World Aquaculture December 2018

36 DECEMBER 2018 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S.ORG I was, from a tiny town in Alabama, sitting on a big stage in Beijing with the Minister of Agriculture of China. Wow, my mom would be proud. However, one of the lowest points of my Presidency occurred on that same trip. The Chinese Fisheries Society had fronted some money for the meeting and they had me and Craig Browdy in a basement dining room demanding we reimburse them a six-figure dollar number! Yikes! The highest highs and the lowest lows can be so close together. Probably my biggest education came in the form of responding to criticisms of aquaculture from several different directions. A couple of papers were published talking about fishmeal use, destruction of mangroves, and other environmental criticisms of aquaculture. WAS is not an advocacy group. It is intended to be a source of unbiased research-based information. Geoff Allan and I were tasked with formulating a fact-based response to many of the criticisms. This process gave me a much broader education in aquaculture and a better grasp of it as a world-wide industry. We put together a paper that was published in EMBO Reports (Fish as Food: Aquaculture’s Contribution). The journal told me later that they had more requests for the “fish paper” than any other paper they had published. Based on what I learned in the process I penned a President’s Column in World Aquaculture magazine titled “White Hats and Black Hats” that attempted to illustrate how “good guys” and “bad guys” are often a matter of perception and perceptions can be stronger than facts. I learned how some of the “Environmental Groups” have a rotating list of “bad guys,” spend >90 percent of their resources on fundraising, and have mastered writing off fund-raising literature as “educational.” I also learned that a couple of our top scientific journals are not refereed journals at all. They publish what an Editorial Board says to publish, without necessarily going out for any peer review. Another column I wrote was a call to the membership. Some members complained about seeing the same faces around for long periods in the same or different roles. They described these long-serving officers as takers not givers. As I considered that, I thought back to the lonely days described in the first paragraph. My challenge then as now was: you can fix that. Get involved, volunteer, run for office, serve. Craig Browdy, 2002-2003 As president of WAS, my tenure started with an exciting annual meeting in China. The leadership of the Society was working hard at the time to reach out to the home of aquaculture, the largest producing country in the world and to the industry in Asia. As a result of these efforts and a lot of work over the ensuing decade, we now have a growing active Asian Pacific Chapter and many members throughout the region. The China meeting was also quite a learning experience for the steering committee on the complexities of organizing meetings in places so different from the Western models we were used to. From budgets to programming, the meeting was full of surprises and a great learning experience. In 2002, we were continuing to experience the fallout from the Naylor article on aquaculture’s use of marine proteins and NGO criticism of 20th century excesses during the rapid expansion of commercial aquaculture. The Society and its publications focused on delivering accurate and timely information, one of the most powerful tools to build consensus on the actual scope of issues and on scientific work upon which best practices have been based. The Society and its leaders played a significant role in getting the word out on the tremendous importance and benefits of aquaculture to humankind while providing tools to reinforce efforts to maintain sustainability and responsibility. The year ended at what is still considered by some to be one of the most successful WAS meetings ever organized in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. At the time, aquaculture was booming locally, enabling investment in the meeting. The Society took full advantage of the opportunity and the platform to roll out a powerful program in support of Brazil’s tremendous aquaculture potential, while recognizing the importance and fragility of their tropical ecosystems. One of the proudest moments of my presidency was having the opportunity to address the distinguished gathering at the conference opening and the more than 2,000 students that attended the conference from every part of the country (some riding as much as 48 hours by bus). What would WAS be without mixing in some fun, good food, excitement and friendships, with the President’s Reception providing all of the above. Since the WAS meeting in Brazil in 2003, through ups and downs, the Society’s efforts have most certainly provided a scientific basis and inspiration for the amazing array of business, science and technology that make up Brazil’s thriving aquaculture industry. Geoff Allan, 2003-2004 I want to share my thoughts about “achievements” with WAS by dividing these into three categories of benefits: to aquaculture, to WAS and to me. All three categories are important, especially to me, and all three are linked. Firstly, the benefits to aquaculture. This is the overarching purpose of our Society and one we deliver through information and technology exchange. When I started my career in aquaculture in 1982, accurate science-based information on the new science of aquaculture was hard to find. Harder still was meeting professionals, scientists, managers, farmers and equipment suppliers. Times have WAS Past-Presidents at Aquaculture 2001 in Orlando, FL. From left to right, Joseph Tomasso, James H. Tidwell, Thomas Losordo, Robert R. Stickney, Kenneth Chew, George Lockwood, Meryl C. Broussard, Patrick Sorgeloos, Louis R. D’Abramo, William Hershberger and Michael B. New.