Nanaimo Hosting International Conference This Weekend
Nanaimo Business News, May 28, 2015
Hundreds of fisheries-focused visitors will be in the Harbour City this weekend to attend a major symposium on aquaculture and the need to expand the sector to meet an ever-growing demand for fish food products. The Aquaculture Association of Canada (AAC) will be hosting its annual conference, which will take place this year at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre in Nanaimo. Entitled: Aquaculture Canada 2015, the event will run from May 31 to June 3 and will attract more than 300 delegates from across North America and around the world.
Over the course of the four days the delegates will discuss current research, policies, economics and present issues facing the world’s aquaculture sector. This year’s theme Blue Revolution 2.0 highlights a new revolution in the aquaculture industry and the need to look at the future demand for sustainable seafood.
Alf-Helge Aarskog
The conference’s keynote speaker will be Alfe-Helge Aarskog, CEO, Marine Harvest ASA of Norway who will deliver an address entitled: Leading the Blue Revolution. In addition, the AAC is offering a full scientific program, with over 100 speakers, including two plenary speaker presentations: Responsible Aquaculture and Global Markets by Wally Stevens (Global Aquaculture Alliance, USA) and Sustainable Aquaculture and the Ecosystem Approach by Dr. Jake Rice (Fisheries and Oceans Canada).
The conference will also be offering workshops on communications and genomics, industry tours, a full trade show with 31 exhibitors and, for the first time in AAC history, a youth development program for high school students from the region called “Aquaculture in the Classroom – A Day of Discovery”.
“We are delighted and honored to have a number of generous sponsors for the conference this year,” said AAC President Kathy Brewer-Dalton. “The BC Salmon Farmers Association has played a significant role, both financially and logistically, in organizing the conference and we thank them whole-heartedly.”
The role of the AAC is to foster a viable Canadian aquaculture industry by promoting the study of aquaculture and related scientific research, by gathering and by disseminating information related to aquaculture to the industry and the public. The annual conference is the primary mechanism by which this goal is achieved.
