World Aquaculture Magazine - June 2021

WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • JUNE 2021 11 of Aquaculture in 2022. Take a minute right now to jump online (www.agcounts.usda.gov/static/get- counted.html ) and sign up to ensure you are counted in the 2022 census. As an anecdote to highlight the disconnect between industry and official statistics, Bob Rheault pointed out recently in an email to members of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association that shellfish growers on the east coast were undercounted by almost half. No doubt other sectors of the aquaculture industry are just as under-counted as this group. Without accurate information on what our industry really looks like, the federal government will not be able to provide adequate support when we need it next. As we begin to emerge from lockdowns and look to the future, we need to recognize that change is happening every day, all around us —personally, professionally and industry-wide. As much as I dislike overuse of the phrase ‘the new normal,’ this concept is really spot on. Our world has been changed in dramatic ways. Nowwe are faced with an opportunity: we can learn from the past and choose what our future will look like or we can cling to what was in hopes it still works. I don’t have the wisdom to describe what is best for you, but I am of the opinion that we should take this opportunity to reflect. Let’s build U.S. Aquaculture Society A s I write this note, I am pleased to say that there is much to be appreciative of —COVID-19 case numbers are coming down, and vaccinations are widely available for those who want them. As much as I wish I could, I dare not say that we are ‘post-pandemic’ yet. Regardless, we can start to look forward to brighter days ahead. I am optimistic that, as states lift their restrictions on indoor dining and other in-person activities, demand will return for our domestic farmed seafood. In my last President’s Column, I mentioned a few specific programs that have been trying to soften the blow that closing the economy has had on many of our growers. These programs were well received and much appreciated by all who benefitted from them, even if they did not fill the void completely. Thankfully, there have since been a few additional programs that have been introduced or modified to better support aquaculture, including the USDA’s Emergency Livestock, Honey-Bees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP), which is a disaster assistance program. I say all of this not to tout the benefits of any specific programs, although there are many, but as a segue to remind you of the importance of standing up and being counted. The USDANational Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will be doing its next Census C H A P T E R R E P O R T S ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 2 0 )