12 JUNE 2025 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG CHAPTER REPORTS African Chapter The previous quarter has not only been eventful but also progressive for the Chapter on many fronts. Firstly, the Chapter membership has surged to a new record of 1,660 as reported at the end of May 2025! This represents a 21% increase from when we last reported at the beginning of the year (1,370 members). A membership recruitment blitz and campaign process were launched in the past quarter to get as many aquaculture actors as possible in Africa to join WAS and experience some of its benefits, including the voting process. This has indeed borne fruit, as we saw many new members subscribing to the WAS and subsequently participating in the just-ended WAS global voting process. In addition, this impressive growth can be attributed to the increasing popularity of WAS’s complimentary membership packages for students and small-scale aquaculture practitioners. I also foresee membership subscription surging to a new record after the upcoming World Aquaculture Safari 2025 Conference (WA25) in Uganda. I wish to congratulate Chapter Board members and our partners for this great achievement! Our challenge as a society remains to meet the needs and aspirations of these rapidly growing membership categories, which we will be working hard on in the short- to medium-term. We are on course to be hosting the WA25 in Entebbe, Uganda, from June 24 to 27, 2025. Being a global event and the second time on African soil (after Cape Town 2017), the WA25 conference programme will feature a record number of sessions, over 400 abstracts, and an exhibition featuring nearly 120 booths. A record number of private sector entities and developmental partners have registered to attend WA25 Uganda. The GIZ, which has sponsored the past three Aquaculture Africa Conferences, has upgraded its sponsorship package to Gold this time around. Thank you, GIZ! We expect attendance to reach 2,000, with many attendees coming from African countries. We always say, “There will be something for everyone” at such WAS global conferences! I wish to thank the various organising committees and teams, and the Government of Uganda for its commitment to hosting the event. Special gratitude to our partners and sponsors (whom you can see on the event website https://www. was.org/meeting/code/afraq25). WA25 has been made possible through the EU-funded TRUEFISH Project, being implemented by the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO). We look forward to a great event, and I will be reporting back on the conference proceedings in my next column. Soon after WA25 Uganda, we will be launching promotional runs for the next global event in Africa – the World Aquaculture Tanzania (WA26T), scheduled for December 2026 in Dar es Salaam. Thanks to the Tanzanian government for its commitment to host this global event, happening again in Eastern Africa. We will be updating you more in the following columns. Other Chapter events and activities that have been in motion during the last quarter include the student development programmes that have seen the mobilisation of students through various initiatives, including virtual mentorship outreaches in Nigeria, Angola, and Eastern Africa. I can see a robustly structured student programme for WA25 Uganda, and a record number of students, mostly from Eastern Africa, attending. Developing future leaders in aquaculture in Africa is our special mandate, and I wish to thank all who are involved in the process. Our outreach programme to the Portuguese-speaking African (PALOPs) continues to bear fruit through the recently established WAS Portuguese platform. We also finalised our 2025 Honors and Awards process. Recipients will be honoured at the upcoming WA25 Uganda Opening Ceremony. We continue to be involved in various partnership programmes with our strategic partners such as the African Union agencies (AUDA-NEPAD and AU-IBAR), the Aquatic Blue Foods Coalition, AWFISHNET, World Bank, FAO, ANAF, and others. We also launched a value-added programme of intervention with our Corporate Sponsor Aller Aqua in February 2025, in line with the renewed sponsorship agreement (2025-2027). Looking ahead, in the next quarter, we will continue our focus on strengthening the chapter and serving aquaculture development in Africa through further involvement in various programmes with many of our partners. We also hope to feature again at the upcoming Aquaculture Ghana 2025, where we hope to launch World Aquaculture Ghana, scheduled for 2027. Other various regional outreach activities will also happen in some targeted African countries where we intend to grow our membership and launch strategic programmes to serve aquaculture in these countries. Despite these progressive developments, it is important to emphasize that Africa’s aquaculture sector is at risk due to global geopolitical events, which could further disrupt supply chains. We are aware of the ongoing global conflicts, trade dynamics and restrictions, and economic volatility, among a variety of other challenges. We are committed to finding solutions to navigate these issues and to strengthening the resilience of our aquaculture sector. Lastly, I want to express my gratitude to the WAS membership for entrusting me with the position of President-Elect for WAS globally, following the recent election. I acknowledge that this is a historic first for Africa, and I am humbled by this role. I am truly thankful to the WAS Board of Directors for their support. Thank you all for your confidence in me and for the opportunity to lead the society. I also want to extend my congratulations to the other elected members of the WAS Board. I look forward to working diligently with all of you during my term! — Foluke O. Areola, President Looking ahead, in the next quarter, we will continue our focus on strengthening the chapter and serving aquaculture development in Africa through further involvement in various programmes with many of our partners.
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