The Legislative Press and Public Information Bureau
Distributed October 28, 2002
For more information,
contact: Dana Rae DelSignore, Publicist
State House Room 20
(401) 222-2457
Email: ddelsignore@rilin.state.ri.us
Rhode
Island Aquaculture Conference &
Expo goes international
STATE HOUSE -- There will be more than shrimp, scallops
and oysters on the plate at this year’s Northeast Aquaculture Conference &
Expo (NACE- RI).
The main course will be a newly brokered economic deal
between Rhode Island and South Australia that could possibly send Ocean State
aquaculture products halfway across the globe and that has state officials
buzzing with excitement.
“Our whole mission has been to increase aquaculture
business in Rhode Island,” said Representative Naughton (D-Dist. 32), who
chairs the Rhode Island Legislative Commission on Aquaculture. “When we first
started out, we developed a strategic plan that networked the resources
necessary for aquaculture commerce to go global. This is a very exciting
development for the entire state and for South Australia as well.”
This year’s aquaculture expo, which is sponsored by the
aquaculture commission, will be held November 15 and 16 at the Crowne Plaza at
the Crossings in Warwick.
A representative from the South Australian government,
David Brook, will be on hand to meet with conference-goers and to learn about
the state’s fledgling aquaculture industry.
In June, officials from the state Economic Development
Corporation developed an agreement for Rhode Island and South Australia to
“explore and develop” commerce and other beneficial exchanges, said
Representative Naughton. Rhode Island aquaculturists, shellfishermen and
fishermen can take advantage of the arrangement, Naughton said, by attending
November’s conference and learning more about South Australia’s business
climate.
“This is truly global commerce,” said Naughton.
“What began as a small aquaculture conference and grew into a Northeast
network of fish farmers has now growing into a global entity. We’re absolutely
thrilled.”
This year’s event will be the largest aquaculture
conference ever held in the Northeast area. It will draw together local,
national and international exhibitors, experts, educators and fish farmers to
discuss issues and trends in the region’s aquaculture industry. There will be
more than 30 exhibitors on hand – including a Canadian company – displaying
their wares, and experts from around the country will take part in the National
Urban Aquaculture Symposium and demonstrations, which are taking place
simultaneously.
“The aquaculture conference and expo is designed
primarily to serve the needs of the aquaculture industry and to explore
aquaculture as an economic development opportunity in the region,” said
Michael A. Rice, professor and chairman of the Department of Fisheries, Animal
& Veterinary Sciences at the University of Rhode Island. “We hope to do
that by bringing together a host of knowledgeable speakers, presenters, vendors
and attendees.”
This year’s conference and expo has culminated in two
days of keynote speakers, seminars, talks, field trips, the urban aquaculture
symposium, and the vendor expo.
Keynote speaker will be Richard Prickett of Marine Farm
Technology Ltd. in Great Britain. A flatfish producer currently working on
expanding the cod industry in Europe, Prickett will compare and contrast
Europe’s flourishing finfish business with the United States’ floundering
industry.
Scholarships are available for small growers, fishermen
and shellfishermen who would like to attend the conference. For more information
and applications, please contact the conference administrator, Ann Marie Rathbun,
at (800) 292-8787; (401) 461-8848 ext. 391; TDD (401) 461-6549; or by e-mail at
arathbun@narrabay.com.
The conference is hosted by the RI Legislative Commission
on Aquaculture and co-hosted by the Ocean State Aquaculture Association. Main
sponsors include the Legislative Commission on Aquaculture; Sea Grants from
Rhode Island, Maine, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire and the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution; and the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center.
Other sponsors include the Coastal Resources Management
Council, the RI Department of Environmental Management and the Narragansett Bay
Commission, RI Farm Bureau.
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