16 JUNE 2018 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG This issue’s selected research publication from the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society is “Locally Grown Oysters in Hawai’i: Chef Preference and Local Premium?” The authors are Jessie Q. Chen, Maria C. Haws, Quentin S.W. Fong, and PingSun Leung. Consumers across the world have demonstrated increased interest in returning to locally grown food products. There has been a resurgence in farmers’ markets that provides an opportunity for shoppers to talk directly with the farmers who raise the produce that they are purchasing. In some areas, community-based agriculture programs have attempted to connect farmers with consumers who desire locally grown product. However, locally grown food may be accompanied by greater costs of production, and there has been little work done to ascertain whether buyers are willing to pay premium prices for locally grown aquaculture products. Hawai’i presents an interesting study area to address this question in that oysters sold in the state have been imported for many years. The local supply of oysters to restaurants in Hawai’i dates back only to 2014. In this study, the authors estimated Recent Research Highlight from the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society willingness to pay for locally grown oysters. The analysis was based on data collected from restaurant chefs using a survey questionnaire that examined preferences for various attributes of the oysters that they purchase and serve to restaurant patrons. The questionnaire was followed with a choice experiment to further explore trade-offs among key attributes that included price, consistency of supply, freshness, and location of the growing area. Results provide support for greater prices for fresh, locally grown oysters. Frozen, imported oysters were found to be less desirable than fresh, locally grown oysters by the restaurant chefs who participated in the study. The price premium for fresh, locally grown oysters was estimated to be $5.25 per dozen oysters. The authors further recommended labeling oysters as locally grown as a potentially effective marketing strategy. This paper can be found in the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society volume 48(6):972-980, available as Open Access at onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jwas.12430, or under Publications at www.was.org. — Carole Engle, Executive Editor, JWAS The Editorial Board of the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society is pleased to announce the Outstanding Reviewers for the 2017 volume (48) of the journal. Congratulations go to Dr. Seunghan Lee, Pukyong National University, Busan, Republic of Korea; Dr. Brian Peterson, National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Research Center, USDA-Agricultural Research Service; Dr. Wenbing Zhang, Ocean University of China, China; and Professor Shaojun Liu, of Hunan Normal University, China. Dr. Seunghan Lee: “First of all, it was an honor for me to be a reviewer for the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. By reviewing papers in my field, I have been growing professionally by updating my knowledge in the field. It also is helpful for me, in further developing research topics or approaches, to be aware of the latest research before it is published.” Dr. Brian Peterson: “The benefits of serving as a reviewer for the journal are that you get to keep up to date with current research Announcing the 2017 Outstanding Reviewers for the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society in your field and your input benefits the scientific community at large. Providing insight towards the acceptance of a manuscript oftentimes highlights important findings, adds valuable information to the discussion, and makes the manuscript clearer to readers. Everyone should consider serving as a reviewer when called upon to do so. “ Professor Shaojun Liu: “I feel very much honored to serve as reviewer for the journal. Through the communication platform provided by the journal, my research insights have been broadened. Meanwhile, I can obtain more information from the research hotspots of world aquaculture.” 2017 Best Paper Awards of the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society The Editorial Board of the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society (JWAS) is pleased to announce the 2017 Best Paper (CONTINUED ON PAGE 18) Dr. Seunghan Lee Dr. Brian Peterson Professor Shaojun Liu
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