World Aquaculture March 2019

12 MARCH 2019 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S.ORG as springboards to promote and cement our position on the continent. We cannot thank enough the generous gesture expressed by our founding supporters, chiefly the government of South Africa, the NEPADAgency. It is our hope that AllerAqua, the Chapter’s founding Gold Sponsor, will begin supporting some of the Chapter’s continental activities for the next three years. The door is wide open for other partners and collaborators fromwithin Africa – come on in and let’s strive to build a strong aquaculture sector in Africa together! We eagerly anticipate the opening of our Secretariat Office at the NEPADAgency inMidrand, South Africa during the first quarter of 2019. Other activities in the pipeline this year include improved commu- nication with our members through various media platforms, including social media, and a membership recruitment drive, including the design- ing of effective membership administration systems and mechanisms within Africa that are linked to theWAS Home Office. We also wish to develop a database of aquaculture producers, industry players, experts, service providers etc. We believe such a database will be useful in many ways in our future plans– don’t get left out! Send us your details today. Of course, all the above growth efforts and initiatives will require continuous team building. Remember, we are presently operating under an InterimBoard. In this regard and in an effort to strengthen our Chapter’s governance structures and take us to another level, a permanent Board of Directors will be elected before August 2019. We have begun the process of nominating a slate of candidates to be on this Board. With assistance fromWAS Board, its election systems and standards, we will strive to make this process more transparent, democratic and inclusive – recognizing that Africa has 55 countries spanning more than five regions, within a mix of largely of Francophone and Anglophone nations. We also expect to have African regional directors who will serve as our regional focal points. I would like to urge and remind all African aquaculture players and those from outside Africa with an interest in developing aquaculture in Africa to register as a member of WAS or to renew your memberships and enjoy many of the benefits in store. On the registration portal, do not forget to choose “African Chapter” as the Chapter of choice. Lastly, I wish to personally thank everyone who, through their dedication and support, has had a hand in our continued efforts to get the Chapter on a good footing. Our talented, hard-working Interim Board and Steering Committee teams, our incredible supporters who have invested in us, our advisors, theWAS Board and EXCOM, and of course all our African members and partners. We would not be where we are today without each and every one of you and I can’t wait to see what we will achieve together in 2019! I am looking forward to meeting some of you at the upcoming Aquaculture 2019 conference in NewOrleans, USA. —Sherif Sadek, Interim President by arranging the technical program of the event. Their immense contribution helped us reach the major institutions at the national and international level. There are eighteen major sessions covering the major aspects of finfish and shellfish aquaculture globally. The second Steering Committee meeting was organized in December in Chennai to make decisions on the technical program and logistical arrangements for the conference. The steering committee of the conference includes the Directors and Deans of Central Fisheries Institutes and universities, adding value to the conference by involving Indian fisheries and aquaculture professionals. We are expecting participation from representatives of more than 75 countries, with the offer to register the conference using early-bird rates. The Twelfth International Symposium on Tilapia in Aquaculture (ISTA) will be held with APA19, so submit your full-length research article for publication. The Society of Aquaculture Professionals of India, a major professional network in the country, is also organizing a one-day session on shrimp. Farm tours to shrimp and fish farms are planned for delegates to get exposed to Indian aquaculture practices. A part of WAS 50th anniversary celebration will be held in Chennai and it brings us immense pleasure to invite all the national and international stakeholders, scientists, scholars and students to take part in the APA19. To bring up the young professional network we will have a separate student reception that will be organized by our student director during the event. Many awards for the best paper and poster presentations for the student abstracts will be sponsored by the Asian Pacific Chapter. To reach out the young women scientists in aquaculture, we offer travel awards for women working in aquaculture. We’re delighted to hold this international conference in India, particularly in Chennai for the first time. On behalf of the APC Board and organizers I extend a hearty invitation to all friends of the APC to attend Asian Pacific Aquaculture 2019! —S. Felix, President C H A P T E R R E P O R T S Afr ica Chap t er , continued from page 10 As i an Paci f ic Chap t er , continued from page 10 resources and fish biodiversity; therefore, initiatives such as the ICAR- AQUA 2019 certainly will contribute to promote the activity in the country and in Africa. Closing this column and my presidential term, I would like to say that, although it has been only seven months, several achievements have been fulfilled, detailed in my previous column. However, as emphasized by several Past-Presidents, accomplishments are the Pres ident, continued from page 2 result of efforts that started in previous administrations. Likewise, the current board has started initiatives that will be followed-up during the presidential terms that follow. I wish Jimmy Avery success in his presidential period. Here I take leave as President of WAS and take on the position of Immediate Past-president, joining the honorable group of Past-Presidents of theWorld Aquaculture Society. —Maria Célia Portella, Immediate Past-President