WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • JUNE 2015 7 • Tyson Foods Best Abstract Award to James Hill (UNCWilmington). • Joint USAS/AFS Fish Culture Section Travel Award to Paula Caldentey (Mote Marine Laboratory). • Pentair Recirculating Aquaculture Award to Lisa Bott (Auburn). • RAS Yellowbook Student Travel Awards to Kailey James (ISU) and Evelyn Willmon (Auburn). • Soy Aquaculture Alliance Travel Awards to Megan Kemski (OSU) and Artur Nishioka Rombenso (SIU). Other Student Award Winners • USAS Best Oral Presentation to Hisham Abdelrahman (Auburn) and Waldemar Rossi (Texas A&M). Hisham Abdelrahman went on to compete in the Alltech Young Scientist Program and came in third in the North American Regional competition. • USAS Best Poster Presentation to Timothy J. Bruce (South Dakota State University) and Zachary A. Kupchinsky (KSU). • Sea Grant Best Paper to Sergio Castillo (Texas A&M). This quarter, disease outbreaks are still the serious issue facing shrimp farmers. WSSV infections have significantly affected cultured shrimp in Brazil and Indonesia. Some big farms have had serious outbreaks and WSSV has spread. India has been seriously impacted by a new bacterial disease called “White Patch Disease” (WPD), which begins gradually and then quickly results in mortalities of more than 70 percent within 3-5 days. Indian researchers have identified a rod-shaped bacterium (Bacillus cereus) to be the cause of WPD. In working on APA 2016 in Surabaya, Indonesia, we have great support from the government and the private sector. The training program in Iran for Advances in Shrimp Farming went well and we are now trying to finalize a regional aquaculture show in Tehran, Iran, in December of this year. We have new Board members of APC arriving and a few leaving. I would like to say thanks to Wayan and Lukas for their support sand welcome new board members Allen Wu and Dr. Felix. — Farshad Shishehchian, President Asian Pacific Chapter CHAPTER REPORTS World Aquaculture 2015 took place from May 26-30 in Jeju, Korea, which became the global capital of aquaculture for a short period of time. I have always been amazed at how well organized the Koreans are and I would like to congratulate Charles Bai and his team for surprising us, in every sense of the word. Korea is a country that, in addition to being one of the most futuristic and advanced in the world, still keeps its typical warmth and tradition. The Latin American and the Caribbean region has special ties with Korea and I am sure that any of our members who attended the meeting felt more than welcome in the lovely paradise of Jeju. The conference was an opportunity to exchange professional experiences with extremely well-prepared scientists who are always willing to share their work and looking for international collaborations. Korea allowed the world to appreciate the modern technologies that are being applied to aquaculture in the country and expose participants to the long tradition of its exquisite seafood cuisine. Korea amazed us with its technology and beauty and the result was a historical event. Specifically on LACC affairs, I would like to remind our membership that we will be holding an election prior to our next LACQUA event. We will be electing a president-elect, treasurer and one director of the board, as well as voting on some changes to our bylaws. Please contact our LACC office (lacc@was.org) to nominate a friend or yourself to any of these positions for the next term. I encourage all members to participate more actively in the Chapter and continue to help develop aquaculture in the region. It has been a great experience for me and I have learned tremendously from all members of the current board. The amount of effort and dedication that the Board has put in to making things happen in recent years is really inspiring. I am sure that the new members will join us and keep the energy high during the years to come. Again a short reminder to mark your calendars: LACQUA 15 is just around the corner. This year LACQUA will take place in the Convention Center of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, from 16-19 November in coordination with FENACAM 2015. This event will close our first three-year cycle of conferences. It is most probable that we will start our second three-year cycle holding LACQUA 16 in Peru and continue consolidating LACQUA as the bestquality aquaculture event in the region. Do not forget to join us in Ceará. For any further information please consult www.was.org or www.was.org/lacc. We look forward to receiving your abstracts, attending your talks and exchanging our experiences soon. — Antonio Garza de Yta, President Latin American and Caribbean Chapter
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