VIMS

NOAA's Aquaculture Director to keynote Aquaculture Conference

Early registration for Conference October 23

National and regional experts in aquaculture, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's Aquaculture Program Director Michael Rubino, will present at this year's Virginia Aquaculture Conference.

The Conference will take place on Friday and Saturday November 13 and 14 in Williamsburg, VA. The early registration deadline is Friday October 23. The Conference will host Annual Meetings of two regional aquaculture associations and more than 20 speakers, who will cover emerging national and regional issues, trends, and techniques for commercial saltwater and freshwater aquaculturists.

On Friday afternoon, a panel of experts will discuss direct marketing of seafood and introduce resources available through the Virginia Water Harvest Program. This will be followed by the Virginia Aquaculture Association's and East Coast Shellfish Growers Association's annual meetings and a reception. 

Saturday features concurrent sessions in saltwater aquaculture and freshwater aquaculture as well as keynote speakers Rubino and John Hargreaves. Rubino will discuss the movement towards a national aquaculture policy and its affect on local aquaculture business. Hargreaves is founder of Aquaculture Assessments LLC and co-author of "Environmental Best Management Practices for Aquaculture."  His discussion is titled "Aquaculture sustainability: What does it mean at the farm level?"

The Virginia Aquaculture Conference will take place Friday and Saturday November 13 and 14 at the Lexington Hotel, George Washington Inn & Conference Center in Williamsburg, VA. Commercial aquaculturists and others are invited to attend.

To Register

For Conference agenda or to register, go to the Conference website: www.VaAquacultureConference.com. Registration for the conference is $75 on or before October 23, and $95 thereafter. Online registration is available until November 4. If you are unable to register online, please call William and Mary Conference Services at 800-249-0179. To book a room at conference rate, call the Lexington Hotel, 757-220-1410.

The Virginia Aquaculture Conference has been organized by VA Sea Grant, VA Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, VA Farm Bureau Federation, VA Aquaculture Association, VA Institute of Marine Science/College of William and Mary, VA Tech, VA State University, and Cherrystone Aqua Farms.