National Aquaculture Extension Conferences (NAECs) are interregional projects funded by the USDA-supported Regional Aquaculture Centers (USDA RACs). Conferences have been held in Little Rock, AR (1992), Annapolis, MD (1997), Tucson AZ (2003), Cincinnati OH (2007), Memphis, TN (2011) and Boise, ID (2017). Both NOAA Sea Grant and the USDA RACs provided funding for the 2017 NAEC. Joint funding is anticipated for the proposed 2022 NAEC in Portland ME.
Held every four to six years, NAECs provide the only dedicated national aquaculture Extension event that allows participants to present programs and training s, tour aquaculture operations and exchange information and network . Conference planning occurs at tw o years in advance in order to secure a venue in the desired timeframe . Efforts are made to locate conferences in various regions of the US to highlight commercial aquaculture industries. Conference organizing e fforts reflect suggestions made in previous NAEC participant surveys .
An experienced person(s) in aquaculture education, Extension and outreach acts as the local program host and their employer as the lead institution which processes the grant funds. The planning process involves: finding a volunteer host , securing a conference location, venue and dates, developing a project proposal and venue contract, planning the program and tours, and developing the confer ence survey and summarizing its results. National Aquaculture Extension Steering Committee and National C onference P lanning C ommittee members assist and advise the conference co-chairs in the various aspects of the planning process.
Dana Morse, University of Maine Sea Grant Program, has agreed to host an in-person 7th NAEC in Portland, Maine in June 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a first virtual NAvEC was hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program June 8-10, 2021 when an in-person meeting had originally been scheduled . Approximately 160 aquaculture professionals participated and 18 abstracts were presented. Survey results from the NAvEC were mostly positive and provided useful feedback for future virtual and in-person conference efforts.