World Aquaculture Magazine - June 2021

4 JUNE 2021 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG C H A P T E R R E P O R T S T his year, our annual conference migrated to a virtual event and we are proud of the interest we received from our WAS members and the public at large. The six sessions were organized around a set of topics that reflect the aquaculture industry and expertise available in the Latin American and Caribbean region (Economy andMarkets, Shrimp, Macrobrachium, Tilapia, Native andMarine Fishes, HealthManagement and Culture Systems). A special thank you to all the invited experts who showcased their research and interacted actively with the participants during the live Question and Answer sessions. We are also grateful for the support of our sponsors and media partners that helped make this event a reality and disseminate it outside our membership. In total, more than 450 delegates listened to the different presentations, 200 of them live between 23 and 25March, the rest as post-event viewers accessing the recorded videos through the links made available. Participants came fromMexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Spain and the United States. We have discussed within the Chapter the possibility of organiz- ing similar events in the future that could be geared towards specific topics and complement our annual conference. Such a platform could be made available to experts from distant locations, facilitating interac- tions and possible collaborations with distant colleagues, as well as helping increase the participation of young professionals and students. Our full attention is now given to the final push for the organization and promotion of WA2021 #AquacultureNow. FromNovember 8 to 12, the city of Mérida, Mexico, will become the world capital of aquaculture, by celebrating the annual meeting of the World Aquaculture Society. Mérida is a beautiful city with an exceptional climate. Located in the state of Yucatán, cradle of Mayan culture, it is a great tourist destination, where you will be enjoying beautiful beaches, cenotes and colonial heritage. The LACC joins WAS to wholeheartedly invite you to participate in this conference, enjoying the opportunity to meet again in person, listen to the keynote talks and great scientific presentations, as well as visit the commercial exhibition. We are being very cautious and continue to monitor the evolution of the pandemic in the world and specifically inMexico. We see promising advances with vaccination campaigns and trust that we will be able to offer all the necessary biosecurity measures to insure a safe and productive event. I invite those of you who have not done so yet, to submit your abstract before 6 August and get the opportunity to present your latest work and receive feedback from colleagues and friends. The online registration is now open; take advantage of the early-bird rates andWAS discounts. For more information onWA2021 or future LACC activities, contact Carolina Amézquita at carolina@was.org . I hope you are all well and I look forward to the opportunity to meet again inMérida this November. —Laurence Massaut, President Latin American and Caribbean Chapter W ith better management of the COVID-19 situation around the world, including Singapore, we remain committed to organizing an in-person event in Singapore later this year, while closely monitoring updates on the situation. The world is working fast in trying to get as many people vaccinated as possible, in addition to people continuing to staying vigilant of their surroundings and practicing safe social distancing measures. A few countries are working out green lanes for safe travel to other countries as long as individuals are fully vaccinated with sufficient protection. Activities related to work and event organization are beginning to return to new normalcy, in preparation for the opening of travel into Singapore. Conferences or events that also implement pre-event COV- ID-19 checks and clearance would admit those who are fully vaccinat- ed without further testing. In view of the safe management measures in place, and with the strong support of the Singapore event organizers, WA2020 will be held as an in-person event from 5 to 8 December 2021. We would like to encourage conference participants to get vac- cinated so that you will be able to have an enjoyable experience. The APC Board has been rolling out aquaculture innovation and technology related webinars to stay engaged with APCmembers and those interested in aquaculture. Many thanks to our partners— the Aquaculture Innovation Centre (Singapore), Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) and Universiti Putra Malaysia—with whomwe have co-organized five webinars from June 2020 to April 2021. Planning for a fifth webinar, with a focus on nutritional deficiencies, is underway and will be held in late June. There will be more thematic webinars planned for subsequent months. The Aquaculture Innovation Ideation Challenge, jointly organized by the Aquaculture Innovation Centre andWAS-APC, will be held in the third quarter of 2021 and we hope that youth from the region will take this opportunity to show their creative thinking and present “out-of- the-box” ideas that may be of interest to farmers. The APC Elections Committee, chaired by Dr. Rohana Subasinghe, APC Past-President, is inviting nominations for President- elect, Treasurer and two Directors for the APC Board. Please send your nominations to rohanasubasinghe@gmail.com, with a copy to the APC Secretariat Executive Officer (apcsec@was.org ) by no later than July 15, 2021. We hope that you will continue to support us by participating in the upcomingWA2020 Conference in Singapore and other activities that we have planned for you. Thank you. — Diana Chan, President Asian Pacific Chapter