WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2017 11 Professional Achievement Awards at Aquaculture America Distinguished Early Career Award Benjamin H. Beck, Ph.D. Ben Beck is currently the Research Leader of the USDA-ARS Aquatic Animal Health Research Unit in Auburn, AL. His research has elegantly combined basic and applied approaches to better understand and exploit the intersection of genetics, nutrition, and the environment in aquaculture. Dr. Beck’s work has led to several new practical approaches for fish health management currently being utilized by commercial producers. He is a broadly-trained cross-disciplinary scientist with the desire to apply advances in biotechnology to real-world aquaculture problems. Distinguished Early Career Award Rafael Cuevas Uribe, Ph.D. The spectrum of his innovative scientific research is very wide. For his doctoral work at LSU, he completed studies on the preservation of germplasm resources for aquatic species through sperm cryopreservation. At Kentucky State University, Rafael did applied research on reservoir ranching and an integrated approach for sustainable aquaculture production with the use of reclaimed water from rural communities. He is now an Assistant Professor at Humboldt State University, where he teaches four courses with enrollments of many as 70 students. Last year, one of his students, James Schwartz, received the 2016 USAS Best Abstract Award. Distinguished Service Award Reg Blaylock, Ph.D. Reg Blaylock has been with the Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center at the University of Southern Mississippi since 1999 and is now Assistant Director. He served on the Board of USAS for six years and developed a long-term financial plan to ensure the sustainability of the Society that provides financial security and allows us to realize our mission of supporting member benefits, increasing student travel awards, and implementing education and training classes at our annual meetings. Dr. Blaylock has also served many roles at annual USAS conferences over the years. Reg was the person that the Board looked to for critical insight derived from long-term experience with both the Society and industry. Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award Sebastian Belle After beginning his career working on an offshore lobster boat, Sebastian Belle now holds the position of Executive Director of the Maine Aquaculture Association. He holds degrees in fisheries biology and agricultural economics. Mr. Belle was project manager of the Bluefin Tuna Project at the New England Aquarium in Boston. Before joining the aquarium, Sebastian was operations manager for Connors Aquaculture Inc. in Eastport, Maine, one of the largest Atlantic salmon farms in the United States. He served as a technical consultant on over 20 major commercial aquaculture ventures for investment groups in Europe, and North and South America. Before returning to North America in 1989, he spent four years managing a commercialscale aquaculture research and development foundation in Norway. Sebastian has served as the state aquaculture coordinator, working for the Maine Department of Marine Resources. He also has his own consulting firm and works with another firm specializing in aquaculture farm management, financial due diligence, and risk analysis and control. He has also worked with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Coalition for US Seafood Production, the International Salmon Farmers Association, the World Wildlife Federation’s Salmon Dialogues, the National Organic Standards Board, the Soy Aquaculture Alliance, the USDA Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center and the Working Waterfront Coalition. He more recently worked with the Maine Legislature and Department of Marine Resources to create the regulatory rules to allow for seaweed farming in Maine. There are now six commercial kelp farms in Maine and two in Massachusetts, creating jobs in coastal communities, a direct result of Sebastian’s hard work on the industry’s behalf. Douglas Drennan II Industry Leadership Award Mike Freeze Mike’s formal education includes a BS from Arkansas Tech in Fisheries and Wildlife management and an MS in Biology from Murray State University. After a stint with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (1977-1983), he formed Keo Fish Farms with two partners in 1986. Keo was the first farm to develop a commercial program to produce triploid grass carp with the primary purpose of aquatic vegetation control. Today, the company is the largest producer of hybrid striped bass fingerlings in the world. Mike is energetic and generous, reflected in his numerous volunteer roles with various grower groups, national and state government committees, and the advisory committee for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Mike has been a staunch supporter of research, extension, and education. Mike repeatedly takes his personal time to talk with students and help them understand what it takes to run a successful aquaculture business, a contribution to student development that alone merits recognition. Mike has also accommodated numerous research projects on his farm, despite the inconveniences and disruptions. Mike has an undeniable and unflappable commitment to U.S. aquaculture. Mike’s tireless efforts have played a large role in the growth of the domestic aquaculture industry. His effective communication style that puts complex issues into understandable terms has gained him trust of fellow farmers. He is willing to talk to farmers about their issues and help any way that he can. This award has been established to honor the memory of one of the hardest working members of the U.S. Aquaculture Society, who like Mike also volunteered an inordinate amount of his time and personal resources to help others. Mike Freeze exemplifies the type of outstanding person in the U.S. aquaculture industry and community for which the Douglas Drennan II Industry Leadership Award was established to honor.
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