The Latin American and Caribbean Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society (LACC-WAS), the Institute of Aquaculture and Environment of the Universidad Austral de Chile, Puerto Montt campus, and the Salmon Technology Institute (INTESAL) have joined forces to jointly organize the Latin American and Caribbean Aquaculture Congress 2025 (LACQUA25), to be held in Puerto Varas, Chile, from October 6 to 9, 2025, at the Enjoy Hotel.

LACQUA2025 will bring together experts on topics of global relevance to the development, sustainability, and growth of Latin American and Caribbean aquaculture. It will also present one of the largest regional trade shows with a wide range of inputs and services for the sector. This is the first time Chile has hosted this important congress, confirming the importance of the sector for the country.

The organizing committee has chosen the event slogan “Governance: A Pillar for the Sustainability of Aquaculture in the Context of Climate Change.” The FAO emphasizes the need to harness the oceans to improve food security and the resilience of aquatic food systems in the face of climate change. To this end, it has launched the Blue Transformation program, whose first objective is the sustainable intensification and expansion of aquaculture to meet the global demand for aquatic foods, with benefits equitably distributed. However, the diversity of aquaculture in Latin America and the Caribbean alone (species, scales and modes of production, levels of development, and socioeconomic impacts) introduces great complexity when facing a threat such as climate change. Governance is a fundamental pillar for advancing sustainability in a climate change scenario, especially adaptive governance, which emphasizes flexibility and adaptive capacity in decision-making, allowing for the adjustment of policies and actions in response to uncertainty and environmental changes. Thus, it is imperative to adopt governance styles that embrace the specificities of aquaculture and the local effects of climate change but also connect with regional scales to combine efforts and accelerate adaptation processes in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This edition will feature keynote lectures by international and national experts in the aquaculture sector, as well as oral and poster presentations of scientific papers on the following topics: nutrition and feeding of aquatic organisms; reproduction, larviculture, fingerling production; aquaculture and ecosystem conservation; health, biosecurity, well-being of aquatic organisms; physiology and genetics of aquatic organisms; production systems and socioeconomics; processing and added value; socioeconomics and agribusiness; sustainable aquaculture, standards and certifications; and education and careers in aquaculture.

All abstracts are welcome, and submissions are now open. The deadline for abstract submissions is July 31, 2025. For more information about the event and booth sales please contact Carolina Amezquita at carolina@was.org.

We also invite all members to renew their memberships and propose candidates to participate in the Board. The available positions are Secretary and one Director.

— Luis Andrés Gonzalez-Agraz, President