AQUACULTURE COMMUNIQUBS 71

The Journal has served as the thread to hold membership together, since not all members are able to attend each annual meeting. From the first, 1970, all papers were reviewed, edited, and published in the Society’s Annual Proceedings. Eventually, not all papers given at the annual meeting were automatically considered for publi- cation. In 1981 (Vol. 12) the word “Pro- ceedings” was changed to Journal, and as- sociate editors were selected to aid the editor in the review process. In 1986 further ad- vancements were made.

Formerly all papers considered for pub- lication had to first be presented at the an- nual meeting. Now, 1986 on, papers can be submitted by a member at any time. Also, beginning in 1986 the Journal will be a soft- cover quarterly. James W. Avault, Jr. served as editor from 1970-1985. Ron Thune as- sumed duties of managing editor in 1986, and Avault as information and archives ed- itor. The Society also promulgates a quar- terly newsletter edited by Frank S. Taylor, and special publications which are pub- lished occasionally.

World Mariculture Society Annual Meeting Reno, Nevada

President’s Address

GUIDO PERSOONE Laboratory for Mariculture, State University of Ghent

J. Plateaustraat 22- B- 9000 Ghent, Belgium

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a wonderful feeling to find out that more and more aquaculturists, in more and more countries, are expressing an interest in the activities of our Society by attending the annual conference. At the same time it is very reassuring for the organizers to ac- knowledge that the presence of so many dis- tinguished specialists in aquaculture con- stitutes in itself a guarantee for the success of the meeting. Ladies and Gentlemen, wel- come to Aquaculture Reno 86.

If you will allow me to make a pictur- esque comparison, I am tempted to com- pare the World Mariculture Society to a train. For the last 15 years the personnel of the WMS train-in this case the Board of Directors and its various committees-have been servicing the passengers (the WMS members) through an expanding network of railway stations in more and more coun- tries. Very few WMS passengers probably

remember that the first railway station was located at the Gulf Coast Research Labo- ratory in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and that the very first train took off in Septem- ber, 1969, with 16 passengers on board. Most of these passengers, if not all, were from the South of the United States. In what has been frequently described since as a “burst of megalomania” these first passengers had the pluck to christen their train the WORLD MARICULTURE SOCIETY and to de- cide that every year this train would make a trip to a new railway station, namely the site of the annual conference. Very few, if any, of these first passengers probably would have dared to dream that 15 years later the southern local train would have metamor- phosed into an international high speed ex- press which presently carries more than 2,000 passengers from 80 different coun- tries. Needless to say the history of the World Mariculture Society, like that of any other

72 AQUACULTURE COMMUNIQUQS

society, has been fraught with many diffi- culties. All the achievements witnessed to- day are the harvest of the efforts made yes- terday by those who year after year looked after the well-being and the growth of the WMS.

Let me try to give you in a nutshell some landmarks in the development of this WMS which in 15 years has grown from a south- ern club into an international society which fully deserves the epithet “world.”

When I joined this society in 1974 at the annual conference in Charleston, South Carolina, WMS was prudently making its first move to the Northeast, out of the Gulf Coast area. Although WMS in four years time had already extended its membership from 16 to 400, 99% of these people were U.S. citizens or residents; outside Uncle Sam’s territory very few aquaculturists had ever heard of a World Mariculture Society nor of its activities. I do not know whether what I carried back over the ocean to Europe was a message or a virus, but the fact is that two years later, in 1976, approximately 200 Europeans decided to follow the dynamic example of their U.S. colleagues and estab- lished the EUROPEAN MARICULTURE SOCIETY. This Society right from the start decided to join forces with WMS and be- came the first affiliate.

From 1976 through 1984, WMS further spread its wings throughout the US., from coast to coast, with the organization each year of a very successful annual meeting. WMS also ventured into several memorable joint meetings with the same Aquaculture Societies which contribute to the success of the present gigantic AQUACULTURE RENO 86. To refresh your memory, there have already been three predecessors to Aquaculture Reno 86, namely: Aquaculture Atlanta 78, Aquaculture New Orleans 80, and Aquaculture Washington D.C. 83. Each was attended by close to 1,000 interested aquaculturists.

Considering the necessity of extending the contacts of the Society with the growing membership outside the U.S., the Board of

Directors in 1975 made a resolution to hold the annual convention every third year out- side the continental U.S. The WMS train first went on board a ship to San Jose in Costa Rica in 1977, then to Hawaii in 1979, to Venice, Italy, in 198 1 (for a joint meeting with the European affiliate) and last but not least to Vancouver in Canada in 1984 to help celebrate the foundation of the AQUA-

DA. Not only did this dynamic and inter- nationally oriented policy of the Society result in continuous growth of the WMS membership in the United States as well as at large, it also forced the successive Boards of Directors to reconsider the original con- duct of the Society and to reshape its man- agement to the standards of a professional international association.

The period 1984-85 has already entered the history of WMS as that of the “house cleaning.” Indeed during the last two years a well-structured and functioning Home Of- fice has been built up step by step in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with an on-site manager and two Home Office advisors, a comput- erized financial budget structure; and the entire system of publications has been re- considered. I am particularly proud to be able to announce at this time that the Board of Directors of WMS has adopted the pro- posal of the Publications Committee to transform the annual Journal of the World Mariculture Society into a QUARTERLY JOURNAL. It is clear that a Quarterly Jour- nal will substantially speed up publication of the papers presented at the annual con- ferences. A second and even more impor- tant change is that the Quarterly Journal will be open to all members of WMS and affil- iated members whether a paper is presented at the annual meeting or not. The period from 1984 till now will probably also be remembered in the history of WMS as that of the INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION. The World Mariculture Society is indeed to date acting more and more as a liaison so- ciety for various national and supra-nation- a1 aquaculture associations.

CULTURE ASSOCIATION OF CANA-

AQUACULTURE COMMUNIQU~S 7 3

The first affiliate of WMS, the EURO- PEAN MARICULTURE SOCIETY, which by the way recently changed its name into

ETY (EAS), now has close to 500 members in 24 European countries. The offspring of aquaculture associations at the national level in Europe will in the years to come, prob- ably double or even triple the membership of this supra-national aquaculture society on the European continent. The recently es- tablished AQUACULTURE ASSOCIA- TION OF CANADA (AAC)-which al- ready counts 200 members- has affiliated in 1985 with WMS for a trial period of 18 months. The ALA (ASSOCIATION LA-

TURE) has been interested for several years in joining WMS but unfortunately a number of internal problems has so far precluded implementation of this cooperation. The CAA (CARIBBEAN AQUACULTURE ASSOCIATION) has initiated last year its first discussions with WMS, and so did ASARA, the ARGENTINIAN AQUA- CULTURE ASSOCIATION. Finally, re- cent contacts have been established with WMS by the embryonic AUSTRALIAN MARICULTURE SOCIETY, as well as by the ASIAN FISHERIES FORUM.

In the rapidly growing field of aquaculture research, ventures and achievements, it is clear that there is a tremendous need for rapid and efficient communication and an outspoken desire for collaboration beyond national or continental frontiers. The World Mariculture Society has grown into an or- ganization which can, and is willing to foster these contacts at the world level. Looking at the evolution and growth of the World Mariculture Society over the years, it is not surprising that U.S. travellers who made up 99% of the passengers during the first trips on the WMS train, are now making up 50% of the voyagers, despite their substantial growth in absolute numbers. The need for a U.S. AQUACULTURE SOCIETY affili- ated to the World Mariculture Society, as a forum where specific U.S. aquaculture

EUROPEAN AQUACULTURE SOCI-

TINO AMERICANA DE AQUACUL-

problems can be addressed and discussed, has been voiced stronger and stronger the last few years within the ranks of the WMS membership in the United States. The World Mariculture Society made arrange- ments at this Reno Conference to facilitate further discussion on the subject. A portion of the WMS registration desk has been re- served for collection of names of U S . aqua- culturists who are interested in the estab- lishment of such a U.S. aquaculture society. A special session has been planned for WMS members and interested aquaculturists from the U.S., to meet with the past Presidents of the World Mariculture Society to discuss the establishment of the U.S. AQUACUL- TURE SOCIETY.

Despite the impressive evolution of what once was but a small and local mariculture society, and which now is a real world as- sociation, 1985 is definitely not the end of the road. Indeed we are only mid-January, 1986, and WMS is already actively planning the organization of its next annual meeting which will be convened in January, 1987 in Guayaquil, Ecuador. A package of infor- mation is already on distribution at the WMS desk. Needless to say, however, that right now we are extremely pleased and proud of AQUACULTURE RENO 86, or- ganized jointly by WMS with the Catfish Farmers of America, the US . Trout Farmers Association and the Fish Culture Section of the American Fisheries Society. For those of you who have already been working your way through the program of this conference, with its hundreds of papers and the many special sessions and brainstormings on all possible aspects of marine and freshwater aquaculture, it is clear that it is almost an aquaculture sin not to be present in Reno.

I would like to extend, on behalf of all WMS members, our sincere appreciation to all those who have been involved during the past year in the preparation of this giant conference. Many thanks and congratula- tions go to the program chairmen of the four societies and their staR many thanks to the Home Offices for their logistic backing; and

74 AQUACULTURE COMMUNIQUES

last but not least “Thank you” Glasscock and Associates for pasting and gluing all the pieces of this joint venture into such a mem- orable Aquaculture Reno 86. I am confident that all of you will agree with me that con- sidering the format and standards of Aqua- culture Reno 86, this year will be quoted in the annals of our respective aquaculture so- cieties as a year ofexcellence. For the World Mariculture Society, however, 1986 will be memorable for a second reason. Indeed, La- dies and Gentlemen, I have the honour and the great pleasure to conclude this address with a most important announcement: as of this Convention, and after 15 years of ex- istence, the WORLD MARICULTURE SOCIETY will become the WORLD AQUACULTURE SOCIETY. This deci- sion has been taken by the Board of Direc- tors of WMS following approval, by the dis- tinct majority of the membership, in a recent

The name change of World Mariculture poll.

Society to World Aquaculture Society is a further logical step in the development of an association which, at its origin, was con- sidering exclusively the culture of plants and animals in saline waters. During the past few years the borderline between freshwa- ter, brackish water and marine aquaculture seems to have become more and more vague. As a result the World Mariculture Society has been witnessing affiliation of an increasing number of freshwater aquacul- turists and an increasing number of papers on the culture of freshwater and brackish water species at the annual meeting.

Ladies and Gentlemen, friends, aquacul- turists, the World Mariculture train has come to stop in Reno, Nevada, on January 19, 1986. The World Aquaculture train is taking off today on January 20, 1986. All on board please, and best wishes for a most pleasant trip throughout Aquaculture Reno 86.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Keynote Address

Agricultural Research Service and Aquaculture TERRY B. KINNEY, JR.

Administrator. Agricultural Research Service US. Department of Agriculture

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m delighted to have this opportunity to par- ticipate in “Aquaculture ’86” and to share some thoughts with you about the com- mitment we have for aquaculture within the Program Plan of the Agricultural Research Service.

I hope that what I have to say about plan- ning ARS research programs may serve as a model for many other research organi- zations around the world. Our research planning process has been guided by three basic concepts of management. First, we be- lieve that all successful organizations- large

or small-must have a mission that is clear- ly stated and understood by everyone. Sec- ond, all successful organizations must have a system for program planning-priority setting, implementation, and change or re- direction- that will allow them to fulfill their missions over time. Third, the mission statement and program plan must be de- veloped with an awareness of the mission statements of other research and develop- ment organizations expressing similar goals. This avoids unnecessary duplication of ef- fort, undue competition, and potential gaps in the total research structure.