6 MARCH 2014 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG In Memoriam The U.S. aquaculture industry lost a great friend with the passing of Richard Nelson, who with his cousins Chris and Dana Nelson, operated Nelson & Sons, manufacturers of premium fish feeds in Murray and Tooele, Utah. Richard, or Dick to his family, spent his entire career working for Nelson & Sons, starting after he graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts degree (English Language and Literature, magna cum laude) until his retirement in 2012. Richard suffered a cardiac arrest while shoveling snow in his driveway on December 19. He was 60 years old and enjoyed excellent health prior to his death. Richard was more than well known in the U.S. aquaculture community; he was an influential player who was as active as anybody else in the field. He held leadership roles in a number of professional organizations, such as the U.S. Trout Farmer’s Association (Vice President), the National Aquaculture Association (Secretary) and the National Organic Aquaculture Working Group (Co-Chair), over a span of decades. Richard exerted his influence in a unique way. He was never a dominating or forceful advocate for a given position or side in a debate, but rather a thoughtful, eloquent and positive colleague who advanced discussions using logic to illuminate problems and possible solutions. He tended to take a holistic view rather than getting lost in the details. However he also knew the details. In short, he was someone who was gifted at getting a group to consensus using his knowledge and intellect, coupled with his calm demeanor. By the end of discussions, everyone was usually on his side and happy to be there. Richard’s personality and approach to life set the tone for the business practices of Nelson & Sons, especially in connection with relations with clients. He approached every issue assuming that fairness and reason would prevail, and a mutually-satisfactory resolution would be found. He was clear-headed in his business dealings but never cynical or dismissive of the motives or opinions of others. As a result, Nelson & Sons was always viewed as a market leader in the fish feed business. They were rightly perceived to be a quality company that made quality products. Richard was always interested in research, a fact that endeared him to fish nutrition researchers like me. Over the years, he served as an advisor to several working groups doing fish nutrition research for the Western Regional Aquaculture Center. He saw to it that we could obtain feed ingredients from Nelson & Sons for our research projects, even if it meant sending someone (maybe himself) out with a shovel and bag to collect a kilo or two of some ingredient from a large bin. He was always available to discuss our research ideas and to assist in designing feeding trials so that they would be relevant to the fish feed industry. No matter what was happening at the office, when we called he Richard Nelson (1953-2013) would calmly listen to our questions and openly discuss possible solutions. He never made people feel as if he did not have time to listen to them. On a personal note, conversations with Richard provided me with new and valuable insights that enhanced my research and my understanding of the ‘real world’ of fish nutrition. Although most of us in the aquaculture community called him Richard, we all considered him to be good friend and he made us feel we were part of his extended family. He will be greatly missed. — Ronald W. Hardy, University of Idaho Richard was a strong tireless advocate for domestic and international aquaculture. He gave of himself and his business (Nelson and Sons Silver Cup Feed). Profound, always precise and certainly pragmatic, Richard was an articulate and persuasive defender of aquaculture and the promise it has always offered. He recognized early that there was value in organic certification and served diligently in the effort to define organic aquaculture for domestic fish and shell fish farmers. He and the Nelson’s worked tirelessly in support of aquaculture development, particularly in the search for environmentally sustainable feed ingredients. He was a firm believer in the application of the scientific method to help foster technologic development in aquaculture. Yet, he recognized that trial and error were part of the process. He had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and seemed to welcome requests to track things down. He was often called “sleuth” as a consequence. Richard, on behalf of Silver Cup Feed, invested in various aquaculture associations, believing each had value for promoting aquaculture and helping it to thrive. He believed that education of policymakers and aquaculturists would be essential if aquaculture was to prosper in the US. As such, he and the Nelson’s were longterm financial supporters of various aquaculture associations including the National Aquaculture Association. Richard served many years as a board member and secretary of the NAA. He was always a keen advocate for all species and above all wanted to ensure the board fairly considered all sides of an issue. He was firm in his advocacy but always civil towards differing views. The richness and philosophical insight of Richard Nelson will be missed. — Randy MacMillan, Clear Springs Foods Richard Nelson was a strong and persistent driving force for organic aquaculture for many years. Richard participated in the first organic aquaculture workshop in 2000 at the University of Minnesota that began the process for establishing USDA standards for organic fish and shellfish. In 2004, Richard, along with Gary Jensen and me, co-founded the National Organic Aquaculture Working Group (NOAWG), an unofficial, ad hoc association of almost 100 aquaculturists interested in organic aquaculture. Over (CONTINUED ON PAGE 72)
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