The Journal of Shellfish Research has been honored once again with an award for excellence in a national competition: the Association TRENDS’ 2009 All-Media Contest.  The Journal was awarded a bronze medal in the scholarly publication category for associations with an annual budget of less than one million dollars.

The TRENDS All-Media Contest is an annual competition held exclusively for associations, recognizing the most creative and effective communication vehicles developed in the industry over the prior year. The 2009 competition included more than 425 entries in 26 categories of association communications.  

The Journal will be honored at the 31st Annual Salute to Association Excellence, to be held February 23, 2010 at the Capital Hilton in Washington DC. The winning entry will be on display at the event, along with the other winners. As well as being honored at the Salute to Association Excellence, this year’s All-Media Contest winners will be featured in the January issue of TRENDS, and online.

Association TRENDS is the national newsletter for association executives and suppliers, spotlighting the latest news, information and trends in association management for the professional staff of international, national, state, regional and local voluntary organizations.

View winning entries – past and present – at the previous winners’ gallery. See Association TRENDS for more industry analysis and news.

The FDA livened up the normally mundane discussion at the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) held October 17 – 23, 2009 in Manchester, NH.  Just days before the Conference convened attendees were warned that the FDA was considering mandating Post Harvest Processing (PHP) on all shellfish any time there was a risk of infection from either Vibrio vulnificus (Vv) or Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp) (see attached letter).

When the opening General Assembly convened Deputy Commissioner Mike Taylor presented the attached letter and delivered a speech (http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Speeches/ucm187012.htm) stating that the FDA no longer supports the Vibrio Control Plan that they had endorsed and helped develop through the ISSC that was intended to reduce the number of illnesses and deaths caused by Vibrio vulnificus associated with oysters harvested from the Gulf states.

Taylor stated that the FDA believes that PHP "technologies have been developed that can largely eliminate this hazard while preserving the sensory qualities of raw product." And that the FDA was no longer satisfied that the approaches being used were likely to achieve the target 60% reduction in illness (from 13 deaths a year 1989-2002) because the political climate had changed with the new administration.  What this effectively means is that during the months May through September that all of the oysters harvested from Gulf Coast states will have to be treated with either high pressure, freezing or irradiation before being admitted into interstate commerce commencing in the spring of 2011.

Many were relieved that Vibrio parahaemolyticus was not included in the dictate, but it was clear from the discussions that ensued that Vp was initially included in the mandate right up until a few days before the letter was delivered, leading many to believe that regulation of Vp by similarly mandated PHP is probably just a few years away and will affect oysters harvested throughout the United States.

In the contentious discussions that ensued, FDA admitted there was no economic analysis or impact considered in making this decision.  Several attendees at the conference speculated that the FDA, after taking a beating in Congressional hearings for failing to prevent outbreaks related to peanuts and spinach earlier this year, was looking for an easy victory and saw oysters as the low hanging fruit.  Industry groups have been scrambling to assimilate the news and try to strategize about how to try and deal with the FDA's edict.  Many industry members and representatives asked for the ISSC to hold a special meeting in 2010 to allow time to perform consumer acceptance studies and economic impact studies before the FDA passes its new "guidance" on Vv control.  Industry is largely in agreement on the need for solidarity and action to attempt to push back on this issue with their Congressional delegation as vigorously as possible for many reasons.

This change in direction by FDA circumvents decades of cooperative negotiations between the industry, state regulators and the FDA.  As Executive Director of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association, Robert Rheault stated "Having shattered this cooperative agreement gives me little confidence that the FDA will continue to support our state Vp Control Plans, and I shudder to think of the impact such a requirement would have on the East and West Coast industries. Without fresh live oysters to serve for the summer months I doubt that the thousands of raw bar customers around the country would willingly substitute dead, processed oysters. I fear many of our best customers would not survive. Our costs would go up by 10 to 15 cents per oyster and our perceived value to the customer would be slashed. Thousands of growers, harvesters, shuckers and restaurant workers would be added to the welfare roles. But the FDA has clearly stated that they are comfortable ignoring any potential economic impacts to the Gulf industry, the raw bars, dealers and restaurants that depend on year-round fresh product."

Online abstract submission and registration for Aquaculture Europe 2010 conference is now  available. 

AE2010 encourages  the submission of high quality oral and poster presentations and these may be  submitted ONLINE.

Detailed  guidelines for abstract preparation are provided in the online submission module.

AQUACULTURE EUROPE 2010 will address the general theme of SEAFRMING TOMORROW – covering many  topics related to island, coastal and ocean aquaculture, but also covering the  production of freshwater species. Parallel conference sessions include  land-based systems, estuarine, coastal lagoon, coastal and offshore aquaculture  and encompass many species from shellfish to fish to marine plants.  AE2010 will  also consider the specific issues related to production on Mediterranean islands  and in Europe’s Outermost Regions.  

Aquaculture Europe 2010  will take place from October 5-8, 2010 at the Centro  de Congressos da Alfândega www.amtc.pt – the old customs house on the quay of  the Douro River in the heart of Porto, Portugal and just opposite the famous port wine cellars that are synonymous with this lively city.

The conference  will be accompanied by an international trade  exhibition.

CONFERENCE PLENARY SESSIONS
The thematic sessions take place each morning of AE2010 and are  plenary sessions. International speakers will present these thematic sessions  that ‘open the debate’ and pave the way for the parallel, technical sessions of contributed presentations in both oral and poster format. Thematic sessions include
the future of marine  aquaculture in a changing environment;
aquaculture governance and regulatory frameworks;
how to integrate aquaculture with other coastal  activities;
consumer demands and  consumption trends
the development of a sustainable sector based on the  ecosystem approach. 

SESSIONS OPEN FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
The following is a list of the sessions open for submission of  abstracts.
When considering submission of your abstract, please select the  session
most suited to your contribution.
PS 01: Finfish hatchery production,
PS 02: Shellfish (juvenile) production,
PS 03: Management of aquaculture  stocks,
PS 04: Species diversification - finfish,
PS 05: Species  diversification – other species,
PS 06: Land-based production,
PS 07:  Offshore aquaculture,
PS 08: Aquaculture on Islands,
PS 09: The eco-system  approach to aquaculture,
PS 10: Carrying capacity and spatial planning,
PS 11:  Aquaculture governance and interactions with fisheries,
PS 12: Human health,  consumer science, and quality, including aquaculture perception,
PS 13: Health  management of finfish and shellfish,
PS 14: Novel feeds, ingredients and  additives,
PS 15: Aquaculture welfare and ethics
PS 16: EU  Forum.

More detailed information can be found on the conference pages at www.easonline.org  and specifically in  the AE2010 brochure available as a PDF file.

Please note that some session  titles have changed since the first AE2010 brochure was printed and  distributed.

Deadline for abstract submission: April 15,  2010

We invite to register early and take advantage of the low costs being offered. Please consider joining EAS to get the member rate, as well as  the numerous benefits that membership provides.  Special registration fees for Portuguese nationals are offered from now until  June 30 at only €200.

We very much look forward to welcoming you in Porto next  October.

Alistair Lane, EAS Executive Director

WASHINGTON, DC: Draft standards for sustainable bivalve farming, created by the 300-plus participants of the Bivalve Aquaculture Dialogue, were posted for public comment today (October 1, 2009). This is the third set of draft standards produced through a series of roundtables, collectively called the Aquaculture Dialogues. All of the standards will be global, performance-based, and designed to minimize the key environmental and social impacts associated with aquaculture.

Feedback received during the 60-day comment period will be used by the bivalve Dialogue's Global Steering Committee (GSC) to revise the standards before they are posted for the last public comment period. Final standards are expected by mid-2010. The standards will be for all cultivated bivalves, including clams, oysters, mussels and scallops. Issues addressed in the standards include organic enrichment, ecological carrying capacity and biosecurity.

"To get to this point, we've worked with the world's leading bivalve producers, scientists, conservationists and a lot of other people who have expertise and interest in making sure aquaculture has little or no negative impact on the environment or society," said Dialogue Coordinator Colin Brannen of World Wildlife Fund, the organization that coordinates the Dialogues. "We hope that, through the public comment periods, we get the final bit of feedback needed to produce what I believe will be the world's most credible standards for the industry."

Committee members will reach out to key stakeholder groups to encourage them to review and comment on the draft standards and to make certain that the standards are fair and accessible to all levels of bivalve production. Anybody can provide input by reviewing the standards and completing the comment form, which are both available at www.worldwildlife.org/bivalvedialogue.

This type of open, transparent, multi-stakeholder approach is used by all of the Aquaculture Dialogue roundtables. It is the only process for aquaculture standard-setting that is in compliance with the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labeling Alliance's guidelines for creating environmental and social standards. Other draft standards produced to date through the Dialogue process include tilapia and pangasius, which are expected to be finalized in late 2009 and early 2010, respectively.

To read and comment on the bivalve standards, go to www.worldwildlife.org/bivalvedialogue