Noe Noe Lwin’s story of her journey to become an aquaculture businesswoman published in World Aquaculture

Noe Noe Lwin’s story of her journey to become an aquaculture businesswoman published in World Aquaculture

May Myat Noe Lwin, AwF Volunteer and owner of CNN Soft Shell Crab Farm and CNN Aquaculture Supply Company, attended the Aquaculture America 2012 conference in Las Vegas, USA in March to present in the special session – Aquaculture Pioneers: Life & Times and Lessons Learned. The session was organized and hosted by Dave Conley, ACG Senior Consultant and Founding Partner and AwF executive director.

Ms Lwin, who prefers to be called Noe Noe, was the last speaker of the session, and of the conference. The delegates that stayed to hear her speak heard an inspiring story of courage and determination to overcome many challenges in her path to become a successful entrepreneur in a foreign country. Noe Noe, a young Burmese woman, developed an aquaculture supply business with her uncle in Yangon, Myanmar and then purchased an abandoned shrimp farm in Ranong, Thailand to begin a soft shell crab farming venture. Her story so impressed the audience that John Hargreaves, editor-in-chief of the World Aquaculture Society’s magazine – World Aquaculture –  immediately asked for an article to be written for publication in the September issue.

Click here to read this article.

CGIAR research program on livestock and fish

Milk, meat, eggs and fish are key components of a balanced and nutritious diet. In developing countries with inland or coastal waters, fish is the dominant source of animal protein and supplies critical micronutrients. This high quality nutrition is especially important for vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Driven by rising population, increasing wealth and urbanization, especially in the developing countries of Asia, there has been an explosive growth in demand for these animal source foods.

With our wild capture fisheries either fully exploited or over exploited, any further increases in fish production will require continued growth from aquaculture. This is especially true for Africa which only supplies 2% of global aquaculture production. 

EAS Honorary Life Membership for Patrick Sorgeloos

Patrick Sorgeloos

At the opening plenary session of the AQUA 2012 event, co-organised in Prague by the European and World Aquaculture Societies, Patrick Sorgeloos, AwF Director, and Director of the Laboratory of Aquaculture and the Artemia Reference Center of the University of Ghent in Belgium, was presented with an Honorary Life Membership of EAS.

Honorary Life Membership is the highest EAS award and is given to those persons that have had a marked impact on the development of European aquaculture. Since 1981, EAS has bestowed this award on only 10 persons, including such names as Eric Edwards, Bernard Chevassus-au-Louis, Peter Hjul, Colin Nash and more recently, Courtney Hough and Pascal Divanach.  Read more …

Aquaculture without Frontiers: Empowering and giving hope through aquaculture

Aquaculture without Frontiers (AwF) was the brainchild of one person following a career spent in researching, travelling and being a part of developing the aquaculture industry as we know it today. AwF roots lay strongly within the World Aquaculture Society family as the concept was formulated by this individual on the back of a presentation and paper delivered at World Aquaculture 2003 in Salvador, Brazil. The person is, of course, Michael New OBE, CBiol, FSB, BSc, ARCS, FIFST; Past-President of WAS and EAS, and current Chairman for AQUA 2012 in Prague.

Back at that 2003 meeting Michael said “The NGOs that are involved in aquaculture development for the poor are sometimes religious, sometimes lay; sometimes branches of international organizations, often national or local. However, it is clear that they need help to utilize the potential of aquaculture efficiently and, as individuals, I feel that we should be ready to assist. However, the aquaculture sector does not have any NGO that appeals directly to the public (our consumers), nor do we raise any funds for aquaculture development from the public. We may sometimes wonder where are our ‘Friends of Aquaculture’, our ‘BluePeace’, our ‘World Aquaculture Fund’, our ‘Aquaculture Defense Fund.’ I think it is most unlikely that we could persuade the public to support a lobbying organization for aquaculture, especially as we have suffered so much criticism (fair and unfair) from aquaculture’ movement would be perceived simply as a defensive negative reaction to criticism. However, I believe that there is a niche for an aquaculture NGO.”

You can read the rest of this article by AwF Director Roy Palmer published in the September issue of World Aquaculture Magazine by clicking here.

McGill Conference on Global Food Security – October 16-18, 2012

Fifth Annual McGill Conference on Global Food Security – “Food Prices and Political Instability”

Join speakers from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas as they gather at McGill University from October 16-18, 2012 for the Fifth McGill Conference on Global Food Security. The Conference will kick off on October 16 with a Public Lecture featuring a keynote speaker, followed by two days of presentations and panel discussions.

International experts, scholars, and policy makers will present their unique perspectives on Food Prices and Political Instability, their on-going efforts to provide a better quality of life for 2-billion of the world’s poorest, and engage in a dialogue to find long-term solutions.

The 2012 McGill Conference on Global Food Security promises to inspire, engage and address the many risks and threats to food security that profoundly impact millions around the globe.

Come and be a part of this unique 3-day event! Held at McGill’s New Residence Hall, participants will have the opportunity to hear the distinct perspectives of our panel of experts. Each session will invoke thoughtful discussion and debate. We are pleased to announce that there will once again be a student panel at this year’s conference.

Don’t miss the opportunity to participate in this exceptional event.

Registration is now open. Seating is limited; pre-registration is required.

Registration fee includes lunches, breaks and a networking cocktail.

For more information and to register to this event please visit the conference website

Program

Registration

Email : globalfoodsecurity@mcgill.ca

AwF Directors meet in Prague at AQUA 2012

While attending AQUA 2012 in Prague, several AwF Directors took the opportunity to meet and discuss issues of importance to the organization. Michael New, OBE, founder and patron of AwF, also attended.

Roy Palmer supplied the group photo below.

From Left: Roy Palmer, Jose Fernandez-Polanco, Geoff Allan, Patrick Sorgeloos, Kevin Fitzsimmons, Peter Edwards, David Little and Michael New. Missing: Pierre Erwes and Sungchul (Charles) Bai

New AwF-Arizona Farmer to Farmer Grant

AwF and the University of Arizona have been awarded a second project to support Farmer to Farmer assignments to work with small scale aquaculture in Kenya and Mexico.

AwF volunteers will travel to Kenya and Mexico to assist local AwF partners to share techniques for sustainable aquaculture. Special emphasis will be on best management practices with freshwater and brackish water fish culture.

The funds are from the US Agency for International Development.

AwF’s Past-Chairman, Kevin Fitzsimmons, will co-ordinate the project. Registered AwF volunteers, who are also US citizens and interested to assist the project should contact Dr. Fitzsimmons.

A copy of the proposal outlining the work to be undertaken can be viewed by clicking here.

Student-organized fundraiser for AwF at AQUA 2012 in Prague

AwF director David Little has coordinated with European Aquaculture Society (EAS) and World Aquaculture Society (WAS) student groups to organize a raffle with proceeds to benefit AwF’s mission of alleviating poverty through aquaculture.

The students wanted to have a clear use for the funds raised and have selected the 1000 day movement to draw attention to the importance of nutrition in early childhood development.

Benedikt Frenzl, president of the EAS students and a student at the University of Stirling, created a flyer to promote the raffle and the objective of the fundraiser – The 1000 Day Initiative: Making the link between aquaculture and the vulnerable. The slogan being used is Fish – Our contribution to a healthier nutrition for children. A copy of this flyer will be in each delegate’s conference bag.

Please support this great initiative as generously as you can afford, and thank these students for rising to such a challenge.

AwF Financial Summary 2003-2012 now available

The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that a financial summary of the income and expenditures of AwF from its founding in 2003 until May 31, 2012 is available on our website. To view the report, click here.

In reviewing this summary, we hope that those that have supported AwF over the years will be encouraged to continue, knowing that we have achieved so much with the donations they have provided. For those just learning about AwF, we hope you will be inspired to contribute generously to enhancing our capacity to fulfil our mission.

Aquaculture Elsevier Conference, 3-7 November 2013, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain

The Aquaculture Elsevier Conference: To the Next 40 Years of Sustainable Global Aquaculture, will be held 3-7 November 2013 at the Palacio de Congresos de Canarias in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain.

This conference will not only celebrate the last 40 years of outstanding science accomplishments in aquaculture it will identify the top science challenges for the next generation of global aquaculture. The conference will be essential for helping assist in a generational change to new leaders for the next science accomplishments needed to double global aquaculture production. You should attend if you are at the cutting edge of science understanding genetics, diseases, feeds, ecological interactions, and sustainable systems.

Sessions

• Aquaculture hatcheries: Science advances and future research needs
• Combining marker assisted selection with classic selection programs
• Transdisciplinary research needs for the expansion of aquaculture in rural economies
• Raw materials and feed ingredients needed for the future of aquaculture
• Interactions of aquaculture and the environment
• Research institutions and research strategies in aquaculture

Abstracts now being accepted, please visit conference website.