4 JUNE 2014 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG The past few months have been very busy for all APC executive committee members. A lot has been happening to improve our system and to increase our visibility around the world. First, a lot of effort has been invested into creating a successful upcoming conference (World Aquaculture 2014) in Adelaide, Australia. We will have chapter board meetings before and after the event. We have also been working on preparations for World Aquaculture 2015, which will be held on Jeju Island, South Korea. For the APC meeting in 2016, we have chosen Indonesia to be the location. After careful consideration, we decided that Indonesia was the most suitable location for our 2016 conference because aquaculture is increasing rapidly in the country. In 2014, the Indonesian Fisheries Department estimates that shrimp production will reach 600,000 t, while Thailand continues to struggle with the impacts of EMS. In early May, we had a meeting in Indonesia CHAPTER REPORTS This This is my first column as President of USAS and I would like to kick off by thanking everyone who attended and made Aquaculture America (AA) 2014 in Seattle, WA such a success and so much fun! As always, it was great to see so many friends and familiar faces that I only get to see once a year at this event. I would also like to recognize the current USAS Executive Board and the WAS Home Office for their time, work and commitment to USAS and US aquaculture in general. These board members are working hard (all volunteer) for the USAS membership by finding ways to continually improve the value of USAS membership and make good on our commitment to provide a forum for the exchange of aquaculture information and sponsor meetings and workshops. Many thanks to each of you — great work! At the USAS board meeting in Seattle, we discussed several ways to promote membership. The Promotion and Membership Committee is working on ways to increase industry participation in USAS and become more engaged with regional aquaculture conferences and meetings. USAS was a sponsor of the 2014 North Central Regional Aquaculture Center (NCRAC) conference held in Toledo, OH and we want to continue and expand these conference sponsorships. The board is also exploring ideas for workshops offered in conjunction with the Aquaculture America conference in the years when the statistics course is not being offered. The board also discussed ways to increase support for students interested in aquaculture. As part of this effort, one USAS goal this year is to increase the number of student awards and the monetary value of each award. We aim to make awards as competitive as possible and meaningful in assisting students to offset travel and other related costs (~$1500) associated with attending an Aquaculture America conference. If you or your company is interested in sponsoring a student award please let me know as soon as possible. The student activities committee is also brainstorming ideas on ways to increase connections at Aquaculture America among students, vendors, professors and industry. How to successfully engage the power of social networking for USAS continues to stymie me — an undeniable sign that I may not be as hip as I think, or perhaps have too much going on! USAS students should be on the lookout for a survey on this topic — please provide feedback so that we can help create a forum that is exciting, interactive, informative and useful. Remember to check USAS out on AquacultureHub (www. aquaculturehub.org/page/usas). As the year moves along USAS is seeking nominations for officers and board members. We need nominations for President-Elect, Secretary/ Treasurer and two Member-at-Large positions. Nominees must be USAS members in good standing. If you would like more information on these positions or how to nominate someone, please contact me or visit the USAS website (www. was.org/USAS/); the bylaws are under the organization tab. Also, don’t forget about USAS’ professional achievement awards — Distinguished Service Award, Lifetime Achievement Award and Distinguished Early Career Award. Please get your nominations ready. As I write this column I am preparing for the WAS meeting in Adelaide, Australia. I am excited to represent USAS at this international meeting and revisit the country where I grew up. It’s always fun to look back — which reminds me, USAS will celebrate 25 YEARS in 2015! I cannot think of a better place than New Orleans to celebrate that milestone. Cheers! — Kathleen Hartman, President U.S. Aquaculture Society 2014 – 2015 USAS EXECUTIVE BOARD • President: Kathleen Hartman • President-Elect: Mike Denson • Vice-President: David Cline • Secretary/Treasurer: Reg Blaylock • Immediate Past-President: Kevin Hopkins • Members at Large: Steven Rawles, Chris Bentley, Luke Roy, Amy Stone • Student Liaison (ex-officio): Matthew Hawkyard • Student Apprentice (ex-officio): Jonathan Van Senten (CONTINUED ON PAGE 72) Asian Pacific Chapter
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