4 MARCH 2013 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG In my final column as President of the United States Aquaculture Society, I ask that you think about the mission of the USAS and consider service to the Society in the future. The mission of the USAS is to provide a national forum for the timely exchange of information within the aquaculture community. To accomplish this mission, the U.S. Chapter sponsors and convenes workshops and meetings, fosters educational opportunities and disseminates aquaculture-related materials important to U.S. aquaculture development. To achieve these objectives requires an engaged membership and good leadership. We are fortunate to have dedicated and hard-working members who provide their time and talent to further the advancement of aquaculture in the United Sates. An engaged membership is the essence of any society. USAS President’s Report If you are interested, there are numerous opportunities available for service. The activities of the USAS are conducted through standing and ad hoc committees. The standing committees are chaired by the officers and executive board members, but may also include members of USAS in good standing. Ad hoc committees are established and disbanded as needed to address specific items as deemed appropriate to achieve USAS objectives. Service to the organization that represents the broad spectrum of those engaged in aquaculture— including academia, government, industry, and education— and is a fulfilling experience that satisfies a need within us to be involved and to demonstrate concern about the future sustainability of U.S. aquaculture. — Gary Fornshell, President Latin American and Caribbean Chapter President’s Report It is my pleasure to introduce two new members of the LACC Board of Directors: Dr. Antonio Garza de Yta (General Manager of CRM-Aquaculture Global, Mexico) and Dr. Marcelo Shei (CEO of Preamar Aquaculture and Aquatic Systems, Brazil), recently elected President-Elect and Director, respectively. Marcelo served the LACC previously as student delegate and was a very active collaborator. Antonio is just joining us now but has already demonstrated his enthusiasm to develop the Chapter’s activities. Both are welcomed to the LACC Board! The LACC Board of Directors proposed several changes to the bylaws and these were ratified by the membership during the election in November 2012. I would like to thank LACC members for their participation in the election and ratifying the changes. The new bylaws can be accessed at www.was.org/lacc/ estatutos.html. For several reasons related to the organization of elections, the term of the current Board of Directors was extended by almost one year. Although it was an unexpected and uncomfortable situation, we took the opportunity to make changes to the bylaws, ultimately extending the terms of officers for two years, following the approach adopted by other WAS chapters. We believe that one year is a very short time to perform a good job. Furthermore, the election process is time consuming, especially in our region, where communication among members is not always quick and efficient. New officers will now have two years to continue strengthening aquaculture in the LAC region and to develop the Chapter’s activities and strategies. The concept of Country Ambassador still needs to be implemented as well as a more aggressive plan to attract new members. Although we have made progress, we still need to conduct another election to renew other positions on the Board. Our Past-President, Juan Pablo Lazo, is now contacting the membership and calling for nominations for President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer and one Director. I hope that all LACC members will actively participate in the process, presenting their nominations and voting. This is my final President’s column and I would like to highlight the main activities of my term. Other than two elections, the LACC provided support for several national and international events and are committed to co-sponsor others in the region in the future. Mario Stael and John Cooksey are working with the Board to organize future LACC meetings, now named LACQUA, and represented by a new logo. Mario and Antonio Garza were recently in Colombia negotiating LACQUA 2013 as a joint meeting with the Fourth Latin American Conference on Native Fish Species. We have plans to rotate the event and hold it with partners in Brazil (2014), Ecuador (2015), Mexico (2016), Peru (2017), and Chile (2018). If you are organizing an event on aquaculture in the region, please contact us and we will gladly give our support to co-organize or disseminate the information. On a frustrating note, the 2013 LACC meeting that was planned in conjunction with the International Symposium of Mariculture (SIM 2013) in Rio de Janeiro was cancelled. The organizers of the symposium faced several difficulties in leveraging funds in Brazil and cancelled the event, at least temporarily. The funds received from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development-CNPq/Brazil to partially support SIM 2013 were returned. Therefore, the next LACC meeting will probably take place in Colombia. When we (CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
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