6 JUNE 2015 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG Lifetime Achievement Award to Douglas Drennan In an emotional moment during the plenary at Aquaculture America, USAS President Kathleen Hartman presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Douglas Drennan, accepted by Catherine, Doug’s widow, and their three children, to extended applause and a standing ovation from the assembly. Douglas received a Master’s degree from Mississippi State University, worked as the aquaculture specialist for Mississippi Delta Community College and then for the Civil Engineering Aquatic Systems Laboratory at Louisiana State University. In 1995, he founded Aquaculture Systems Technologies, LLC. Until the time of his death, he served as Managing Member and President of Aquaculture Systems Technologies, LLC and as General Manager of Aquaculture Supply, LLC. He had a longterm commitment to the aquaculture industry, especially on the suppliers’ side. He promoted aquaculture as a teaching tool to secondary and vocational schools and worked closely with several schools in the New Orleans area. He authored several peer-reviewed publications and numerous conference papers and presented scientific papers at national and international conferences. He had been a member of WAS since 1987 and served as Vice-President of the U.S. Aquaculture Society in 2002, Director in 2003 and 2004 and became President-Elect in 2008, President in 2009 and Immediate Past-President in 2010. Since then, he served as an industry liaison and coordinated student trips at the annual meetings. He was also a member of the American Tilapia Association and the Aquacultural Engineering Society. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the U.S. Aquaculture Suppliers Association in 1997 and was serving his final year as President of that organization at the time of his untimely passing. In 1998, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Aquaculture Association and was serving his second term on the board when he died. As a member of the NAA board of directors, he twice served as chairman of the Auction Committee and was the chairman of the Research and Product Development Committee. He also served as a member of the WAS Long Range Planning Committee from 1999 until his passing. Distinguished Achievement Award to Leslie Sturmer Few people in fisheries and aquaculture can lay claim to fundamentally changing a community for the better the way that Leslie has in Cedar Key, Florida. In less than 20 years, a diverse team led by Leslie saved the small fishing village of Cedar Key from economic depression caused by closure of the traditional gill net fishery. She did this by working with the community and government to develop the state’s clam farming industry. Clam farming is now Florida’s most lucrative marine aquaculture industry, with a statewide economic impact of about $53 million. Cedar Key produces more than 90 percent of the state’s total clam crop, with an annual farm gate value of $17.8 million. The industry now grows about 175 million clams per year and provides the Cedar Key area with more than 550 jobs. Leslie routinely deals with a diverse industry (more than 250 shellfish growers, 10 seed suppliers, 50 shellfish wholesalers and numerous related businesses) in more than 14 counties along Florida’s coast. She works closely with the Cedar Key Aquaculture Association, the Statewide Clam Aquaculture Task Force and several professional associations, including as an ex officio member of the Board of Directors of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association. Early Career Achievement Award for Chris Green Chris Green joined the LSU AgCenter Aquaculture Research Station about six years ago with a focus on physiology and related aspects of aquaculture science. To date, he has 26 peer-reviewed articles published or in press, 6 book chapters, 5 popular or extension publications and over 66 presentations at professional conferences. Chris has directed four graduate students and has been successful in obtaining funding to build his research program. He has contributed significant time to support professional organizations such as the USAS, for which he served as Conference Program Chair in 2010 and 2011. He has organized six professional meetings or symposia in recent years and has served on the WAS Student Activities Committee since 2007. Student Spotlight Awards Three students received travel awards from USAS for best abstract and then competed for a Spotlight Award by making a short oral presentation at the opening plenary session. The Spotlight Award winner was Haitham Mohammed from Auburn University, Alabama. His presentation was titled “Efficacy of Black Seed Nigella sativa and its Oil Extract Against Columnaris Disease.” Another Spotlight Award presenter was Julieann Jacobs from University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, who made a presentation on “The Use of Paracoccus pantotrophus to Reduce Hydrogen Sulfide Concentrations in Commercial Golden Shiner Notemigonus crysoleucas Ponds in Arkansas.” Stephen G. Stowell from the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Environmental Science, SUNY-Cobleskill was the third Spotlight Award winner, presenting “Alternate Day Feeding: An Effective Strategy for Producing Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis Stockers.” USAS Awards at Aquaculture America in New Orleans USAS Spotlight Award Winners. From left, USAS President Kathleen Hartman, Julieann Jacobs, Stephen Stowell, Haitham Mohammed and USAS Vice-President David Cline.
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