World Aquaculture 11 USAS Chapter President’s report Thank you to all members of the United States Aquaculture Society (USAS) for your support and confidence in me to lead the Chapter this year. I am deeply honored to represent such a fine organization and its membership. Fortunately there is a strong foundation within USAS to rely upon. I have the support and guidance of the 2012 Chapter Officers and Members at large, the Home Office, pastpresidents committee, and of course all my friends and colleagues within the Chapter. I wish to welcome incoming Vice-President Mike Denson, Board member at large David Cline and Student Liaison Aaron Watson. The 2012 officers and members at large are: Past-President: Michael Schwarz (mschwarz@vt.edu) President: Gary Fornshell (gafornsh@uidaho.edu) President-Elect: Kevin Hopkins (hopkins@hawaii.edu) Vice-President: Mike Denson (densonm@dnr.sc.gov) Secretary/Treasurer: Reginald Blaylock (reg.blaylock@ usm.edu) Member at Large: Rick Barrows (Rick.Barrows@ars. usda.gov) Member at Large: David Cline (clinedj@auburn.edu) Member at Large: Andy Lazur (lazur@umd.edu) Member at Large: Steve Rawles (Steven.Rawles@ars. usda.gov) Student Liaison: Aaron Watson (aaronwatson05@ gmail.com) From 2011, I wish to thank outgoing Past-President Wendy Sealey, Board member at large John Scarpa and Student Liaison Matthew DiMaggio for their dedication and service on behalf of the Chapter. Outgoing President Michael Schwarz’s service during his Presidency was commendable and as a result the Chapter is in very good standing. Treasurer Reginald Blaylock reported total Chapter assets of $215,435.19 at the annual Board of Directors Meeting in Las Vegas on February 28, 2012. In addition, we have a good operating budget. Moreover, in spite of the current economy, there was good participation at the Aquaculture America 2012 meeting in Las Vegas. It was a very good show due to capable individuals such as Conference Chair Jeff Silverstein, Technical Program Chair Steve Rawles, John Cooksey, Carol Mendoza, Judy Andrasko, and all other supporting groups and individuals too numerous to mention. The USAS presented several student awards, including the Spotlight Award and a Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award, all of which are highlighted elsewhere in this issue of World Aquaculture. USAS will continue to focus efforts on student services and awards. Students are our future. USAS will also update and redesign the website. Social networking and other online services are becoming ever more important in how people interact, communicate and acquire information and as such, the new website will be pivotal in maintaining good services for the membership. An area that the Chapter will explore is the development of research-based educational materials about U.S. aquaculture. I believe most everyone involved in aquaculture—be they from academia, industry or government—is aware of the lack of knowledge about aquaculture and misinformation about it throughout our society. This lack of knowledge and misinformation can result in poor decisions at a personal level, where, for example, someone does not eat certain cultured seafood because of the mistaken belief that dyes are used to color the flesh. Poor decisions can also be made at the societal level, where funding for research and development in the sciences may be viewed as nonessential. Research-based information can empower people to make informed decisions. This is not lobbying. It is making available research-based information on a topic for people to use as they wish. The Past-Presidents Committee will work on this issue. Planning for AQUA 2013, the Triennial meeting of the Fish Culture Section of the American Fisheries Society, National Shellfisheries Association, and the World Aquaculture Society is well underway. The conference will be held in Nashville, Tennessee from 21-25 February 2013. If you are interested in volunteering to organize a special session, or if you have any ideas for topics that might be included for this conference, please contact Dr. Sandy Shumway, Chair, Program Committee: sandra.shumway@uconn.edu. An organization is stronger and healthier when its members are engaged. I urge and plea with everyone to become involved and connect with the Officers and Board members at large. Let us know how we can better serve our membership, our parent society the World Aquaculture Society and our industry. — Gary Fornshell President USAS presented by the upcoming election, in the same ballot to select Board members, the LACC membership will be asked to vote on proposed changes in Chapter Bylaws. So, be prepared to nominate your candidates and vote when asked! I also urge all members to keep your membership in WAS and LACC current. If you are not yet a member, please join our Chapter. — Maria Célia Portella President LACC LACC chapter (Continued from previous page)
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