In coordinated keynote addresses, two visionary professionals – a food business expert and an aquaculture expert will present AquaVision delegates with thought-provoking views and options to bring about the blue revolution and make aquaculture a thriving and sustainable source of aquatic protein.
“To build a durable business producing fish for consumers, the aquaculture industry must first learn to understand its markets. The business model too often in aquaculture is totally out of date,” says Ray Cesca. President of Illinois-based consultancy GAEA International, Ray Cesca was previously the Managing Director for World Trade at McDonald’s Corporation.
“There are significant trends in the food industry and these must be understood. Aquaculture products have to meet the needs that result from these trends. To create responsive supply chains providing excellent nutrition, aquaculture companies should participate in cooperative alliances. A cooperative alliance can span from genetics to value-added products on the consumer’s plate and provide a more stable income for producers. With a champion at each stage, this business model will outperform others such as vertical integration.”
Community roots
“We are in a period of rapid expansion for aquaculture, driven by population growth, the developing economies of Asian countries and increasing awareness of the health value of fish in the diet. However, to succeed, aquaculture must tie in with social structures and the natural ecology,” observes Barry Costa-Pierce. He is Professor of Fisheries and Aquaculture at the University of Rhode Island in the United States, director of Rhode Island Sea Grant and author of “Ecological Aquaculture: The Evolution of the Blue Revolution”.
In the view of Professor Costa-Pierce, aquaculture is ideally poised to provide for growing demands that fisheries cannot meet. “In addition, as a knowledge-based industry, aquaculture can supply the information about food that today’s consumers want but it must also meet the challenges of environmental communication and address the social issues of coastal developments. There is a huge gap between the family enterprises originally envisaged and industrial production. To be sustainable, aquaculture must become rooted in its communities.”
The keynote speakers will launch the opening session of AquaVision 2004 on 23 June in Stavanger, Norway. Between them they will provide the delegates with challenges, fresh ideas and food for thought as they set about making modern aquaculture the sustainable blue revolution — achieving the transformation from production driven to consumer led.
AquaVision 2004
AquaVision 2004 is from 22 to 24 June in Stavanger, Norway and is the fifth in this successful series, which began in 1996. Each conference has drawn 300–400 delegates representing all interests in modern aquaculture, including feed manufacturers, fish producers, retailers, consumers, ministers and other politicians, scientists and NGOs.
At AquaVision 2004 the keynote addresses will be followed by four sessions of presentations and debates to tackle key challenges on the road to sustainability:
AquaVision 2004 again incorporates the FAO Eastfish Salmon Summit as in 2002. AquaVision is organised by Nutreco Aquaculture in co-operation with EUROFISH, which has developed from the FAO EASTFISH project (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization); BASF Animal Health, a leading producer of feed additives for salmon production; Schering-Plough Animal Health, a world leader in fish and animal health; Fish Farming International – the leading international aquaculture magazine, and Seafood International – the major international seafood magazine. AquaVision also benefits from active participation by Rabobank.
AquaVision 2004 will be held in Stavanger, a world centre of aquaculture located in southern Norway. Easily accessible by air, the conference opens on Tuesday, June 22 and runs through the early afternoon on June 24, allowing Europe-based delegates to return home that day. Further information and registration details can be found at www.aquavision.nu.
