World Aquaculture Magazine - September 2021

12 SEP TEMBER 2021 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG U SAS awards close to $13,000 annually to students in several categories. This year’s award winners are: Aaron Pilnick , Tyson Best Abstract Award and First Place Plenary Spotlight Award Aaron is currently a doctoral candidate pursing a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Ecology at the University of Florida. He received the best student abstract and best spotlight presentation awards at the recent Aquaculture America conference for his talk titled “Development of larviculture protocols for rearing the ecologically important long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum within a novel recirculating system.” Aarons’ research, advised by Dr. Joshua Patterson, is conducted at the Center for Conservation in Apollo Beach, FL, in collaboration with the Florida Aquarium. After graduating, he plans to continue developing research projects in the academic or public sectors with a focus on restoration aquaculture and coral reef ecology. Marina M. Rubio Benito , USAS Best Abstract Award and Second Place Plenary Spotlight Award Marina Rubio Benito is pursuing her Ph.D. degree at the University of Idaho, USA, under the guidance of Dr. Vikas Kumar. Focused on fish physiology and nutrigenomics, her research aims to develop an efficient gut health protocol to mitigate intestinal inflammation. She received the second-place spotlight competition award as well as best abstract award for her talk titled “Monitoring the onset and mitigation of soybean meal-induced enteritis in two different strains of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss over a 30- week long-term feeding trial.” Marina is also enthusiastic about event planning as well as project management and travelling. After completion of the Ph.D. program, she seeks to take part in the aquaculture nutrition industry to develop new products and improve current situations while maintaining a professional and scientific network. Bryan Candelaria , USAS Best Abstract Award and Third Place Plenary Spotlight Award Bryan is pursuing a M.S. degree in Ecology &Conservation Biology at Texas A&MUniversity and received a student travel award for his abstract on “Evaluating the effects of dietary cottonseed oil on growth performance of juvenile red drum Sciaenops ocellatus and hybrid striped bass Morone chrysops × M. saxatilis .” His M.S. research is being conducted with his advisor, Dr. Delbert Gatlin, in College Station, Texas. Bryan plans to pursue a career in the aquaculture nutrition industry by looking at options from both the private and public sectors with the hopes of continuing to develop the work done on food fish species. Casey Murray , Aquatic Equipment and Design, Inc. Student Travel Award Casey Murray is pursuing a Ph.D .in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences at the University of Florida’s Tropical Aquaculture Lab. Casey received the Aquatic Equipment and Design Inc./United States Aquaculture Society Student Travel Award for her work Student Awards at Aquaculture America 2021 involving the larval rearing of hogfish. Because of this award, Casey was able to present her talk titled “Utilizing the ontogeny of digestive enzyme activity and digestive tract morphology to guide larval culture protocols for hogfish Lachnolaimus maximus ” at the USAS conference in San Antonio. Her Ph.D. research is being conducted with her advisor, Dr. MatthewDiMaggio, with support from the NOAA Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant and Mr. Chris Lazzara. After graduation, Casey plans to stay within academia to work as a professor and researcher in the field of marine aquaculture to advance larval culture protocols of foodfish, baitfish and ornamentals. David Klett , United States Aquaculture Society and American Fisheries Society – Fish Culture Section Best Abstract Award David Klett received a M.S. degree in Marine Biology at the College of Charleston’s Graduate Program in Marine Biology and received the American Fishery Society/United States Aquaculture Society Best Abstract Travel Award for his abstract titled “Nutritional performance of juvenile red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus , fed various fish, shrimp, and squid Diets.” David’s M.S. research was conducted with his advisor, Dr. AaronWatson, as a collaborative project with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources in Charleston, South Carolina. David is now a full-time Wildlife Biologist in the Mariculture Section of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources working on stock enhancement and nutrition research for regionally important marine finfish species. Kimia Kajbaf , USAS Best Abstract Award Kimia is pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Animal Physiology at the University of Idaho and received the best abstract award for her research titled “Genetic and nutritional approaches to enhance the efficiency of soybean meal utilization in rainbow trout.” Her Ph.D. research is being conducted with her advisor, Dr. Vikas Kumar. Kimia plans to seek employment in the field of nutrigenomics and aquaculture, either in academia or industry. Blaine Suehs , Soy Aquaculture Alliance George MartinMemorial Award and Tyson Student Travel Award Blaine is pursuing a M.S. degree of Aquaculture and Fish Nutrition at Texas A&M under the guidance of Dr. Delbert M. Gatlin, III. Blaine received the Soy Aquaculture Alliance George Martin Memorial Award and Tyson Student Travel Award with his abstract titled, “Evaluation of growth performance, condition indices and body composition of juvenile red drum ( Sciaenops ocellatus ) fed fishmeal- and fish oil-free diets” which was sponsored by the Anthropocene Institute. This study completely replaced fish-derived ingredients in the diets of juvenile red drum using poultry by- product meal, soy protein concentrate, and hydrolyzed soy, as well as a blend of alternative oils. Blaine plans to pursue a career in the fish nutrition discipline working with novel alternative feed ingredients to reduce industry dependence on traditional fishmeal and fish oil. He is also passionate about community outreach and extension services to improve public perception of farmed fish.