World Aquaculture December 2020

WWW.WA S.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • DECEMBER 2020 15 H ave you ever had that feeling of excited anticipation of meeting, visiting, or working with a certain individual, a person who you admire? An individual who would always engender personal feelings of comfort in his/her presence with a corresponding desire to engage? LeRoy Creswell was that person. He had those special personality traits that would ‘beckon you.’ Sadly, opportunities to personally engage with LeRoy will no longer be, but memories of him and the impact that he made will live on in us and through the legacy he established. LeRoy passed away on October 27, 2020, after a prolonged bout with cancer, ever stating that he was going to beat it, while also proclaiming that he was so proud of his family and thoroughly satisfied about what he was able to accomplish during his professional career. So many of us in the fisheries and aquaculture communities have been significantly influenced and, in some cases, ‘transformed’ for the better through our interactions with LeRoy. He had a career that spanned 40 years, characterized by an array of accomplishments and contributions associated with activities that included research, administration and outreach. He notably had the uncanny ability to effortlessly and effectively move in and out of these sectors with ease. On one day he would be interacting with individuals representing state and governmental agencies, and on the next he would be answering questions about fisheries and aquaculture posed by wide-eyed children. My relationship with LeRoy, described within this tribute, will undoubtedly typify those of countless others who knew him. Reading these words that I have written will undoubtedly engender memories of what he meant to each of us. He was an individual who welcomed challenges and the adventure and unknown that accompanied them. He was always motivated by a desire to make a difference, whether short term, long term, or both. He selflessly devoted his time to engage with others who sought his guidance, whether they were students thirsty for his experiential knowledge, commercial fishermen striving to make a transition from capture fisheries to culture fisheries (aquaculture), or colleagues like myself. A partial examination of what he accomplished during I N M E M O R I A M R. LeRoy Creswell (1950-2020) his career aptly illustrates what a unique individual he was. After completion of graduate studies at the University of Miami, LeRoy joined the professional staff at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. Early on he was awarded grants from the Florida Department of Agriculture to develop management practices for the subtidal culture of oysters and clams. These efforts were soon complemented by educational activities that included manuals, workshops and training programs. This work led to the successful introduction of shellfish culture to commercial fishermen and the development of a thriving industry that exists today, centered along the Florida panhandle. This success was based on an uncanny ability to relate and effectively communicate with clientele. In 2000, he began working at Florida Sea Grant as an Extension Agent in St. Lucie County and that same year received the Wallace Award, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the promotion and expansion of the shellfish aquaculture industry in Florida through the combined efforts of industry, federal funding and the academic community. In 2011, he assumed the position of Extension ProgramManager for Florida Sea Grant, serving in this capacity until his retirement in 2019. He epitomized what was potentially possible when academia effectively collaborated with industry. Always filled with boundless energy, and insatiable in his pursuit to learn, develop and apply, he relished thinking out of the box. During his career, the dimension of his pursuits included investigations of potential of culture of other marine species such as the angel wing clam, ornamental shrimp species, spiny lobsters, queen conch and green sea urchins as fisheries resources. The respect and admiration that LeRoy gained and commanded ultimately led to service in elected positions of leadership in an array of scientific societies and associations. His most notable service positions include President of the National Shellfisheries Association (2011-2013), the World Aquaculture Society (1994-1995), the Florida Association of Natural Resource ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 1 6 )