10 MARCH 2024 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG LACQUA 24 “Aquaculture in Latin America: innovation and sustainability for a global aquaculture,” is approaching and we are very enthusiastic about the kind of event that is taking shape. Our two Board Directors Dr. Adriana Muñoz in the academics field, and Dr. Paola Barato also in the academics but mainly in the industry sector, and our Secretariat Carolina Amezquita have finished developing a wonderful program. Combined events will be the XI Colombian Congress of Aquaculture, and the meeting of the Latin American Association of Native Fish Culture. Based in South America, we have some of the more important commercial cultures of native fish in the continent. And with a focus on sustainability, having this event combined with LACQUA gives the opportunity to underline the role of native species for commercial aquaculture and to recognize the socioeconomic impacts of this sector. A new, energetic part of this team is our Board’s Student Representative, Angelica Barrera. She is having a full agenda coordinating students among different Universities, many of them volunteering as helpers for the Conference. Maria Angelica, together with Dra. Laura Silva Ledezma, our Board Secretary, have taken on the task of reviving our social media presence. We invite you to visit our Facebook and Instagram sites and see not only current LACC news, but also wonderful material that both are producing. Congratulations ladies! Our Chapter will renew three Board positions this year: President-elect, treasurer and one director. We have assembled such a wonderful team for the 2 years of my Presidency, and I can only be thankful to Ricardo Vieira, Luis Agraz and Paola Barato for their work. In LACQUA 24, I step down as President and become Past-President, replacing our lovely Dra. Maria Celia Portella. Maria Celia has already been WAS President, and she brought to the Chapter her experience and advice, always of high value. The deadline for nominations for the next board has passed and we are so pleased to have excellent candidates. Mainly, we will maintain country diversity, which has been my main goal since I took over as President. We must include representatives from as many countries in our region as possible, since we have so many experts and world leaders. Actually, at this moment our Board has a majority of women (5 including our Student Representative, to 3 men), and we will reinforce the inclusion of minorities going forward. Our ballot for this year, to be voted on by our membership, looks as follows: • President-elect: Dr. Marcelo Shei (Brasil), Dra. Paola Barato (Colombia) • Treasurer: Dr. Jesaias Costa (Brasil) • Director: Dr. Juli-Anne Russo (Jamaica), Dr. Marisol Morales-Covarrubias (Mexico) Please wait for our news, and vote for your candidates. Finally, we have discussed in our Chapter the necessity for incorporating, in a better way, the Youth. Which is not a reference to our Student Representative, but to the young professionals in Latin America and the Caribbean that are not really represented in our Chapter. This means working in another level with the industry, and we are already planning a few actions. We hope to see all of you in Medellín, Colombia, September 2427 for LACQUA 2024!!!! — Francisco Javier Martinez Cordero, President Latin American and Caribbean Chapter CHAPTER REPORTS as Aller Aqua, Yalelo, Lake Harvest Aquaculture, Aquaspark, Grand Group for Fish Feed, Chicoa Fish Farm Mozambique and others, as well as several SMEs in aquaculture from Zambia and Africa-wide was noteworthy. As in all WAS global events, the technical and scientific programme was complemented by a major international trade show which featured 55 booths from 22 countries, including a Zambia aquaculture pavilion which showcased the country’s aquaculture industry and a number of projects. An aquaculture tour concluded the AFRAQ23 programme with delegates having the opportunity to visit some active aquaculture sites in Siavonga/Lake Kariba and around Lusaka. The WAS-AC Executive Board of Directors also had the opportunity to convene its Annual Board Meeting, where decisions on the way forward for the Chapter were made. This also saw Ms. Foluke Areola from Nigeria inaugurated as the new Chapter President for the 2023-2025 term, taking over from Dr. John Africa, continued from page 9 Walakira (Uganda). WAS-AC also physically launched its Africa Student Forum following recent WAS student policy and strategy changes, and launched a platform for Portuguese speaking countries (PALOP). No doubt, there was something for everyone at AFRAQ23 as the event catered to the broad range of interests in aquaculture — providing a learning, information-sharing and networking opportunity for entrepreneurs, businesses, scientists, technical specialists, educators, students, policy-makers and public officials. The conference was officially hosted by the Government of Zambia through the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. Aller Aqua was once again the Gold sponsor, and WISHH, GIZ and WorldFish were silver sponsors. The WASAC is thankful to all attendees, various session sponsors, exhibitors, collaborators, media partners and everyone who contributed to make the event a success. More information is available on the AFRAQ23 website https://www.was.org/meeting/code/AFRAQ23 and at africanchapter@was.org. — Foluke Omotayo Areola, President
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