Aquaculture America 2024

February 18 - 21, 2024

San Antonio, Texas

2022 NATIONAL AQUACULTURE EXTENSION CONFERENCE PARTICIPANT EVALUATION RESULTS

Forrest Wynne* and Dana Morse

  Kentucky State University

 McCracken County Extension Office

 2025 New Holt Road

 Paducah, KY 42001

 Forrest.Wynne@kysu.edu



 National Aquaculture Extension Conferences (NAECs)  are  interregional projects funded by the USDA-supported Regional Aquaculture Centers (USDA RACs).   NAECs provide the only dedicated national aquaculture Extension event that allows participants to present programs and trainings, tour aquaculture operations and exchange information and network.  Conferences have been held in Little Rock, AR (1992), Annapolis, MD (1997), Tucson AZ (2003), Cincinnati OH (2007), Memphis, TN (2011) , Boise, ID (2017) and Portland, ME (2022) .   Both  NOAA Sea Grant and the USDA RACs provided funding for the 2017 and 2022 NAECs .   During the COVID-19 pandemic, the first virtual NAvEC was hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program in June 2021, when an in-person meeting had originally been scheduled.  Approximately 160 aquaculture professionals participated virtually over three days.  An A griculture and Food Research Initiative grant was secured by Dr. Reggie Harrell, Northern Regional Aquaculture Center  Director  to fund speakers travel for the  2022  NAEC  Mentoring and Diversity training session.

 2022 NAEC  survey  evaluation comments were largely favorable .   Of the 77 attendees , 32 surveys were collected (42%). Day one se ssions rated  in  percentage of most interest included: Aquaculture Literacy (74%, 27 respondents ), Aquaculture Marketing (86%, 28 respondents) ,  and Aquaculture and the Environment (93%, 28 respondents) .   The  day one poster session reviews were more mixed with  52% more favorable and 48% neutral to less favorable from 27 respondents.  Damariscotta  River and Portland  waterfront  and Casco Bay field trips on day two  received  100% positive reviews ,  however  only 14 and 11 attendees responded, respectively.  Day three sessions including  Shellfish and Finfish Production was rated positively with  94%, from 30 respondents ,  and You th, Education and Skills from 93% and 29 respondents. The Professional Development session  received more mixed reviews with 60% positive  and 50% neutral to less positive  from 30 respondents.  The fourth half day session on  Mentoring and Diversity received 83% positive  reviews with 17% neutral and less positive scores from 23 respondents.

 Hotel accommodations, receptions and meals  were  generally  reviewed favorably .   All 26 respondents were in favor of a  proposed  2027 NAEC to be  held in Duluth, MN.