NYSAquaNews Vol. 4 #1 March 14, 2011
Shellfish Producers Join NYSAA
Starting this year, the East End Marine Farmers Association, representing all shellfish producers in the New York City, Long Island area, were formally welcomed into the NewYork State Aquaculture Association. Although several shellfish producers were alreadymembers of NYSAA, the decision by East End Marine to join with upstate growers wasindeed good news for the beginning of 2011. Aquaculture in New York is now able to "Speak with One Voice" whenever discussions of industry issues takes place. This growth in membership creates many positives for New York's aquaculture industry. The addition of new members strengthens the Association's position when talking with legislators and other government officials. With membership in more regions of the state, legislators from those areas are more likely to support legislation that benefits people in their district. Increased diversification amongst the membership will also help
strengthen the industry. People engaged in diverse forms of aquaculture can share ideas, culturing techniques and home grown technological advances more easily through media and events. Customer referrals, promoting "Grown in New York" fish products, problem solving, networking business opportunities and more, are all made easier with a diversified, statewide cadre of fish producers.
NRAC Needs a New York Representative
The Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center (NRAC) is looking for a fish producer from New York to serve on its Industry Advisory Council (IAC). Service is voluntary in nature and will not command compensation. Appointment is for a three year period starting this year. The primary function of this position is to screen grant applications submitted to NRAC and recommend noteworthy ones for funding. Grant screening is a two step process. Step 1 is the screening of pre-applications and Step 2, final review and
recommendation for funding. Criteria for screening is spelled out on a grant review sheet for each step. Grant topics are wide ranging and cover both shellfish and finfish topics. The IAC meets once per year in the Washington, DC area. Meetings usually cover a two day period with NRAC paying all expenses. (Air or ground transportation, hotel accommodations, food). Participants must be recommended by either the
Association or NYS Aquaculture Coop. Extension. I just completed my 3 year cycle on the IAC and was able to make many contacts throughout the Northeast. The work came in short bursts during the year with a trip to Washington each year. The management team at NRAC is highly professional and willing to work with you to get the job done efficiently. I enjoyed my interactions with them. If you are interested in representing New York on the NRAC IAC, please send me a brief resume as soon as possible.
Cornell Announces Short Course Schedule for 2011
The 17th Annual Recirculation Aquaculture Systems Short Course will be offered at Cornell University, in Ithaca, N. Y. from July 11 through 14, 2011. Dr. Michael B.Timmons will be the lead instructor, supported by his colleague from Aquaculture Systems Management, Baton Rouge, La., Dr. James Ebeling and others. Those interested in setting up and operating a commercial level aquaculture business are encouraged to sign up for this course. Additional details about the course are attached to this newsletter. I took the short course several years ago and found it very rewarding and informative. I recommend it highly for those pursuing a career in aquaculture using recirculating aquaculture systems. As part of the short course program, participants receive a copy of Dr. Timmons' new 2nd edition book entitled "Recirculating Aquaculture". This book is also available to the public separately for $130 per copy. As a special offer to NYS Aquaculture Association members, Dr. Timmons will offer this newest edition of his book for $85 plus $6 shipping when 6 or more copies are ordered through the association; that's a $39 savings off the regular price. I have purchased Dr. Timmon's first edition and found it to be a "must have" addition to my aquaculture library. I highly recommend investing in this resource for those wanting to raise fish commercially in recirculation and aquaponics applications. This book is hard cover and contains 948 pages with website software support. If you would like to order a copy through the Association's discount offer, please send me an e-mail and I'll put you on our list and send further details.
Fall Aquaculture Conference Being Planned
Keeping current with industry innovations is always a challenge. Networking with colleagues is usually rewarding. Combining business with pleasure stimulates creativity. Relaxing with friends in pleasant surrounding is always enjoyable. Sounds like good reasons for aquaculture people to have a conference.
In my 17 year experience with the New York Aquaculture Industry, I've never attended a conference sponsored and organized by the NYS Aquaculture Association. It's about time we highlight our industry and devote attention to the needs and interests of both our membership and those in the public interested in raising fish. At our last Executive Council meeting, the association leadership discussed having an aquaculture conference during the latter part of September 2011. The conference would be held in
the central New York area, in either Canandaigua or Geneva, New York. It would be a full day's worth of activities with key note speakers, workshops and exhibits. Initial thoughts are to charge a $20 registration fee per person to association members and $30 to non-members, to help cover conference expenses. Fees would include a buffet luncheon and light refreshments. Before we can continue with our planning process however, the executive council needs to determine several important factors in its planning. How many people would like to attend? What does the membership want to learn at the conference? Are there any
particular speakers, topics of interest or company products desired? What will it cost to put on such an event? We assume that learning more about regulations is not a topic high on anyone's list of conference activities, so we will most likely not include any workshops of this nature. (Unless everyone just has to have one.) Almost any other topic, however, is open for consideration. The executive council will select final workshop activities, once it receives input from the membership. What we need from you is this:
Would you be interested in attending such a conference? If so, how many people will be in your group?
Do you have specific topics of interest you would like to hear about? Please list them for consideration.
Are you having fish culture or business related issues you want more information about? What are they?
Other things you would like as part of the conference program?
Would you be interested in volunteering to help with registration or some other job on conference day? pre-conference planning? If so, how would you like to help? We would like to hear from you soon, regarding the above list of questions. Planning a good conference takes time and input from many players. No need for long messages, just the facts will do. We would also like you to ask others who you think might be interested, if they would like to attend. Their input to the above questions would also be appreciated. This event will be open to everyone and we are hoping to see many old friends with whom we've lost touch over the years. E-mail me your responses soon, for initial planning has already begun.
Membership Dues Time Again
Association dues are our primary source of income for financing association activities. Your support, both moral and financial, is what keeps us united and moving forward. At our February executive council meeting, a new member dues schedule was approved as follows: Grower - $35 for one year; or $50 for two years. Educator/Researcher/Government - $30; Student - FREE; Associate - $20; Corporate -
$350; Sponsor - $300. If you are a N.Y. Farm Bureau member take $10 off of the above rates. I have attached our 2011 membership form to this newsletter for your use. For those renewing their membership, you need only check the renewal box, fill in the name block and update any new/changed information. New membership, of course, is vital to the longevity of the Association. So asking other aquaculture producers to join will certainly help. We know there are many hatcheries and producers around the state, but don't know who they are. If some are your neighbors, your contacting them about joining the Association, may be enough to encourage them to do so. Make a copy of the application form and give it to them. They may not know about us either. When completing membership applications, it is very important that you include your email address. We rely on e-mail as our major method of communicating with membership. Those without e-mail should ask a relative or friend if they could use their e-mail address to receive materials and put that address in the e-mail blank, otherwise add $30 more for USPS delivery. Please make checks payable to: N.Y.S. Aquaculture
Association. We appreciate the due diligence of those who have already sent in their 2011 dues in October, November and December of 2010 or since the new year. Everyone's support however, is needed.
Could Chytrid Fungus Regulations Impact Aquaculture
When shipping fish, it is not unusual to inadvertently mix in a frog or tadpole with the order. As with many other things in aquaculture, TIMES ARE CHANGING and we need to be careful of any extra species that might hitch a ride with an order of live fish. The article listed below was taken from the Colorado Aquaculture Association newsletter, December 2010 edition, and is worth reading. In September, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service posted a notice in the Federal Register seeking information concerning the possible designation of all live amphibians or their eggs that are infected with chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or Bd) as “injurious wildlife” under the Lacey Act. The fungus causes chytridiomycosis, a disease deadly to amphibians, and has been identified as a primary factor leading to the listing of a number of amphibian species as
threatened or endangered. If finalized, the designation as injurious would require a health certification that live amphibians or their eggs are not infected with chytrid fungus prior to import or transportation across state lines. The Notice of Inquiry was published in the Federal Register on September 17, 2010, that explain the chytrid fungus issue. Comments from the public to provide information on the subject were due by December 16, 2010. The submissions will be reviewed and a decision made whether to proceed with a proposed rule or
to take no further action. Under the Lacey Act, the Department of the Interior is authorized to regulate the importation and interstate transport of wildlife species determined to be injurious to humans; the interests of agriculture, horticulture or forestry; or the welfare and survival of wildlife resources of the United States. Current regulations prohibit the release into the wild of all species of live amphibians or their eggs, except as authorized. A listing under the Lacey Act would not affect a person or institution that currently owns an amphibian and does not transport it to another state or U.S. territory. Designation of amphibians carrying chytrid fungus as “injurious species” would have many important implications for U.S. aquaculture
producers: (From: NAA Update) The inadvertent inclusion of an amphibian, which includes tadpoles, in a load of live aquatic animals would be a violation of the Lacey Act.- Producers of amphibians would most likely be
required to obtain individual certificates of inspection for each interstate movement of amphibians.
The regulation of chytrid fungus as an “injurious species” bypasses existing regulatory approaches and agencies that regulate the interstate movement of important diseases. The primary goal of this proposed designation is to prevent the spread of chytrid fungus to wild populations of amphibians, however, scientific investigations that have looked at the current distribution of chytrid have found the fungus to be widely distributed already in wild amphibians in North America including the East, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest.
From: USFWS News Release http://www.fws.gov/fisheries/ans/ANSInjurious.cfm and National Aquaculture
Association Update
Election Of Association Officers
It has been almost 4 years since current association management assumed control of Association business. During that time our organization has reintroduced itself in the State Legislature, the halls of the US Congress and across New York State. Our membership has been reaffirmed and is growing. Changes have been made in order to keep up with the times. Currently the Association's management structure is as follows:
President - Ted Universal - until Dec. 2011
Vice-president - Jim Kennedy - until Dec. 2011
Executive Council - Darin Hickling - until Dec. 2012
Executive Council - Steve Sanford- until Dec. 2011
Executive Council - Don Sadue until Dec. 2012
Executive Council - Mark Lee until Dec. 2013
Executive Council - Karen Rivara- until Dec. 2013
* Norm Soule voluntarily resigned his position on the management team in February 2011. We all appreciated his knowledgeable incite and support in helping guide the Association through complex times. Save commenting on my own service, all the members of the above management teamhave served and are serving with distinction on behalf of all Association members and others working in aquaculture throughout New York State. Each has spent countless hours and hundreds of dollars of their own money to further the cause of aquaculture for everyone. Hats off to all of them, for a job well done! As you can see, several members, including myself, are up for re-election or retirement in December of this year; several others in 2012 and the remaining in December 2013. Some of you may want to get more involved in Association activities and want to
become part of the management team. Therefore, between now and May 15, 2011, we will be accepting nominations and/or applications from the membership for a position on the Executive Council. Current members may choose to run for office again, while other members may want to run against them. Once new executive council members have been elected, the executive council will elect a new president who will serve a 4 year term of office and a vice-president who will serve a 5 year term. The remaining council members will serve the balance of a 3 year term of office. In person meeting are costly both in time and money. With this in mind, much of the Executive Council's communications are done via e-mail or telephone conferencing at the Association's expense. I have also been known to phone members for advice and discussion of issues. In person, group meeting are rare.In order to run for office, candidates need to be members of the Association in good standing. A simple resume needs to be submitted outlining your qualifications to serve including but not limited to: Full contact information, educational background, experience in aquaculture, and any other information the candidate feels is an important asset in serving the Association membership. This information will be used to inform the membership at large of your candidacy and distributed via e-mail in upcoming
newsletters. Serving on the Executive Council is an honorary position and receives NO SALARY OR COMPENSATION. It may even cost you money from time to time. As a benefit, executive council members have their annual dues waived, but make that up through their service to the Association. If you are interested in serving the Association as an executive council member, please submit your resume to me by May 15, 2011, so it can be readied for newsletter distribution around June 1st. Elections will be held in July, with results announced in September 2011. New officers will begin their tenure January 1, 2012.
Your Friend in Aquaculture,
Ted Universal
President - NYSAA
Shellfish Producers Join NYSAA
Starting this year, the East End Marine Farmers Association, representing all shellfish producers in the New York City, Long Island area, were formally welcomed into the NewYork State Aquaculture Association. Although several shellfish producers were alreadymembers of NYSAA, the decision by East End Marine to join with upstate growers wasindeed good news for the beginning of 2011. Aquaculture in New York is now able to "Speak with One Voice" whenever discussions of industry issues takes place. This growth in membership creates many positives for New York's aquaculture industry. The addition of new members strengthens the Association's position when talking with legislators and other government officials. With membership in more regions of the state, legislators from those areas are more likely to support legislation that benefits people in their district. Increased diversification amongst the membership will also help
strengthen the industry. People engaged in diverse forms of aquaculture can share ideas, culturing techniques and home grown technological advances more easily through media and events. Customer referrals, promoting "Grown in New York" fish products, problem solving, networking business opportunities and more, are all made easier with a diversified, statewide cadre of fish producers.
NRAC Needs a New York Representative
The Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center (NRAC) is looking for a fish producer from New York to serve on its Industry Advisory Council (IAC). Service is voluntary in nature and will not command compensation. Appointment is for a three year period starting this year. The primary function of this position is to screen grant applications submitted to NRAC and recommend noteworthy ones for funding. Grant screening is a two step process. Step 1 is the screening of pre-applications and Step 2, final review and
recommendation for funding. Criteria for screening is spelled out on a grant review sheet for each step. Grant topics are wide ranging and cover both shellfish and finfish topics. The IAC meets once per year in the Washington, DC area. Meetings usually cover a two day period with NRAC paying all expenses. (Air or ground transportation, hotel accommodations, food). Participants must be recommended by either the
Association or NYS Aquaculture Coop. Extension. I just completed my 3 year cycle on the IAC and was able to make many contacts throughout the Northeast. The work came in short bursts during the year with a trip to Washington each year. The management team at NRAC is highly professional and willing to work with you to get the job done efficiently. I enjoyed my interactions with them. If you are interested in representing New York on the NRAC IAC, please send me a brief resume as soon as possible.
Cornell Announces Short Course Schedule for 2011
The 17th Annual Recirculation Aquaculture Systems Short Course will be offered at Cornell University, in Ithaca, N. Y. from July 11 through 14, 2011. Dr. Michael B.Timmons will be the lead instructor, supported by his colleague from Aquaculture Systems Management, Baton Rouge, La., Dr. James Ebeling and others. Those interested in setting up and operating a commercial level aquaculture business are encouraged to sign up for this course. Additional details about the course are attached to this newsletter. I took the short course several years ago and found it very rewarding and informative. I recommend it highly for those pursuing a career in aquaculture using recirculating aquaculture systems. As part of the short course program, participants receive a copy of Dr. Timmons' new 2nd edition book entitled "Recirculating Aquaculture". This book is also available to the public separately for $130 per copy. As a special offer to NYS Aquaculture Association members, Dr. Timmons will offer this newest edition of his book for $85 plus $6 shipping when 6 or more copies are ordered through the association; that's a $39 savings off the regular price. I have purchased Dr. Timmon's first edition and found it to be a "must have" addition to my aquaculture library. I highly recommend investing in this resource for those wanting to raise fish commercially in recirculation and aquaponics applications. This book is hard cover and contains 948 pages with website software support. If you would like to order a copy through the Association's discount offer, please send me an e-mail and I'll put you on our list and send further details.
Fall Aquaculture Conference Being Planned
Keeping current with industry innovations is always a challenge. Networking with colleagues is usually rewarding. Combining business with pleasure stimulates creativity. Relaxing with friends in pleasant surrounding is always enjoyable. Sounds like good reasons for aquaculture people to have a conference.
In my 17 year experience with the New York Aquaculture Industry, I've never attended a conference sponsored and organized by the NYS Aquaculture Association. It's about time we highlight our industry and devote attention to the needs and interests of both our membership and those in the public interested in raising fish. At our last Executive Council meeting, the association leadership discussed having an aquaculture conference during the latter part of September 2011. The conference would be held in
the central New York area, in either Canandaigua or Geneva, New York. It would be a full day's worth of activities with key note speakers, workshops and exhibits. Initial thoughts are to charge a $20 registration fee per person to association members and $30 to non-members, to help cover conference expenses. Fees would include a buffet luncheon and light refreshments. Before we can continue with our planning process however, the executive council needs to determine several important factors in its planning. How many people would like to attend? What does the membership want to learn at the conference? Are there any
particular speakers, topics of interest or company products desired? What will it cost to put on such an event? We assume that learning more about regulations is not a topic high on anyone's list of conference activities, so we will most likely not include any workshops of this nature. (Unless everyone just has to have one.) Almost any other topic, however, is open for consideration. The executive council will select final workshop activities, once it receives input from the membership. What we need from you is this:
Would you be interested in attending such a conference? If so, how many people will be in your group?
Do you have specific topics of interest you would like to hear about? Please list them for consideration.
Are you having fish culture or business related issues you want more information about? What are they?
Other things you would like as part of the conference program?
Would you be interested in volunteering to help with registration or some other job on conference day? pre-conference planning? If so, how would you like to help? We would like to hear from you soon, regarding the above list of questions. Planning a good conference takes time and input from many players. No need for long messages, just the facts will do. We would also like you to ask others who you think might be interested, if they would like to attend. Their input to the above questions would also be appreciated. This event will be open to everyone and we are hoping to see many old friends with whom we've lost touch over the years. E-mail me your responses soon, for initial planning has already begun.
Membership Dues Time Again
Association dues are our primary source of income for financing association activities. Your support, both moral and financial, is what keeps us united and moving forward. At our February executive council meeting, a new member dues schedule was approved as follows: Grower - $35 for one year; or $50 for two years. Educator/Researcher/Government - $30; Student - FREE; Associate - $20; Corporate -
$350; Sponsor - $300. If you are a N.Y. Farm Bureau member take $10 off of the above rates. I have attached our 2011 membership form to this newsletter for your use. For those renewing their membership, you need only check the renewal box, fill in the name block and update any new/changed information. New membership, of course, is vital to the longevity of the Association. So asking other aquaculture producers to join will certainly help. We know there are many hatcheries and producers around the state, but don't know who they are. If some are your neighbors, your contacting them about joining the Association, may be enough to encourage them to do so. Make a copy of the application form and give it to them. They may not know about us either. When completing membership applications, it is very important that you include your email address. We rely on e-mail as our major method of communicating with membership. Those without e-mail should ask a relative or friend if they could use their e-mail address to receive materials and put that address in the e-mail blank, otherwise add $30 more for USPS delivery. Please make checks payable to: N.Y.S. Aquaculture
Association. We appreciate the due diligence of those who have already sent in their 2011 dues in October, November and December of 2010 or since the new year. Everyone's support however, is needed.
Could Chytrid Fungus Regulations Impact Aquaculture
When shipping fish, it is not unusual to inadvertently mix in a frog or tadpole with the order. As with many other things in aquaculture, TIMES ARE CHANGING and we need to be careful of any extra species that might hitch a ride with an order of live fish. The article listed below was taken from the Colorado Aquaculture Association newsletter, December 2010 edition, and is worth reading. In September, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service posted a notice in the Federal Register seeking information concerning the possible designation of all live amphibians or their eggs that are infected with chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or Bd) as “injurious wildlife” under the Lacey Act. The fungus causes chytridiomycosis, a disease deadly to amphibians, and has been identified as a primary factor leading to the listing of a number of amphibian species as
threatened or endangered. If finalized, the designation as injurious would require a health certification that live amphibians or their eggs are not infected with chytrid fungus prior to import or transportation across state lines. The Notice of Inquiry was published in the Federal Register on September 17, 2010, that explain the chytrid fungus issue. Comments from the public to provide information on the subject were due by December 16, 2010. The submissions will be reviewed and a decision made whether to proceed with a proposed rule or
to take no further action. Under the Lacey Act, the Department of the Interior is authorized to regulate the importation and interstate transport of wildlife species determined to be injurious to humans; the interests of agriculture, horticulture or forestry; or the welfare and survival of wildlife resources of the United States. Current regulations prohibit the release into the wild of all species of live amphibians or their eggs, except as authorized. A listing under the Lacey Act would not affect a person or institution that currently owns an amphibian and does not transport it to another state or U.S. territory. Designation of amphibians carrying chytrid fungus as “injurious species” would have many important implications for U.S. aquaculture
producers: (From: NAA Update) The inadvertent inclusion of an amphibian, which includes tadpoles, in a load of live aquatic animals would be a violation of the Lacey Act.- Producers of amphibians would most likely be
required to obtain individual certificates of inspection for each interstate movement of amphibians.
The regulation of chytrid fungus as an “injurious species” bypasses existing regulatory approaches and agencies that regulate the interstate movement of important diseases. The primary goal of this proposed designation is to prevent the spread of chytrid fungus to wild populations of amphibians, however, scientific investigations that have looked at the current distribution of chytrid have found the fungus to be widely distributed already in wild amphibians in North America including the East, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest.
From: USFWS News Release http://www.fws.gov/fisheries/ans/ANSInjurious.cfm and National Aquaculture
Association Update
Election Of Association Officers
It has been almost 4 years since current association management assumed control of Association business. During that time our organization has reintroduced itself in the State Legislature, the halls of the US Congress and across New York State. Our membership has been reaffirmed and is growing. Changes have been made in order to keep up with the times. Currently the Association's management structure is as follows:
President - Ted Universal - until Dec. 2011
Vice-president - Jim Kennedy - until Dec. 2011
Executive Council - Darin Hickling - until Dec. 2012
Executive Council - Steve Sanford- until Dec. 2011
Executive Council - Don Sadue until Dec. 2012
Executive Council - Mark Lee until Dec. 2013
Executive Council - Karen Rivara- until Dec. 2013
* Norm Soule voluntarily resigned his position on the management team in February 2011. We all appreciated his knowledgeable incite and support in helping guide the Association through complex times. Save commenting on my own service, all the members of the above management teamhave served and are serving with distinction on behalf of all Association members and others working in aquaculture throughout New York State. Each has spent countless hours and hundreds of dollars of their own money to further the cause of aquaculture for everyone. Hats off to all of them, for a job well done! As you can see, several members, including myself, are up for re-election or retirement in December of this year; several others in 2012 and the remaining in December 2013. Some of you may want to get more involved in Association activities and want to
become part of the management team. Therefore, between now and May 15, 2011, we will be accepting nominations and/or applications from the membership for a position on the Executive Council. Current members may choose to run for office again, while other members may want to run against them. Once new executive council members have been elected, the executive council will elect a new president who will serve a 4 year term of office and a vice-president who will serve a 5 year term. The remaining council members will serve the balance of a 3 year term of office. In person meeting are costly both in time and money. With this in mind, much of the Executive Council's communications are done via e-mail or telephone conferencing at the Association's expense. I have also been known to phone members for advice and discussion of issues. In person, group meeting are rare.In order to run for office, candidates need to be members of the Association in good standing. A simple resume needs to be submitted outlining your qualifications to serve including but not limited to: Full contact information, educational background, experience in aquaculture, and any other information the candidate feels is an important asset in serving the Association membership. This information will be used to inform the membership at large of your candidacy and distributed via e-mail in upcoming
newsletters. Serving on the Executive Council is an honorary position and receives NO SALARY OR COMPENSATION. It may even cost you money from time to time. As a benefit, executive council members have their annual dues waived, but make that up through their service to the Association. If you are interested in serving the Association as an executive council member, please submit your resume to me by May 15, 2011, so it can be readied for newsletter distribution around June 1st. Elections will be held in July, with results announced in September 2011. New officers will begin their tenure January 1, 2012.
Your Friend in Aquaculture,
Ted Universal
President - NYSAA