4 MARCH 2023 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG CHAPTER REPORTS Asian Pacific Chapter Aquaculture is experiencing a challenging phase on a global scale. There are many instances where the need for change to improve sustainability is readily apparent. Improving nutrition, genetics and animal health and welfare are crucial to enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of specific industry segments as a food production sector. Notwithstanding the supply chain interruptions brought on by the pandemic and other impacts, aquaculture production is already beginning to recover and is now making a more significant economic contribution to most production locations. As a professional organization, the Asian Pacific Chapter (APC) of WAS is part of a growing international network, striving to develop an innovative and sustainable aquaculture framework in the Asia-Pacific region. The APC’s top priority is connecting scholars, commercial businesses, and regional governments in the Asia-Pacific through networking and collaboration with reputable organizations. I took over as President of the APC at the WAS2022 Singapore Conference from Jean-Yves Mevel, who led the Chapter at a trying time during the pandemic. Now that we have moved past the crisis, my first and most important task as President is to steer the Chapter forward and develop more robust academic and industry networks. The APC designed and executed several customized webinars, greatly benefitting from the expertise of the APC Board. As we advance, we intend to continue such virtual engagements and organize a few physical gatherings to strengthen the relationships among our members. We recently completed creation of a matrix, using the expertise of the current Board members, that will serve as a ready resource for assisting with the technical workshops and conferences that the APC proposes in 2023. We look forward to the next WAS and Asian-Pacific Chapter joint conference in Darwin, Australia, at WA2023 in May. All Board members are actively involved in the Darwin meeting’s organization, serving as session chairs and encouraging colleagues to submit abstracts and attend the conference. The APC will also present several awards this year, before and during WA2023, which will assist APC members attending the conference. Two Women’s Travel Awards, two pre-conference Student Travel Awards, two Student Oral Presentation Awards and two Student Poster Awards will be among those presented. The APC must also strengthen its presence in Asia’s most under-served regions by enhancing regional cooperation and local technical and business capacities. We are planning several regional workshops on emerging technological issues in the Asia-Pacific. For instance, a conference in Cambodia in December 2023 will be the first WAS-affiliated event in this emerging aquaculture country. Similarly, after my trip to Nepal in April 2023, there will be a virtual meeting about aquaculture in Nepal, considering the potential of a broader in-person conference there. In addition, we have started planning for an APC technical workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in October 2023, focused on improving the aquaculture industry’s competitiveness in that country. These events will help the APC play a more proactive role in developing a shared collaborative platform of key industry players in Asia-Pacific aquaculture. In February 2023, the APC teamed with Seagriculture Asia-Pacific 2023, the first international seaweed conference in a virtual format (seagricultureasiapacific.com). This two-day conference with 23 speakers drew 187 participants from 31 countries and 113 seaweed-based enterprises worldwide. The APC will continue to partner with this exciting conference in the future. The APC also plans to collaborate with ICFA 2023, the 10th International Conference on Fisheries and Aquaculture (aquaconference.com), that will take place in Bali, Indonesia, from 21-22 September 2023. Over the past decade, the ICFA conference has become a major fisheries and aquaculture event. This partnership will assist the APC in expanding its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The APC intends to enhance the overall student experience by increasing their participation in Chapter events. The Innovative Ideation Challenge for students, which we launched in 2022 in collaboration with the Aquaculture Innovation Centre (AIC), Singapore, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand, and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), will be held again in July 2023 with more industry involvement. The APC also has the opportunity to partner with the South-East Asian Fisheries and Aquaculture Student (SEAFAS) Association, a network of students and youth interested in fisheries and aquaculture in Southeast Asia, launched by Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in August 2022. Members are the key stakeholders of WAS. The WAS Strategic Plan calls for better global representation, improved communication, knowledge and technology sharing and retaining its leadership role in the global aquaculture industry. While the disruptions due to the pandemic have dramatically impacted WAS in many ways, it necessitates disruptive strategies to reap the benefits of a new normal and transform challenges into opportunities. One of the most significant benefits of WAS membership is sharing scientific information through multiple media channels. Fostering deeper engagement with regional governments and policymakers, the APC should seamlessly function as an efficient global network of academia, researchers, entrepreneurs and governments. Expanding the membership base is a huge responsibility, as is developing more effective means of engaging members, especially by embracing new options for interaction in understanding their aspirations and retaining the existing membership intact. In the new global order, my highest priority will be to transform the APC into a more effective facilitator for students and young leaders to discover promising career paths in aquaculture, for professionals to seek more entrepreneurial opportunities, and for the industry to develop closer partnerships and knowledge-sharing for sustainability. My vision is for the APC to evolve into a more relevant regional platform that promotes innovative paradigms and the highest ethical and animal welfare standards in aquaculture production, thereby contributing to the sustainability of global (CONTINUED ON PAGE 9)
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