WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • JUNE 2019 5 Achievement Award recognizing experts in the United States through research, education, extension and/ or industry development. This award recognized Les Torrans, James Tidwell and Craig Tucker for their long-term commitment and service to aquaculture. Professional award information can be found at: https://usaquaculture.org/professional-achievementawards. My hope is the USAS 2020 meeting will be even more positive and exciting. Board of Directors. The USAS 2019-2020 has an awesome Board of Directors including our incoming President-Elect Matt Parker, Secretary/Treasurer Kwamena Quagrainie and new Directors Lauren Jescovitch and Matt DiMaggio. Their first task was to populate their committees with some of the best talent within academia and the industry to further the workshops, webinars and educational goals of the chapter. They have all done a great job. Workshops and Webinars. Two workshops for Aquaculture 2020 in Honolulu, Hawaii on Aquaponics and Aquatic Animal Health are in development and planning is well underway. Three webinars are in line for development and hosting. These topics are based on the survey that went to members in 2018 and include Aquaculture Feeds, Local Foods and Aquaculture Products and Basic Recirculating Aquaculture Systems. Keep checking the USAS website for updates (https://usaquaculture.org/). Marketing. Collaborating with the USAS Past Presidents, we are looking at different ideas about continuing to work on a possible “coffee table book” or a media campaign about aquaculture activities in each state of the U.S. The goal is to change the perception of aquaculture by highlighting each state’s aquaculture industry, the species grown and the economic farm-gate value and multiplier in each state. The book would illustrate aquaculture facts throughout the US and include vibrant photos and statistics of the economic value and production and look to supporting other media marketing venues to educate consumers, representatives and legislators of the benefits of supporting and moving aquaculture forward. Discussions continue and we hope to complete this project next year in time for Aquaculture America 2020 in Honolulu. High-quality photos, information and economic information from your state or identification of a knowledgeable contact are much appreciated and can be forwarded directly to me. Education Initiative. A sub-committee has come together to identify key players, to include lawmakers, policymakers and decisionmakers in Washington, D.C., that could benefit from an educational symposium on aquaculture. This will include scientific information and farmer perspectives and will be presented to detail the industry as is, what it could become in the future, and what the value of aquaculture is in each state. This is still in the planning stages, but very exciting. We continue to work closely with the National Aquaculture Association (NAA) as legislation is introduced that will directly affect the industry to get the word out to members and to encourage comments and input. There have been great discussions and interest in some sort of U.S. Aquaculture Society Over the past 30+ years, I have seen aquaculture throughout the world change immensely. The growth of aquaculture has even surpassed cattle production worldwide in 2012 and is the fastest growing sector of agriculture today. More importantly, the recent growth now focuses on responsible production, sustainability, the environment, workers health and safety and the plants and animals. There is still much more to do to grow this industry in the US and create an environment where aquaculture is a common word, products are readily acceptable, raised sustainably, and healthy economies grow within the industry, all while growing high-quality protein sources locally and nationally. It is an exciting time to be involved in the aquaculture industry and even more to be in a position to assist on a national level to educate and participate in this fast-paced growth. Thank you to all USAS members who supported me in my effort to become President of our chapter. I’m honored to fill this role and serve the aquaculture community. In my shadow year as President-Elect, I realized the significant time and dedication the board members have committed to carrying out the work of the chapter. Dave Straus did a great job as President in keeping all Board Members on task and streamlining the Policy and Procedures to make future transitions seamless. He has left big shoes to fill and I thank him for all his hard work and guidance. When given the gavel, I was asked what my goals are for the next year. For me it was a turning point. Having been elected as President of USAS, it made me think deeply about the future of US aquaculture and the ways we can improve the image and quality. My response was to help change the negative perception of aquaculture and educate consumers of the positive attributes of US aquaculture, not only in the context of increasing production and availability of fish and seafood products, but to highlight the many species available for production, the environmental remediation potential, economic growth, job creation and the increase of high-quality protein availability through aquaculture and associated industries. My goal through networking, training and experience can foster further growth and achieve the goals of USAS through education and exchange of information from research for famers and students to continue to develop a stronger industry and more opportunities. This aligns with the USAS priority to maintain the good progressss that all members of the USAS board and committees have been working on: grow the membership (which reached 1252 for the 2019 New Orleans meeting, up from 896 in 2018) and increase student membership, participation and awards. We would also like to include awards for research in the social sciences pertaining to aquaculture, communities and gender. (Student awards information and applications can be found at: https://usaquaculture.org/studentawards.) We will achieve this in part by continuing to support growth and development of university sub-units, of which we have four active and two in development. The WAS triennial meeting with USAS was held in New Orleans in March of 2019. It was a great success with high attendance and 210 booths. One of the highlights was the Distinguished Lifetime CHAPTER REPORTS (CONTINUED ON PAGE 72)
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