CONSERVATION AQUACULTURE VOLUME 53, NUMBER 1 THE MAGAZINE OF THE WORLD AQUACULTURE SOCIETY MARCH 2022 W RLD AQUACULTURE
WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2022 1 WORLD AQUACULTURE MAGAZINE WORLD AQUACULTURE magazine is published by the World Aquaculture Society. The home office address is: World Aquaculture Society, PO Box 397, Sorrento LA 70778-0397 USA. P and F: +1-225-347-5408; Email: judya@was.org World Aquaculture Society Home Page: www.was.org WORLD AQUACULTURE SOCIETY OFFICERS, 2021-2022 Antonio Garza de Yta, President Jimmy Avery, Immediate Past-President Jennifer Cobcroft, President Elect Reginald Blaylock, Treasurer Kathleen Hartman, Secretary DIRECTORS Maymyat (Noe Noe) Lwin Albert Tacon Gillaume Drillet Margo Saroglia David Cline Victoria Tarus Matthew Smith, Student Director CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVES Jean-Yves Mével, Asian Pacific WilliamWalton, USAS Laurence Massaut, Latin America and Caribbean Ik Kyo Chung, Korean Sherif Sadek, African HOME OFFICE STAFF Judy E. Andrasko, Assistant Director, JudyA@was.org WORLD AQUACULTURE EDITORIAL STAFF John Hargreaves, Editor-in-Chief Mary Nickum, Editor Linda Noble, Layout Editor WAS CONFERENCES AND SALES John Cooksey, Executive Director of Conferences and Sales World Aquaculture Conference Management P.O. Box 2302, Valley Center, CA 92082 P: +1-760-751-5005; F: +1-760-751-5003 Email: worldaqua@was.org MANUSCRIPTS AND CORRESPODENCE Submit manuscripts as Microsoft Word files to Mary Nickum, Editor, World Aquaculture magazine. Email: Editor@worldaquaculture.us Letters to the Editor or other comments should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief, John Hargreaves at jhargreaves@was.org. WORLD AQUACULTURE (ISSN 1041-5602), is published quarterly by the World Aquaculture Society, 14356 Bayou Terrace Drive, Saint Amant, LA 70774 USA. Library subscription price $50 annually for United States addresses and $65 annually for addresses outside the United States. Individual subscriptions are a benefit of membership in the World Aquaculture Society. Annual membership dues: Students, $45; Individuals, $65; Corporations (for-profit), $255; Sustaining, $105 (individuals or non-profits); Lifetime (individuals) $1,100. Periodical postage paid at Sorrento Louisiana and additional mailing offices. Twenty-five percent of dues is designated for subscription to World Aquaculture magazine. POSTMASTER Please send address changes to World Aquaculture Society, PO Box 397, Sorrento, LA 70778-0397 USA. ©2021, The World Aquaculture Society. ■ W RLD AQUACULTURE VOL . 53 NO. 1 MARCH 2022 11 USAS Awards at Aquaculture 2022 in San Diego 15 Recent Research Highlight from the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 16 Obituary: Juliette Massey, 1939-2022 18 Obituary: Eric Pedersen, 1959-2022 20 Conservation Aquaculture: A Special Sessions Synopsis Compiled by Ann Gannam 30 Acoustic Detection of Marine Mammals for Entanglement Prevention Josh Hatfield 34 Challenges in Largemouth Bass Juvenile Production Angel Rojo-Cebreros, Herbert Quintero, Nicholas Romano, David Heikes and Angel Sanchez-Ramirez 40 Installation and Management of a Semi-Commercial Scale Pilot Oyster Farm in Texas Bailey E. Schacht, Ellis L. Chapman Jr. and Joe M. Fox 44 The Effects of Carbon: Nitrogen Ratio on Suspended-Growth Denitrification in Small-Scale, Closed-System Shrimp Farming Mark E. Johannemann, Leo J. Fleckenstein and Andrew J. Ray 49 Commercial Demonstration of a Floating In-pond Raceway System with Red Tilapia at Mission UpReach, Honduras Esau Arana, Jon Stacy, Fredy Sanabria and Jesse Chappell 55 In Vitro Pearl Culture with Pinctada margaritifera Ajai Kumar Sonkar 60 Dried, Salted Fish Products in the Philippines Abigail Ann Alano Ching, Myrna Benita Z. Luna and Janice Alano Ragaza 68 Environmentalism vs Subsistence Aquaculture in Utilization of Former Open-Pit Coal Mines as Reservoirs for Aquaculture in Indonesia Asfie Maidie, Ismail Fahmy Almadi and Henny Pagoray COVER: Release of common snook Centropomus undecimalis as part of a stock enhancement program in southwest Florida (Photo: C. Goulding). See story on page 20. (CONTENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)
2 MARCH 2022 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG Pre s i dent’s Column Aquaculture is as diverse as are the regions of the world. Numerous species, countless environments, many different farm sizes and levels of technology and a variety of approaches and goals. Although the main purpose of aquaculture in Asia is often to produce affordable species for food, in other regions of the world it is to produce high-value products for local consumption or export. It is not surprising to anyone that aquaculture is an Asian phenomenon, with China leading world production by a substantial margin. Nevertheless, worldwide, the most common constant of aquaculture is its continuous growth. The reason of why this trend is going to continue for many years is simple: aquaculture is the most efficient and sustainable way of producing animal protein in the world. Nevertheless, regardless of size or location, the aquaculture industry everywhere shares similar needs and faces similar challenges that will only be mitigated by all of us working together. Some of our pressing needs are: • Fish protein and fish oil need to be reduced or eliminated from aquatic feeds to allow aquaculture to continue growing. • Solid genetic programs need to continue to address adaptability of species, disease resistance and desirable production traits such as growth rate and feed conversion ratio. • We must build a solid and resilient industry. Aquaculture does not only need to adapt and take preventive measures for climate change, but also for financial and multi-variable crises such as the one generated by covid-19. • Capacity building programs should aim to the professionalization of the industry in all the value chain and at all levels, including government personnel that need to be able to make decisions based on the most recent scientific information available. • Thorough strategic planning is essential and it must encompass various subsets of the industry, such as marketing, service providers, capacity building, investment and financing, seafood consumption promotion, digitalization, seafood trade negotiations, development of trade cooperatives and associations and very importantly, regional cooperation. • Aquaculture needs to be an instrument to improve the quality of life of the people engaged in it. It should be a good tool to promote the inclusion of women and the young in rural development, thus reducing rural migration. My vision for the future of aquaculture is very positive. It cannot be otherwise: • I see innovation being a major disruptor of the status quo. While recirculating aquaculture systems and offshore cages will become more important, biotechnology such as tissue culture and cellular seafood production will become major players in the industry. • I see circular economy as a concept being embraced by the industry where all by-products are utilized, maximizing resource usage and decreasing environmental footprints to a minimum. • In the long run I envision livestock produced worldwide being fed protein produced by aquaculture of aquatic plants. • I look forward to aquaculture becoming the major source of protein and the culmination of the Blue Revolution. However, for the near future, aquaculture needs to aim towards three specific goals: 1) Aquaculture needs to concentrate efforts on decreasing its environmental footprint in the whole value chain, from production to distribution, including all the side industries associated with aquaculture such as processing, storage and feed manufacture. 2) Aquaculture needs to become a national priority in every region and country. Recently, aquaculture has been on the minds and in the speeches of most decision-makers but that has rarely been reflected in national budgets and priorities. Public and private investment is crucial for aquaculture to keep expanding. 3) Scientific and policy cooperation within and between regions needs to be more active and efficient. Regional and global aquaculture organizations, such as theWorld Aquaculture Society will play a major role as platforms to facilitate dialogue, where producers, service providers, academia, consumers, financing agencies, decision-makers and all stakeholders could work together. Let’s keep adding our effort towards pushing the Blue Growth agenda and building a solid future for aquaculture. It has been an honor being president of WAS but I will continue serving the organization for as long as I can in any way possible. I am really excited about the turnout and results we had in San Diego and Contents (continued) 2 President’s Column 3 Editor’s Note 4 Asian Pacific Chapter Report 6 Korean Chapter Report 8 African Chapter Report 11 USAS Chapter Report 70 Conference Calendar 71 Future Conferences and Expositions 72 Membership Application ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 4 )
WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2022 3 Ed i tor’s Note T wenty-five years ago, the World Aquaculture Society held its annual conference in Seattle, Washington, a meeting I remember as one of the most contentious I ever attended. Although PETA had mounted anti-aquaculture protests at WAS meetings before 1997, the scale and intensity of anti-aquaculture opposition at the Seattle conference was without precedent in the history of the Society. Given that 25 years has passed since then, it seems to be an appropriate moment to take stock of what happened during the meeting and what has happened since. At the time, the concept of sustainability was moving to the fore. The Brundtland Commission had popularized the term in 1987, and aquaculture conferences in San Diego (1995) and Bangkok (1996) attempted to define the “problem” of sustainability, but it wasn’t until the 1997WAS conference that sustainability became an explicit conference theme – “Linking Science to Sustainable Industry Development.” In addition, aquaculture had grown rapidly in the 1990s, large enough to attract attention from critics. Environmental activists and NGOs were calling out the bad practices and bad actors that put profits above a more balanced view that included environmental performance and social accountability as factors that defined success. I was involved in organizing a two-day special session on sustainability at the conference and subsequently wrote up my reflections in the pages of this magazine. In organizing that special session, we endeavored to include a broad spectrum of voices and viewpoints, with an eye towards constructive engagement and continuous improvement. The environmental NGOs had organized their own special session, in which aquaculture was roundly bashed and an emotional litany of the environmental destruction and social ills wrought by aquaculture were revealed. An anti-aquaculture forumwas held as a side event one evening at the University of Washington. In a particularly tense moment, a verbal confrontation occurred in a conference hallway between Alfredo Quarto of the Mangrove Action Project and Dixie Blake of the National Fisheries Institute over what was seen as intrusive and biased behavior by a film crew from the Earth Island environmental NGO. Despite the prevailing confrontational attitude, the sustainability special session went well and, to maintain the positive momentum, we created the SUSAQUA listserve as a mechanism for ongoing constructive engagement. Arguably the most consequential outcome of World Aquaculture ’97 was the formation of the Global Aquaculture Alliance, organized and initially led byWAS Past-president George Chamberlain. The organization was formed as an advocacy organization to “represent aquaculture in the international arena on issues of trade, public relations and the environment.” They would act by supporting the work of national associations and representing other major aquaculture stakeholders like importers, processors, retailers and restaurants. There has always been tension withinWAS leadership between staying true to its original focus on being an honest broker for information and technology, primarily through conferences and publications, and being a more forceful advocate for commercial interests. Forming GAA as a group independent of WAS was the right decision at the right time. The GAA (nowGSA) has accomplished much in the last 25 years. Almost immediately, the organization set about putting together principles for responsible shrimp farming, leading ultimately to the development of the first set of aquaculture ecolabeling standards. Despite some initial hiccups, the organization developed a robust and credible certification program. Standards have continued to evolve, now covering the full spectrum of the value chain, species and systems. And other organizations like the WorldWildlife Fund and GlobalGAP have developed their own set of competing standards. In reflecting on how things have changed since 1997, I consider how, from the beginning, when opponents of aquaculture engage with the professional community, there is inevitably a shift in perspective, views are no longer held so strongly, on all sides. For every example for which I am aware, when a representative of an environmental NGO has engaged the aquaculture community, there is a more realistic view of the playing field and the issues. Representative of environmental NGOs now serve on the boards of the major certification organization, literally a seat at the table. One example immediately comes to mind, from the plenary address by Rosamund Naylor at the recent aquaculture conference in San Diego. She led a group that published a landmark paper in Nature in 2000 that was highly critical of aquaculture and its “effect on world fish supplies” and that examined the high dependence of aquaculture on fishmeal. I can recall how publication of this paper (and a series of others from her critical of aquaculture) raised the hackles of some of my colleagues. Recently, she led a newmulti-author team that published a 20-yr retrospective review of aquaculture that revisited the themes of that paper and that included prominent names from among aquaculture professionals. Not surprisingly, the recent paper provides a much more balance perspective of the salient issues and showed that aquaculture has made good progress towards more sustainable practices, especially around feed use. The environmental activists of 25 years ago provided a valuable service to aquaculture and gave everyone a wake-up call. Although there will always be bad actors in aquaculture, most of the worst have been rooted out. Things needed to change and they have, although it is arguable howmuch of a difference has been made, at least with certification programs. Roz Naylor showed a graphic in her plenary that around 3 percent of all seafood is certified, leaving the vast majority of seafood production – primarily carps and other pondraised, low-value species – not subject to any kind of certification system. The issues around impacts raised 25 years ago – mangroves, fishmeal use, effluents and escapes – remain the main matters of concern, reinforcing the point that, although much has changed since the late 1990s, sustainability continues to be a journey, not a destination.. — John A. Hargreaves, Editor-in-Chief World Aquaculture ’97 in Seattle Revisited
4 MARCH 2022 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG C H A P T E R R E P O R T S We are already a fewmonths into 2022 and we finally can see some improvement around us and hopefully we will be able to return to a fully functional life. Closing 2021 with covid, I could only hope for a better year to come. January was still a bit slow, trying to regain some strength, but we were able to maintain our monthly Board of Directors meetings to plan our activities, especially with theWorld Aquaculture Singapore (WASingapore2022), the largest aquaculture Asian international conference and exhibition which, as its name indicates, will be taking place in Singapore from 29 November to 2 December 2022. Hopefully, looking at the evolution of the covid-19 virus with the Omicron variant in Europe and Asia, we should hope the pandemic will only be a memory to learn from, for a better future. As of today, more than 200 exhibitors have already registered, demonstrating that the world is ready to move on and support the Asian Pacific Chapter and the aquaculture industry in Asia. Registration for the conference remains open, with early-bird categories still available. The deadline for abstract submission and call for papers has been extended to 1 September 2022. Today the Asian Pacific Chapter is officially involved with the Fishackathon 2022 event and will support this activity as an ecosystem partner. While the input of the APC for this event will be modest this year as participant registrations for Fishackathon 2022 closed in January, the Board of Directors is already planning for better cooperation and involvement for next year’s event. Some of you might wonder, like me when I heard about it for the first time a couple of months ago, what is the Fishackathon? This program aims to address challenges facing the world’s aquatic ecosystems by bringing together innovators, researchers and startups to co-create sustainable, tech-enabled solutions. Participants are looking for solutions to specific challenges under four themes: wild capture fisheries, aquaculture, supply chain and markets, or social and environmental sustainability. More information about the challenges can be found at their website (fishackathon.co). To attract young talent to the aquaculture sector, the APC and the Aquaculture Innovation Centre (AIC), Singapore initiated the first Aquaculture Innovation Ideation Challenge (AIIC), which attracted participation from university and polytechnic students in Singapore, Thailand and India. Eight students will present their innovation idea at a webinar co-hosted by the APC and AIC on 2 April 2022. The top three winning ideas will be featured on theWAS website and social media. ACertificate of Commendation will be issued to the top three winners in addition to the opportunity to serve as a moderator of the next APC student webinar. In addition to the student webinar, APC board members are working on new series of webinars for 2022. A few topics have already been proposed and a final schedule should be published on our website and social meeting shortly. Dr. Menaga, while really busy with the AIIC, has already mentioned her interest in developing a webinar on the use and impact of probiotics and symbiotics in aquaculture as India is very active in R&D in this field. We look forward to more details on her program. Meanwhile more topics are under development by each member of the board of directors and we are very pleased to present some more topics that are in preparation. Dr. Belinda Yaxley is proposing a webinar on Humane Slaughter in Finfish Aquaculture: Present Challenges and Opportunities. Poor animal welfare is exhibited when a harvest is stressful, but it also has quality implications such as increased gaping and firmness of flesh and altered timing of rigor mortis. This webinar will involve a candid conversation on human slaughter between a farmer, a researcher, an animal welfare activist and a fish health professional, discussing welfare and quality aspects to human slaughter and the challenges and opportunities this presents for global aquaculture. Dr. J.-Y. Mével is working on a webinar addressing the potential of insect production to replace fishmeal in the aquaculture industry. Using fishmeal to feed aquaculture production is more and more criticized and considered unsustainable. However, insect meal is still overpriced for aquaculture production and is instead very often used in pet food that can fetch higher prices. Some insect production companies and nutritionists will be invited to provide some better understanding of the challenges and opportunities of this emerging industry. Dr. Alistair E. Douglas is proposing a webinar about the need for blockchain and traceability in aquaculture, and the main reasons to implement blockchain technology in aquaculture, such as the market demand, which needs proof of origin, traceability and security. Hopefully very soon we will have a yearlong program of webinars to be offered every six weeks. And finally, the Board of Directors of the APCwants to thank Prof. S. Felix, Past-President of the APC and National Co-Chair of APA19, who served on the board from 2017 to 2020. He was able to utilize the hosting institute, Tamil Nadu Dr. J.J. Fisheries University’s profit sharing of the conference to inaugurate an APC Skill Development Center inMadhavaram to commemorate the international conference Asian Pacific Aquaculture 2019 in Chennai. On behalf of the Board, I wish you great success in your aquaculture endeavor and I hope to bring you more great information in the next issue of World Aquaculture. — Jean-Yves Mével, President Asian Pacific Chapter Pres ident, continued from page 2 look forward to other conferences, especially the one inMerida from 24-27May, where I will have the opportunity to say good-bye to all of you and receive Jennifer Cobcroft, an outstanding professional and person, as our new president. Keep supportingWAS, keep promoting aquaculture, keep doing it with passion. See you around! —Antonio Garza de Yta, President
WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2022 5 Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2022 For More Information Contact: Conference Manager P.O. Box 2302 | Valley Center, CA 92082 USA Tel: +1.760.751.5005 | Fax: +1.760.751.5003 Email: worldaqua@was.org | www.was.org World Aquaculture Singapore 2022 Conference Sponsors Temasek Polytechnic, Nanyang Technological University National University of Singapore, James Cook University Republic Polytechnic 3rd International Symposium on Perch and Bass Associate Sponsors Aquaculture Engineering Society International Association of Aquaculture Economics & Management WorldFish WA2020 Partner @WASingaWASAPC @WASAPC The Annual International Conference & Exposition of World Aquaculture Society Asian Pacific Aquaculture 2022 – Annual Meeting of Asian Pacific Chapter, WAS Hosted by Singapore Food Agency WAS Premier Sponsors Singapore EXPO Convention & Exhibition Centre and MAX Atria WA22 was ad CMYK.indd 1 11/20/21 12:02 PM
6 MARCH 2022 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG C H A P T E R R E P O R T S Open Communication Forum for Zeroing Styrofoam Buoys The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) established a consensus on policy with experts by holding an Open Communication Forum in December 2021. The forum is a type of town hall meeting where fishermen, environmental groups, consumer groups and related academic experts gather to discuss the policy of zeroing out styrofoam buoys on fish farms. Recently, the Fishery Management Act Enforcement Rules that restricts the installation of new styrofoam buoys in fisheries, such as fish farms, was also revised and promulgated. In the forum, starting with the topic presentation on implementing the styrofoam buoy zero policy and the improvement direction of the eco-friendly buoys currently in use, fish farmers who use the eco-friendly buoys shared the problems encountered in the field. The participants discussed the limitations and development direction of eco-friendly buoys, feasibility and improvement plan of eco-friendly buoy certification standards, material evaluation of eco-friendly buoys, and limitations and alternatives to ecofriendly buoys. It broadened mutual understanding and served as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation in policy implementation. The forum in Gyeongnam and Jeonnam Provinces, where fish farmers and local governments have been more interested in reducing styrofoam buoys than anywhere else because there are many floating farms such as those for laver, oyster and sea squirt that use many buoys. The MOF officers of Aquaculture Industry Department, Marine Conservation Department, Aquaculture Department, and Fisheries Engineering Department, specialist (Korea Maritime and Fisheries Development Institute), local government officers from Gyeongnam and Jeonnam Provinces, fishers of National Fisheries Cooperative Federation and local Fisheries Cooperative, and environmental NGO groups, consumers organizations, buoy certification companies and others have participated in the forum. Patent Registration of Scutica Repellent Substance from the Aniseed Tree The National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS) of the MOF and the National Institute of Forestry Science (NiFoS) announced the patent registration of a scutica repellent, the first fruitful result of joint research by the NIFS and the NiFoS. The new eco-friendly repellent can exterminate the flounder parasite scutica (Miamiensis avidus: Ciliophora, Scuticociliatida). Scutica is a scuticociliate causing mortality in olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. Flounder were treated with essential oil extracted from the leaves of the aniseed tree Illicium anisatum and the study confirmed that it has up to 10 times greater efficacy than the currently used aquatic parasite worm repellents. In addition, after artificially infecting flounder with scutica parasites, the flounder survival rate was 50 percent in the treated group, but all fish in the non-administered control group died. Electronic Prescription of Fisheries Medicine for Safety and Convenience The MOF established an “Electronic Prescription Management System for Aquatic Animal Medicines” to strengthen the safety management of medicines for aquatic animals and held a user demonstration for fisheries disease managers in December 2021. As public interest and expectations for seafood safety related to medicines (such as antibiotic resistance and veterinary drug residues) have increased, the need for a system that can systematically manage aquatic animal medicines used in aquaculture has been raised. Accordingly, the MOF completed the establishment of the electronic system to secure digital data related to the use of medicines for aquatic animals and systematically manage the quantities of medicines used. In connection with the database of fish species, aquatic animal disease and medicines owned by the MOF, prescription items were standardized. After writing a diagnosis, a fish disease manager could issue a prescription of drugs for aquatic animals. In addition, it provides a Drug Utilization Review, a service that provides drug safety information such as concomitant use and contraindications when prescribing drugs to check inappropriate use of drugs in advance. The Korea Fisheries Disease Control Society manages the drug prescription information accumulated through the system. This information will be primary data to predict aquaculture animal diseases and prepare drug management policies for safe aquatic product production. By establishing the electronic prescription system, fisheries disease managers will efficiently utilize diagnosis and treatment information. Fish farmers will receive electronic prescriptions instead of paper prescriptions, reducing the risk of personal information exposure and increasing convenience. The MOF plans to evaluate the system in March 2022 by examining users’ convenience, satisfaction and stability after pilot program operation by February 2022 and supplementing the deficiencies. The World’s First Successful Artificial Breeding of the Brackishwater Snail Galgodung The MOF announced that it had developed the world’s first artificial propagation technology for the marine-protected, brackishwater snail Clithon retropictum, known as galgodung in Korea. Galgodung is a small snail of 1-2 cm that lives in brackishwater areas. In the past, galgodung were commonly seen Korean Chapter The MOF established an “Electronic Prescription Management System for Aquatic Animal Medicines” to strengthen the safety management of medicines for aquatic animals. Fish farmers will receive electronic prescriptions instead of paper prescriptions, reducing the risk of personal information exposure and increasing convenience
WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2022 7 in the river mouth but the habitats where they are present has been continuously decreasing (73 habitats in the early 2010s, dropping to 51 habitats at present) as habitats are damaged due to development such as river maintenance and dams or weirs. Accordingly, the MOF has designated and managed galgodung as a marine protected species since 2012. It has been developing artificial breeding technology since 2021 with the Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea and Kunsan National University. Researchers induced spawning from 20 maternal specimens obtained from Boseong, Jeollanam-do, and Goseong, Gyeongnam to secure larvae. They studied breeding conditions to induce fertilization of floating larvae, such as water temperature, salinity, light, and breeding density. In addition, they developed a bottom surface with a high rate of larvae settling and combined customized feed that can increase the growth rate of young spats. As a result, about 1,000 individuals were artificially propagated as they grew into young galgodung spats. The young galgodungs are expected to be grown in an indoor laboratory for one year and then released next year in Boseong, Jeollanam-do, one of their primary habitats. The Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea plans to continuously check whether they are well adapted to their habitats after releasing the snails while also producing and distributing manuals containing artificial breeding techniques. Gim (Laver) – Luxury Seafood Product The Act on the Promotion and Support of Gim Industry has recently come into effect. For the sustainable development and globalization of the gim (laver, Pyropia) industry, the MOF has developed this Gim Industry Act for the sustainable development and globalization of the gim industry. Gim (laver) is Korea’s top export item among seafood. However, concerns have been raised that the production of farmed laver is fluctuating due to climate change, and most processing companies operate on a small scale, which could weaken their competitiveness. The Gim Industry Act is intended to foster gim-related industries systematically. The Act stipulates essential matters necessary for fostering the gim industry, such as establishing and implementing a basic promotion plan and matters necessary for management support, such as support for the gim aquaculture industry to stabilize supply and demand and improvement of facilities for gim processing companies. It also outlines matters necessary for establishing a foundation to support the gim industry, such as nurturing related personnel and designating and operating specialized research institutes. It was designed to support the cost of publicity and research and research to promote globalization to individuals or organizations that promote the excellence of gim products or develop overseas markets. In addition, the legal basis for designating the Gim industry promotion zone, which is a kind of industrial complex that can focus on projects that enhance the domestic and overseas competitiveness of the laver industry, such as improving laver product quality and strengthening hygiene and safety management, has been prepared. In addition, local governments having jurisdiction over the promotion zone were encouraged to revitalize the promotion zone, such as establishing an action plan, support and investment plans. Gim exports reached $630 million as of November 2021. Through implementation of this Act, exports of seaweed products are anticipated to expand further. NIFS Actively Supports Eco-Friendly Trout Farming Technology to the Private Industry The NIFS announced that it will actively support eco-friendly, recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) trout farming technology to the private sector. The Central Inland Water Research Institute signed an MOU with the Korea Trout Farming Association that included dissemination and expansion of RAS for the revitalization of domestic coldwater fish (trout, salmon) aquaculture, including technology transfer training required for field management and operation. Through this MOU, a field laboratory that can analyze water quality and system efficiency was installed on a private farm. The effects of RAS and the research results on breed improvement of fast-growing rainbow trout were confirmed. The RAS enables environmental control over water temperature, making it possible to cultivate coldwater fish year-round, which is a challenge in Korea during summer. Most of the 167 farms registered with the Trout Association are in the mountainous areas of Gangwon, Chungbuk, and Gyeongbuk Provinces. Currently, only eight farms are operating with RAS. Through this MOU, the Trout Association plans to gradually expand the number of RAS, which can overcome the limitations of flow-through aquaculture technology and increase production per unit area while being eco-friendly. Adding Advanced Aquaculture Technology to Vietnam’s Blue Carbon The MOF promotes official development assistance (ODA) projects connected with mangrove forest restoration. The MOF announced that it has started a technical cooperation project to improve productivity in the aquaculture industry in northern Vietnam. The north coast of Vietnam is an area where mangrove forests and tidal flats have been developed and shellfish farming has been prevalent since the mid-1990s. However, it has been challenging to secure spat due to overfishing and coastal environmental pollution so shellfish production fell sharply. In response, the Vietnamese government requested Korea to assist with the transfer of advanced aquaculture technology in 2018. The MOF conducted a two-year pilot project, including a preliminary feasibility study and pilot operation of a shellfish farm through the NIFS. Results of the pilot project indicated that local conditions were suitable for shellfish farming. A total of KRW 3 billion will be invested for five years from this year to 2026 to start the aquaculture technology cooperation project. The MOF uses a 330-ha mangrove forest that the Korea Forest Service has been developing in northern Vietnam as part of the Carbon-Neutral ODA to create a shellfish farm and produce spats. While modernizing the market, the MOF plans to send aquaculture experts to Vietnam to conduct technology transfer and capacity-building training. The MOF expects the project will revitalize the aquaculture industry in northern Vietnam and improve residents’ income. It plans to evaluate business performance in the future and expand it to other countries with similar conditions. The technical cooperation project to improve productivity in the aquaculture industry in northern Vietnam is the first ODA project that combines advanced aquaculture technology with forest technology. — Ik Kyo Chung, President C H A P T E R R E P O R T S
8 MARCH 2022 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG C H A P T E R R E P O R T S All roads are now leading to the First Aquaculture Africa Conference and Exposition in Alexandria, Egypt, rescheduled to 25-28 March 2022. It’s happening finally! I am indebted to the Conference organizing team, who have worked so hard over the past few months to get things in order. The covid situation is at present relatively manageable to warrant us having a successful event. As of today, over 750 participants have registered for both conference and exhibition visits, which shows great interest. We expect the number to increase further as the event gets closer. Over 70 percent are Africans, coming from disciplines ranging from state actors, researchers, academics, consultants, private sector operators, farmers, exhibitors, development partners and others interested or active in African aquaculture. The largest proportion of these conference attendees is of course Egyptian. The exhibition space is now fully booked with 55 international exhibitors expected to pitch their stands in the Bibliotheca. These include 22 international companies from 24 non-African countries, 7 African countries, 10 Egyptian companies and 7 support organizations. Several organizations from Africa and beyond have booked special technical sessions, meetings and some seminars, and most are sponsoring groups of people to attend the event. AllerAqua is the conference’s Gold Sponsor. Silver sponsors are AquaGroup and the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH). The Break Sponsor is Grand Fish Feed. Of course, we have our traditional WAS Premium Sponsors on board, including Blue Aqua, Kemin, MSD, Zeigler and USSEC. Other various session sponsors will be listed in the conference program book. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina convention centre is ready for us on all fronts and has given us the green light to increase capacity, of course with covid protocols in place. I believe we are geared up for a successful event! The Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation in Egypt is expected to grace the official opening ceremony of the conference, including the opening of the exhibition, scheduled for Saturday 26 March. Other important dignitaries expected to give opening remarks include the Governor of Alexandria, General Authority for Fish Resources Development (GAFRD), Africa Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Agricultural Research Centre, Egypt and WorldFish. We are also delighted that WAS President Dr. Antonio Garza de Yta will be us throughout AFRAQ21. We also look forward to a special plenary speech on “Status of Aquaculture in Egypt” by our very own renowned Professor Abdel-Fatah El-Sayed from Egypt. I believe the array of technical sessions resonates well with the conference theme “Sustainable Aquaculture – Feeding Africa.” I see sessions on aquatic animal health, feeds and nutrition and environmental management in synch with the conference theme and being among some of the hot topics on aquaculture development in Africa today. Sessions such as those on finance/investment, education/training and socio-economics are equally important to the journey of sustainable aquaculture in Africa. We are looking forward to the presentations and to learning lessons from each other out of these sessions. This being the African Chapter’s first conference, we expect to learn many lessons from it as we get geared up to have AFRAQs annually, with the Second Aquaculture Africa Conference planned for the later part of 2023 in Zambia. Organizing AFRAQ21 in Egypt has had its own challenges, chiefly the covid outbreaks which, as many of you know, led to the postponement of the event twice. We also recently had some challenges in the planning of the much-awaited and needed pre-event aquaculture tours in Egypt. These have since been cancelled. But thanks to the hard work, dedication and diligence of the AFRAQ21 planning and organizing teams, the conference is finally happening! This past season, the African Chapter concluded elections for Board of Directors for the term 2022-2023. From April 2022, the new Board of Directors will stand as follows: • President – Dr. John Walakira (Uganda) • Immediate Past-President – Dr. Sherif Sadek (Egypt) • Secretary – Dr. Adeosun Festus Idowu (Nigeria) • Treasurer – Dr. Bernice Mclean (South Africa) • Regional Director: North Africa – Dr. Nevine Abou Shabana (Egypt) • Regional Director: West Africa – Mr. Lanre Badmus (Nigeria) • Regional Director: East Africa – Dr. Nelly Isyagi (Uganda) • Regional Director: Central Africa – Dr. Francisca Delgado (Angola) • Regional Director: Southern Africa – Dr. Khalid Salie (South Africa) I am overly thankful for the advisory support we continue to receive from Dr. Kevan Main, the African Chapter ad hoc advisor) and from Blessing Mapfumo from the African Chapter Secretariat, who will continue with us for the next term. We also hope to soon appoint a student liaison to lead all student development activities in line with WAS aspirations and guidelines. Let me express immense gratitude to Aller Aqua, our Founding Gold Sponsor and AFRAQ21 Gold Sponsor, for renewing its sponsorship of the African Chapter for another three years, until 2024. Renewing its sponsorship shows Aller Aqua’s dedication to the African market and its commitment to support strategic institutions meant to develop the aquaculture sector across the continent. More details are available here (www. aller-aqua.com/press/aller-aqua-continues-to-support-the-africanchapter-of-the-world-aquaculture-society). Kudos to Aller Aqua! I urge conference attendees to visit their exhibition stand and attend some of their organized sessions at AFRAQ21. I can’t wait to meet many of you at the conference! I wish you safe travels to Alexandria and a memorable time in Egypt. — Sherif Sadek, President African Chapter
WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2022 9 For More Information Contact: Conference Manager P.O. Box 2302 | Valley Center, CA 92082 USA Tel: +1.760.751.5005 | Fax: +1.760.751.5003 Email: worldaqua@was.org | www.was.org Sustainable Aquaculture for Two Oceans HOTEL RIU PLAZA Panama City, Panama November 14-17, 2022 The annual meeting of LATIN AMERICAN & CARIBBEAN CHAPTER Get our meeting mobile app Hosted by Premier sponsors Conference sponsor Latin American & Caribbean Aquaculture 2022 LACQUA22 was ad CMYK.indd 1 8/31/21 10:51 AM
10 MARCH 2022 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG Founding GOLD SPONSOR of African Chapter WAS WWW.ALLER-AQUA.COM ALLER TIL-PRO ALLER TILPRO MATCHES THE NUTRITIONAL NEEDS OF YOUR FARMED TILAPIA ALLER TIL-PRO follows several principles which form the basis for its success: • Carefully selected high quality raw materials, sourced locally when possible • Developed at Aller Aqua Research to ensure knowledge-transfer to our customers • Close cooperation with customers ensures successful testing under practical conditions ALLER TIL-PRO keeps creating benefits for an increasing amount of tilapia farmers. Contact us today to find out more! LET’S GROW TOGETHER Founding GOLD SPONSOR of African Chapter WAS WWW.ALLER-AQUA.COM A LER TIL-PRO PRO ALLER TILPRO MATCHES THE NUTRITIONAL NEEDS OF YOUR FARMED TILAPIA ALLER TIL-PRO follows several pr nciples w ich form the ba is for its success: • Carefully sel cted igh quality raw material , sourced locally when possible • Dev loped at Aller Aqua Research to ensure knowledge-transfer to o r customers • Close cooperation with customers ensures successful testing under practical conditions ALLER TIL-PRO keeps creating benefits for an increasing amount of tilapia farmers. Contact us today to find out more! LET’S GROW TOGETHER
WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2022 11 at meetings, student activities, chances to serve on committees and the formation of student sub-units at schools around the nation. Looking forward, I hope to expand the USAS platform to be intentionally inclusive and serving traditionally under-represented populations. Specifically, my hope is to use this year to formulate an internship program that does just this with the aim of providing hands-on research opportunities for students from primarily minorityserving institutions that provide these students the experience, expertise and skills to compete successfully for careers in the US aquaculture industry. I welcome your thoughts about this program, as well as suggestions for funding mechanisms. Finally, I’m hopeful that the hiatus from regular meetings and our chances to gather together in-person has helped each of us realize howmuch we value these meetings and our membership in USAS. Frommy point of view, I hadn’t intellectually forgotten the value of going to in-person meetings, but I still felt a rush of excitement and energy at seeing colleagues and friends (old and new) at the meeting in San Diego. In fact, I climbed through some bushes when I recognized one longtime friend that I hadn’t seen in ages! As an advisor, it was a joy to get several students and my lab manager to what was for many of them their first big scientific meeting. I hope to build on that feeling as we work towards an amazing Aquaculture America meeting in NewOrleans, 23-26 February 2023! Please get this meeting on your calendar now and make plans; it’ll be a great meeting! —Bill Walton, President U.S. Aquaculture Society With a great meeting in San Diego behind us (see sidebars on this year’s five professional award winners and you’ll likely be as impressed as I am with their accomplishments), I’m looking forward to a busy, exciting year for the United States Aquaculture Society. We know that the past couple years have posed substantial challenges to our work and we should expect that there will be more challenges ahead. Despite those, there are several reasons for USAS members to be hopeful about what’s ahead. The first reason is that we still enjoy the guidance of Dr. Dennis McIntosh as our Past-President. In this role for the coming year, Dennis will continue to provide his wisdom, thoughtfulness, and generosity to USAS. I know that I plan to keep Dennis as one my ‘frequent contacts’! If you see Dennis, please thank him for his leadership through some very trying times. The second reason to be hopeful is the slate of amazing candidates that you have elected to serve USAS going forward. The Chapter has added four new voices and perspectives – all women, which is a first in any of our elections and results in the first majorityfemale Board in USAS history. I’ll work closely with Dr. Anita Kelly as President-Elect, Dr. Gulni Ozbay as Vice-President and Board Members Drs. MickWalsh and Abigail Bockus to ensure that USAS is on the right track. The third reason to be hopeful is that USAS will continue its strong support of students. I am eager to continue the tradition of USAS being a platform for career development for individuals interested in US aquaculture. We have done this through awards C H A P T E R R E P O R T S Terrill ‘Terry’ Hanson and value chain analysis. His work, including time at Mississippi State University, has focused on catfish, freshwater prawns, crawfish, hybrid striped bass, tilapia, shrimp and baitfish grown in ponds, raceways and recirculating systems. In addition to a wide array of research projects, Dr. Hanson has assisted two trade adjustment assistance programs to benefit US catfish producers and helped with development of insurance programs. He has been a leader in the innovative Pond-to-Plate project that seeks to reduce wastes and improve efficiency using LEAN manufacturing techniques across the value stream. Dr. Hanson has always been dedicated to high-quality research and providing service to the US aquaculture industry. Dr. Hanson has been an active member of WAS and USAS since 1990 and has been involved with several other aquaculture and economic professional societies and industry development groups over the years. His service to the scientific community is impressive, serving as reviewer for 20+ journals, regional USAS Awards at Aquaculture 2022 in San Diego Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award – Terrill ‘Terry’ Hanson The United States Aquaculture Society’s Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award is the Chapter’s means of highlighting and thanking an individual for a lifetime dedicated to aquaculture in the United States. This award recognizes an individual who has made contributions and broad impacts throughout his/her career to aquaculture in the United States through research, education, extension and/or industry development. This award recognizes a long-time commitment of service to aquaculture that is deemed highly significant and enduring. At Aquaculture 2022, USAS awarded a Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Terrill (Terry) Hanson for a career spanning over 35 years. Currently an aquaculture economist at Auburn University – School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, Dr. Hanson has conducted research on various aspects of fish culture economics, including production cost analysis related to fish nutrition, fish health, water quality, production systems, genetics ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 1 2 )
12 MARCH 2022 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG USAS Awards , continued from page 11 organizations and governmental agencies. By the numbers, Dr. Hanson’s achievements are remarkable: over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, 14 book chapters, 120+ scientific abstracts, 280+ scientific/professional presentations, 300+ presentations to industry groups, associations, extension meetings and popular press articles, and 45+ extension workshops. He has been tremendously successful in his grantsmanship, receiving nearly 140 grants worth US$19 million. Additionally, he has had a significant impact on student accomplishment through his career, advising over 25 doctoral and 50 masters students. Dr. Hanson’s accomplishments have previously earned him the Spirit of Sustainability Initiative and President’s Outstanding Collaborative Units awards at Auburn University and the Partnership Award for Innovative Programs and Projects through USDA NIFA for his work with aquaponics in recent years, among a dozen others. As one distinguished industry member wrote, “Dr. Hanson has always satisfied the needs of catfish farmers, both those of independent small farmers, as well as large, complex and fullyintegrated farming operations.” A colleague wrote, “his work with the catfish sector has been instrumental in understanding the industry and helping it survive some difficult challenges.” Another close colleague and former recipient of this award said “I never expected how my working with him would have such a positive impact on my research career. He is a gentleman and a scholar, a person who carries out responsibilities without bias, who is committed to those with whom he works, who wants to make special and lasting contributions to the aquaculture industry.” As a former student said, “Dr. Hanson embodies the spirit of USAS Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award because his commitment to aquaculture is clearly long-term, highly significant and enduring.” — Bill Walton and Allen Pattillo Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award – Michael Masser It is a special honor to recognize an individual’s body of work in US aquaculture with the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes an individual who has made contributions and broad impacts throughout his/her career to aquaculture in the US through research, education, extension and/or industry development. At Aquaculture 2022, the USAS awarded Dr. Michael Masser this prestigious and well-deserved award. Dr. Masser served as Extension Specialist at Kentucky State University and at Auburn University and was Head of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries at Texas A&M. Dr. Masser has mentored and advised hundreds if not thousands of farmers, students and industry personnel in fisheries and aquaculture. He has authored over 175 publications and presented over 300 national and international talks on aquaculture, private impoundment management, in-pond raceways and aquatic vegetation management. He has consulted or participated in educational conferences in at least fourteen counties. While at Auburn University, Dr. Masser conducted some of the foundational research on in-pond raceways. These production units have continued to evolve and are now widely utilized, including tens of thousands of units now active in China. Truly his research has had national and international impact. During his time at Texas A&M, Dr. Masser created an online resource known as AquaPlant (aquaplant.tamu.edu), a website that allows individuals to accurately identify aquatic plants and recommends control measures if needed. This tool is used in aquaculture, fisheries and aquatic resource management. In 2021 alone, over 278,000 unique users viewed over 687,000 web pages at the AquaPlant website. Additionally, Dr. Masser led the Southern Regional Aquaculture Center publications project for over five years. These publications are primary extension tools covering the full range of aquaculture subjects that have been useful to industry, academia and extension within the southern US, but have also been widely used nationally and internationally. For over 20 years, he has served on the organizing committees of the Triennial Aquaculture meetings. Finally, Dr. Masser has proudly served as President of the USAS and of WAS. On colleague wrote, “There is no question that Michael meets the criteria of having made broad, significant and sustained impacts on U.S. aquaculture.” Another letter of support noted that “He is an excellent example to our young people who are interested in careers in aquaculture and extension.” Finally, another nominator summarized, “Dr. Masser’s lifelong passion for fishing, managing private waters, and educating the public on aquaculture and aquatic ecology is the very embodiment of this esteemed award.” — Bill Walton and Jim Tidwell Lifetime Achievement Award – DonWebster Don Webster has worked in Maryland supporting aquaculture there for more than 40 years, and in that time has been instrumental in numerous initiatives to support the industry, including helping to draft new legislation with an eye toward revamping the state’s leasing program, developing a network of remote setting system for use by growers and working with collaborators nationwide to truly revolutionize how shellfish are farmed. Don has big plans and a track record of success. His resume is replete with accomplishments and accolades, but you would never know it frommeeting him. One of the letters in support of his nomination described Don this way: “His talents have been recognized with his appointment to many prestigious boards and groups. For example, he has been a member of the Maryland Aquaculture Coordinating Council since 2005. He has worked often behind the scenes to move the various causes of aquaculture forward without any demand of personal recognition.” Don Webster began his career in 1974 as an Area Agent – Marine Science with the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service after graduating that same year from the University of Rhode Island. Michael Masser DonWebster
www.was.orgRkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjExNDY=