishments. This is located in central Melbourne, on the banks of the Yarra River in the developing South Wharf area, a vibrant riverside precinct, easily accessed by public transport and within walking distance to accommodations and more restaurants. The MCEC sets a new benchmark through its advanced applications of presentation technology and its ‘6 Star, Green Star’ building environmental rating. Combined with innovative design and new operational features, organizations and guests will be assured of a high level of event delivery, in a comfortable and exciting environment. It is one of the ‘greenest’ convention centers in the world. What better place to present the world’s most environmentally friendly food source, aquaculture? An excellent array of plenary speakers has been organized for the conference, all focusing on different aspects of the main theme. The opening will include Dr. Alex Obach, Managing Director of Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre, Norway and Chen Wen, Director of Fisheries Division of Guangdong Provincial Oceanic and Fisheries Administration, China. From those two speakers we will get a great understanding of two major global issues in aquaculture today: technology development and sustainability in aquaculture feeds and the direction of China’s largest region with respect to supply and demand of seafood products. The plenary on the second day will feature two commu-
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