40 MARCH 2015 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG All ALCs need strong passionate leaders and in Tancol he is UTMarT’s Director de Vinculación, MC. Héctor Hugo Gójon Báez, who has been supported by Rector, Dr. Guadalupe Acosta Villarreal and Director Académico, MC. Tonatiuh Carrillo Lammens. Fresh water is in abundance at the Tancol site and, being an old water plant, there are some old but excellent, wellconstructed large tanks. Some are being used as is but others are being converted to smaller areas with sail cloth roof covering that will be used for research projects by students. Funding from the Mexican government has enabled the construction of a brand new education center that will accommodate 200 students. Unfortunately funds did not stretch far enough to finish the hatchery area. Efforts are being made now to find the extra resources to finish the hatchery and have it housed in a solidlyconstructed building. Through the assistance of Kevin Fitzsimmons (a former AwF President) and the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer Program, AwF volunteers Scott Lindell and Rick Karney visited Tamaulipas to conduct a survey of facilities, have discussions at UTMarT with staff and students, meet industry people and offer training on shellfish and microalgae aquaculture. This visit was followed up quickly by Daniel Herman and Imad Saoud, who looked at other aspects and challenges for the ALC. Oyster aquaculture is proposed to replace fishing methods currently used in Laguna Morales. It is a key ingredient to potential success of the plan. The early work done by AwF volunteers has paved the way for some excited fisherfolk as they can see a future for their oyster aquabusinesses with a sustainable model. At the end of 2014, we held a meeting at La Pesca to consider achievements and next steps. Additional actions will be taken during 2015. AwF has visited another potential site for an ALC in Sonora. We have had discussions with business people of the area and education institutions and perhaps this will result in AwF having operations on both sides of Mexico in the near future. AwF are also very excited about the prospects of two other ALCs. One is based in the United Kingdom and will be a major connection for our plans in Africa. The other, in Sarawak, Malaysia, could be our first in Asia. In Malaysia, AwF has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Association of International Seafood Professionals and the STEM States network, both of which are nonprofit associations incorporated in Australia. STEM States Global STEM States is a forum through which industry, associations, academia and government come together to develop science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and innovation. It is a grassroots movement, with a medley of nom-profit, academic, industry and government organizations entering into dialogue over the role STEM education plays in a State’s future human resource needs, and how this should be implemented. Upon launching in September 2013, five States took up full membership: Western Australia, USA (New York), Malaysia (Sarakwak) and Canada (Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia). The United Arab Emirates, China, India, Russia, Germany, South Africa, Tanzania and Brazil have also applied to become members at different levels. Through these associations, there is potential for AwF to have an impact in all those countries. The Aquaculture Borneo connection sees AwF possibly involved in working collaboratively on the formation of an ALC in Malaysia with the purpose of educating and training locals, and people from around the region and the establishment or introduction of aqua training programs within technical and vocational education and training and STEM education. The REFARM Project In the UK, AwF is involved in a project called Research and Education in Foods, Aquafoods and Renewable Materials (REFARM). The project is a partnership is among AwF, Global Biotechnology Transfer Foundation (GBTF) and Seafox Management Consultants Ltd (SMCL). The GBTF is an international, not-for-profit organization with the mission to promote awareness of the potential for biotechnology to support sustainable, long-term, socio-economic development. It aims to achieve its mission through education, demonstration and implementation. SMCL are consultants that work in the seafood industry. Additionally this business has a particular skill-set of accessing funding and grants for major capital projects. There are many aspects to this partnership but we want to link developed-world infrastructure with developing-world needs for education, training and technology transfer to develop grassroots entrepreneurs. At the same time the aim is to produce highly nutritious protein for local markets. The connection to biotech adds a dimension that is not currently happening on any major scale. Networks: Women and Gender, Schools and Students, Indigenous We are making an effort to broaden the base of AwF to maximize our reach and engage the participation of more people through networks. We have established a Women and Gender Network and have plans to establish a Schools and Students Network and an Indigenous Network. The AwF Women and Gender Network is intended to be a forum to bring together people and tools for meaningful change. The AwF Women and Gender network wants to connect women and men in new and diverse ways to find intelligent solutions for gender issues in aquaculture. The network has had an excellent start and some of the leadership were able to meet recently at GAF5 in Lucknow, India. Members of this network believe that there is insufficient awareness, information and action on gender issues in aquaculture. One network member, Chloe English, said “This deficit is not due to an absence of concerned people, or an absence of potential strategies and policies. As a woman passionate about aquaculture, I identify one key barrier to ‘change making’ is our capacity to A small hatchery in need of a building at the Aquaculture Learning Center in Tancol, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
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