WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • JUNE 2017 7 CHAPTER REPORTS I am happy to report that in the recent WAS election our very own LACC past president, Prof. Maria Celia Portella from Brazil was elected to be the incoming President-elect of WAS. Also, Dr. Humberto Villareal from Mexico was elected as a WAS Director. Maria Celia and Humberto are two of the most highly regarded aquaculture academics in Latin America and they represent a tribute to the relevance of our Chapter and to the international nature of WAS. I am sure they will make many positive contributions to our Society and our Chapter. Please join me at congratulating them for their election. LACC will soon also have elections. This year we will be electing a new President, Treasurer, and one Director. Please forward nominees for those posts to Past-President Antonio Garza (agarza@crm-agc.com) by August because the election needs to be to be finalized by October, ahead of our upcoming LACQUA17 Mazatlán conference. Our chapter operates thanks to a system based on the enthusiastic work of its officers, directors, committee members, secretariat, home office staff, and involved members. Board members work on a voluntary basis and have regular and demanding jobs. Serving on the board represents a significant commitment of time and effort for which I thank our esteemed present and future board members. As I write these lines I am finishing preparations to attend World Aquaculture 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa, scheduled for June 26-30. As you know this will be the first such conference in Africca and will involve countries throughout the continent and around the world. The convention is a culmination of efforts started during my term as WAS President in 2009 with the establishment of an agreement of affiliation with the Aquaculture Association of South Africa. This conference constitutes a further step towards internationalization of our society and towards the broader participation of WAS in Africa. Aquaculture is rapidly growing in Africa and is increasingly being integrated into the continent’s food systems. Celebrating our conference there highlights the great potential that aquaculture holds for improving food security. I hope to see many of you in Cape Town and I am sure the conference will be a great success. Another interesting conference will take place later this year. We are well-advanced with preparations for our Latin American and Caribbean Aquaculture convention, LACQUA17, scheduled for November 8-10, in Mazatlán, Mexico. This convention is attracting a lot of attention because of the beautiful beach destination, excellent convention facilities, and high quality and relevance of the program. I hear most of the trade show booths have been already sold and registration is now open at the WAS website. Please register early to secure a place. There will be a robust producer’s program and we are trying a few innovative things for this convention. While in Mazatlán take the opportunity to tour the extensive shrimp hatchery and farming operations around the area. At the membership meeting during the Mazatlán convention, I will be passing the LACC presidency torch to now President-elect, Prof. Luis Andre Sampaio from Brazil. On the topic of conferences, the board of LACC recently approved motions to pursue negotiations and planning for future annual conferences, LACQUA18 and LACQUA19 in Bogotá, Colombia and San José, Costa Rica, respectively. We will keep you informed of progress on these exciting venues, as well as to longer-term planning for possible conferences in Chile and in the Caribbean in the years to come. I want to finish by reminding members to visit our updated website: www.was.org/LACC/en/portal.aspx, and by reminding you that World Aquaculture magazine is translated to Spanish and available to members free of charge at the site. Also, all members are encouraged to submit appropriate website content (news, reports, book or journal article reviews, etc.) by contacting our LACC secretariat at lacc@was.org. Very best to everyone! — Lorenzo Juarez, President Latin American and Caribbean Chapter Trust us to share your unique products across the globe! Gainesville, FL USA • 352-377-0133 • www.qcsinfo.org for the global organic and ethical marketplace We o er third-party certi ications or: • Organic European Union & Canada • QCS Organic Private Standard • GLOBALG.A.P. IFA-Aquaculture (GFSI recognized) • Friend of the Sea Add-On (FoS) • Compound Feed Manufacturing (CFM) • GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP) • QCS Aquaponics Private Standard • BRC / IFS (GFSI recognized) • ISO 9000 / ISO 14000
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