Aquaculture farmers from New England and across the country will gather next month at the Pell Center on the Salve Regina University campus as part of the first Southern New England Aquaculture Conference. The newly expanded conference, being held October 1 and 2, will be held in conjunction with the fifth annual Rhode Island Aquaculture Conference and will focus on the role aquaculture plays in New England’s business, education and environmental sectors.
State Rep. Eileen Naughton, a Warwick Democrat who is chairwoman of the Rhode Island Legislative Commission on Aquaculture said the conference will be an opportunity for area aquaculture farmers to network, share ideas, and learn.
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”This region is known for its expertise in the fisheries industry,” Naughton said. “By forming this kind of network, we are capitalizing on what people know and helping to develop a global industry.”
Rhode Island currently has a $300,000 aquaculture industry, compared with surrounding states like Maine and Connecticut that have close to $60 million industries. But according to Dr. Michael Rice, an associate professor of Fish Animal and Veterinary Science at the University of Rhode Island who is helping to coordinate the conference, each state has something to share and something to learn from the conference.
”It’s important to link up with other New England states because we all face the same problems,” he said. “The companies are very similar and the political structure within each state is somewhat similar, so we can really learn from each other.”
Participants will also be able to learn from the two keynote speakers. Dr. Tim Losordo, president of the World Aquaculture Society and a professor at North Carolina State is expected to talk about the impact of the university on the development of aquaculture. August Shumacher Jr., the under secretary +of the Department of Agriculture’s Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service is expected to discuss the growth of aquaculture to a $1 billion industry domestically.
In addition, educators will be able to earn continuing education credits for their participation in two concurrent workshops focusing on the use of aquaculture in the classroom. The seminars will offer ideas on developing lesson plans and mini-workshops on aquaculture in the classroom.
“Teachers from all levels from elementary to college will learn how to use aquaculture in science, math and other courses,” Rice said. “It’s an integrated way of getting the hands-on experience.”
Aquaculture has been a part of Rhode Island’s economy and those of other New England States since the turn of the century, Rice said, but it’s only within the past decade that it has really grown. Part of the growth, both Rice and Naughton agree, is the growing number of industries involved with aquaculture.
“Aquaculture helps the environment and provides economic opportunity,” Naughton said. “It’s no longer fisherman against aquaculture, it’s a combination of many industries. By networking like this we will reinforce the state’s role in this industry.”
