12 June 2012 Asian Pacific Chapter update I write this as we wrap up the 3rd AQUATECH: Aquaculture Expo & Convention Philippines 2012 at the Lewis Hotel in Angeles City. The APC was an organizing partner of this event and there were two APC Board members in attendance, Mark Oliver, the student Director, and me. This conference was sub-titled “Profitable Aquaculture: Supporting Sustainable Practices” and drew almost 150 participants from around the Philippines, greatly exceeding the level of participation anticipated by the organizers. Local and internationally based speakers spoke to the Philippine audience about the importance of responsible and sustainable practices in aquaculture. Participants were very happy with the quality of the speakers and materials presented and planned to bring the messages and ideas learned to others. We are now preparing for the next big event, AustralAsian Aquaculture 2012, which will take place from May 1-4 in Melbourne, Australia. By the time you read this, the event will have happened. The conference will have many other associated activities, including a simulated seafood health scare that will be a “Trial of a Seafood Incident Response Plan,” funded by the Seafood Services Australia (SSA). The conference itself will have two Chairman’s Lunches to bring together influential stakeholders to discuss issues of importance to the aquaculture and seafood sectors. The conference will also feature the inaugural Australasian Aquaculture Awards (The Blue Thumbs). Following the conference, there will be interesting field trips and the AquaEd program, which is supported by NMIT and sponsored by AgriFood Skills Australia. The APC Chapter met virtually through Skype in March and passed a framework for the creation of an Executive Advisory Council and the Country Ambassadors Program and started vetting both EAC representatives and Country Ambassadors. In addition, dramatic changes to the APC website were implemented. Although the website remains primarily text-based at present, we have added a lot more material and welcome APC members to provide more. We can add these to the new APC National Information section. We also started initial Arabic, Chinese and Japanese sections, the latter to benefit new members that joined the Chapter from the ongoing merger of the APC and Japan Chapters into a broader Asian Pacific Chapter. In May and June, Roy Palmer will travel to Japan to meet with the new APC members there to discuss the potential for a Japan Symposium. I will also travel in June to Myanmar, where I plan to discuss the possibility of a symposium there with the new APC Myanmar Country Ambassador Kyaw Tun Myint and the Myanmar Fisheries Federation. Looking westward, the APC has had its first strategy meeting with APC members in UAE to plan for an “Arid Aquaculture Symposium” that is targeted for January 2013. We hope to bring together people that live in arid land areas to discuss the current status and future potential for aquaculture in arid areas. This effort is was conceived by Roy Palmer, our immediate APC past president, and the strategy meeting included APC UAE Country Ambassador JeanYves Mevel, Prathapchandra Shetty and me. We are also looking forward to the next APC meeting in 2013 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The Steering Committee will be chaired by APC President-Elect Amrit Bart, assisted by Allen Wu, an APC member from Taiwan, and Program Chair, the APC Secretary-Treasurer, Wayne O’Connor. It is expected that this event will occur at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center on 10-13 December 2013. This event will be held in conjunction with the International Oyster Symposium (IOS5). Plans are proceeding for World Aquaculture 2014, which will take place in Adelaide, Australia, on 7-11 June 2014. At least two APC members, Mark Oliver and Gay Marsden (who are also Board members) will be on the Steering Committee for this event. This will be the de facto Asian Pacific conference for 2014 as well. I was present at Aquaculture America 2012 in Las Vegas and participated in the signing ceremony for World Aquaculture 2015, which will be held on Jeju Island, South Korea in May of 2015. Several APC members will participate on the Steering Committee for this event, which will also be the de facto Asian Pacific conference, similar to the WA2014 event. We are now seeking nominations for two APC Board positions that are opening for election. If you would like to nominate someone or nominate yourself, please send an email to APC and include a short biographical sketch. Please make sure you are a member of WAS APC first! Two of our APC past presidents are running for positions on the WAS Board, Graham Mair for WAS President-Elect Almost 150 participants from around the Philippines met in Angeles City for the 3rd AQUATECH: Aquaculture Expo and Convention. (Continued on page 14)
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