World Aquaculture Magazine - June 2021

8 JUNE 2021 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG C H A P T E R R E P O R T S Event Postponements and Cancellations Due to the current pandemic, the ISFNF 2020 in Busan has been postponed to 12-17 December 2021. Everything in the symposiumwill remain the same except for the dates. Submitted abstracts will continue to be processed by the ISFNF Scientific Committee. Registrations and sponsorship contracts will continue to be valid and previously registered participants do not need to do anything else. We thank you for your patience and support during this difficult time and we welcome you once again to attend the ISFNF 2020 BUSAN (www.isfns2020busan.com) . The 2021Wando International Seaweed Expo (WISE) was postponed until 2022 due to the spread of COVID 19. The new dates are 15 April to 8May 2022. Ocean Day andMarine Cleanup Activities The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has designatedMay 31 every year since 1996 as Ocean Day to promote the sea and maritime industry’s importance and inspire maritime ideology. The Mokpo Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries, Mokpo City Hall, MokpoMaritime Police Station, 3rd Naval Fleet, and Korea Marine Environment Corporation joined forces to reduce marine debris and establish a collection campaign to commemorate the 26th Ocean Day on 2 June. Due to the COVID 19 social distance restriction, the event was limited to 50 participants. 2021 P4G Seoul Summit South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who hosted the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit fromMay 30 to 31, vowed to play a more prominent role in fighting climate change as he attended the opening ceremony held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul. The Summit was attended by 68 top and high-level officials from home and abroad, making it much larger than the first meeting held in Denmark in 2018. It is the first multilateral conference on the environment hosted by the Korean government. Korea succeeded in showing off its green leadership in a situation where the sense of crisis about climate change is heightening. In his opening address, President Moon pledged to significantly increase Official Development Assistance that goes to climate and green-related projects by 2025. He said the government would bolster support for developing countries to implement green growth policies through a new $5 million fund established by the Seoul-based Global Green Growth Institute. He also expressed Korea’s intent to host the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties slated for 2023. On the second day (May 31), Thematic Sessions discussed the five target sectors covered by the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promoted by P4G, including water, energy, food and agriculture, circular economy and cities. P4G’s unique mix of five key target sectors in its thematic sessions began at the inaugural 2018 P4G Summit held in Denmark. President Moon presided over the Leaders’ Dialogue in the form of a real-time discussion on the Summit agenda “Inclusive Green Recovery towards Carbon Neutrality,” with 15 leaders participating in real time. The Summit concluded with the adoption of the Seoul Declaration. There were voices from the participating countries that the world should work in solidarity toward a carbon-neutral goal. Leaders in the previous discussion emphasized that, even if it is not easy to change the overall social and economic structure, it can be an opportunity. The Seoul Declaration, which contains an action plan for an inclusive green recovery, carbon neutrality, and public-private partnerships, has garnered support from 38 participating countries in the P4G. Although they shared in common various opinions and promises, environmental groups assessed that the political leaders “only reconfirmed the response principles and there were no effective measures to change the urgent situation immediately.” If carbon neutrality is an inevitable trend, we need to wring out wisdom. As pointed out by the heads of countries at this meeting, we have no choice but to break through with new technologies, system innovation and international cooperation. But more critical is domestic communication. We cannot achieve carbon neutrality simply because the government pushes it. We need to complete a remarkable transformation that everyone can agree on through long-distance dialogue with the industry, labor circles, civil society and peoples. Before the Summit, there were ten Green Future Sessions during the Green FutureWeek (May 24-29). Session topics covered recent significant trends in international discussions on climate and the environment and Korean policy concerns. The sessions covered Carbon Neutrality, Green NewDeal, Civil Society, Oceans, Biodiversity, Business Forum, Green Technology, Forests, Green Finance and Future Generations. Experts from various fields related to climate and the environment such as governments, international organizations, corporations and academia, participated in different special sessions based on the main theme of the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit. This year’s event, which was initially planned for last year but was delayed due to the pandemic, was held in a hybrid format, featuring a mix of live and recorded speeches. (https://virtual.202 1p4g-seoulsummit.kr/home/eng/main/ home.do ) International Conference Commemorating 100 Years of Modern Fisheries Science Research Despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korean Society of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (KOSFAS) held the International Conference on April 29-30 in Busan. KOSFAS commemorated the 100th year of research in fisheries science in cooperation with the National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS) under the theme of “Gathering Science and Technology for a New Future.” Mr. Wan-Hyun Choi (President, NIFS) opened the conference. Prof. Sang-Min Lee (President, KOSFAS) welcomed participants. Mr. Seong-HyeokMoon (Minister, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries) andMr. Woo-Il Lee (President, Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies) delivered congratulatory remarks. Prof. Young- Soo Jang (President, Pukyong Nat’l Univ.) gave the keynote lecture on the theme of “Fisheries Science, For the Next 100 Years With 100 Years of the Knowledge and Experience.” Korean Chapter