WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2018 5 U.S. Aquaculture Society As this will be my last column as President of the United States Aquaculture Society, I wanted to say thank you for the opportunity to serve the chapter. It has been a pleasure and quite a learning experience. I want to give special thanks to the executive board, who helped keep things on track, and to John Cooksey and his team for their tremendous efforts in planning and organizing our meetings. I hope that all who attended the Aquaculture America meeting in Las Vegas learned something new, made some new friends and had some fun along the way. The theme of the meeting this year was “Shaping the Future — Telling our Story”. Future growth of aquaculture in the U.S. (and around the world for that matter) depends on a supportive environment from the government and the public. Aquaculture critics and special interest groups have been very vocal and active in Washington, D.C. and have helped create an environment of misinformation and disinformation that has impeded aquaculture expansion. The USAS Board recognizes the need to engage in a public education initiative, starting with our lawmakers and those who enforce policy. As a validation of part of its mission, USAS plans to collaborate with the National Aquaculture Association (NAA), and possibly other organizations, to take our message to Washington, D.C. Another way to tell our story and to build a more aquaculture literate society is to start with our young people. USAS has formed an ad hoc committee to explore ways we can help schoolteachers use aquaculture as a teaching platform. The group’s current focus is to identify and catalog educational resources that are already in place to provide immediate benefit to students. If you know of resources that would be beneficial in this effort, please let me know so that we can add them to our list. The next step will be to identify any knowledge gaps and look for ways to bridge them. Rest assured that the chapter is in good hands with the incoming leadership. Your new president, David Straus, and other members of the executive committee are already hard at work to make the USAS an even more dynamic and effective organization. However, we must all do our part to support them, bring fresh ideas, participate in meetings and answer the call if asked to serve on a committee. Thank you again for allowing me to be a part of such a great organization. — David Cline, President CHAPTER REPORTS As mentioned in our last column, LACQUA17, our annual Latin American and Caribbean Aquaculture conference that took place in Mazatlán, Mexico last November was a great success. With participants from every corner of the American continent and visitors from Europe and Asia, the scientific world was well represented. Presentations were made that drew attention to the growing diversity of the aquaculture industry in the region. We still need to work hard on developing knowledge and technical information for local species with high social value and commercial potential, but the conference reinforced our position as an important contributor to the production of tilapia, shrimp, trout, freshwater crustaceans and marine fishes. The Steering Committee did an excellent job in complementing the participation of students, researchers and academia in general, with a diverse group of producers coming not only from Mexico, but also from various Central American countries, Colombia and Ecuador. One confirmation of this integration was the organization of a special session by the “Mexican Tilapia Network.” This international network allows for representatives of the Government, Academia and Private Sector to work together to help improve the operations of small- and medium-scale producers of tilapia. Another highlight of the conference was the awards ceremony. Each year, the Chapter recognizes key people who have made notable contributions to the development of aquaculture in the region. LACQUA17 presented this award to Dr. Alejandro Flores Nava and Dr. Carlos Martínez Palacios. Dr. Flores is originally from Veracruz, Mexico, with a formal training in aquaculture from the Technological Institute of the Sea of Veracruz and postgraduate studies at the University of Stirling, Scotland, specializing in limnological characterization of epicontinental water bodies for the development and planning of aquaculture projects. Upon his return in Mexico, Dr. Flores was active in promoting the culture of native cichlids, establishing the first commercial shrimp farm in the Yucatan peninsula and creating applied research programs in various academic institutions. In 2009, Dr. Flores joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), where he has been coordinator of the multidisciplinary team for South America, as well as a FAO Representative in Argentina and Chile. He currently serves as Senior Officer for Fisheries and Aquaculture for Latin America and the Caribbean, where he continues to help with the development of national plans and policies for the sustainable development of aquaculture and fisheries in the region and strengthen the capacities of producers through the promotion of training programs and access to markets outside their local communities. Dr. Martinez is a well-known aquaculture nutritionist with strong academic roots in Mexico. After graduating from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) with a B.Sc. in Biology and M.Sc. in Oceanography, Dr. Martínez obtained his Doctorate degree from the University of Stirling, Scotland. In 1999, he joined the University of Michoacana, where he spearheaded the Laboratory of Aquaculture and Nutrition for nearly 20 years. His Latin American and Caribbean Chapter (CONTINUED ON PAGE 72)
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