2 MARCH 2013 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG President’s Column This is my last column as President of the World Aquaculture Society. I want to take this opportunity to thank our Executive Director, John Cooksey, Carol Mendoza and Judy Andrasko in the Home Office, our outstanding Board of Directors, and many of our Past Presidents for their advice, support and efforts this year. I especially want to thank Ricardo Martino who will complete his term as Immediate Past President at Aquaculture 2013 in Nashville – his service, leadership and dedication to growing WAS membership in Brazil and around the globe have been an important contribution to the Society. I also thank Yoram Avnimelech and David Little for their service to WAS over the past three years. Yoram’s efforts to promote and expand membership in under-represented countries (especially India) and David’s efforts to identify new types of services for our membership are to be commended. In January, we completed the election for Treasurer and two new Board members who will take office at our annual meeting in Nashville. I congratulate Bill Daniels from Auburn University, who was reelected as Treasurer for a 2-year term, and our two new Directors, Roy Palmer from Seafood Experience Australia and Francisco Gomes from Novus Aquaculture, who will each serve a 3-year term on the WAS Board. Unfortunately, during the election one of the candidates for President-Elect, Dr. Mudnakudu Nandeesha, suffered a massive heart attack and due to complications, passed away in December. The other candidate declined to accept the President-Elect position because of the situation. As a result, the Board of Directors charged the Elections Committee to call for nominations and hold a special election for President-Elect of WAS. We have already received some excellent nominations and our goal is to complete the special election and install the new President-Elect by May 1, 2013. So, watch your e-mail for the Special Election Ballot and be sure to participate in this important election. The World Aquaculture Society and the Society of Aquaculture Professionals (SAP) have been exploring opportunities to expand membership and services in India for a number of years. WAS has had a long-standing Affiliation Agreement with the SAP, and has through the Asian Pacific Chapter (WASAPC) organized a conference, which was held in Kochi, India in 2011. WAS has sponsored two trips for the Chairman of the WAS Promotions and Membership Committee (Dr. Y. Avnimelech) to travel to India to meet with delegates from SAP and other society representatives to explore opportunities for expanded interactions between WAS and professional aquaculturists in India. The WAS-APC has established an Executive Advisory Council that includes two representatives from India and a Country Ambassador program for each country within its region. The Country Ambassador for India has not yet been appointed. In December 2012, I traveled to Mumbai and Mangalore, India to give presentations at the Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE) and at the Global Symposium on Aquatic Resources for Eradicating Hunger & Malnutrition — Opportunities and Challenges. Other WAS leaders traveled to this symposium and participated in meetings with our colleagues from SAP, CIFE, Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA), and the Inland Fisheries Society of India (IFSI). In Nashville, our Board will review the recommendations from our Promotions and Membership Committee and determine the next steps to engage our colleagues and expand WAS membership in India. At the invitation of Dr. Nandeesha, Chairman of Asian Fisheries Society (AFS) Indian Branch and WAS Fellow, I attended the Global Symposium on Aquatic Resources for Eradicating Hunger & Malnutrition – Opportunities and Challenges, which took place in Mangalore, India from December 4-6 and presented a paper on Obesity and Hunger in America: Opportunities and Challenges for Aquaculture. Unfortunately a few days before the meeting, Dr. Nandeesha suffered a major heart attack and was hospitalized in Chennai. The program included with four keynote addresses by leaders in aquaculture and fisheries, such as Dr. Meryl Williams, formerly of the WorldFish Centre in Australia, Mr. Jiansan Jia from FAO, Dr. Shakuntala Thilsted from the WorldFish Centre in Bangladesh and Mr. Roy Palmer from Seafood Experience in Australia. Topics ranged from gender bias in aquaculture, fisheries (CONTINUED ON PAGE 72) Society 2 President’s Column 3 Editor’s Note 4 USAS President’s Report 4 Latin American and Caribbean Chapter President’s Report 5 Korean Chapter News 6 Asian Pacific Chapter Update 7 In Memoriam 69 Calendar 72 Advertisers’ Index 72 Membership Application Contents (continued)
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