The Global Aquaculture Alliance kicked off its GOAL 2013 conference today by acknowledging leaders in their midst, and encouraging the development of new leaders in seafood farming.
The three-day conference began in Paris with a keynote speech by Ole-Eirik Lerøy, chairman of Marine Harvest, in front of a crowd of about 300 people who filled the main ballroom at the Pullman Paris Montparnasse Hotel. Lerøy reminded the audience of the importance of aquaculture as a food source, citing FAO data that shows the world will need to see an increase of 40 million metric tons of aquatic food by 2030, based on population projections.
“There won’t be more wild fish in the ocean. It has to be done by aquaculture,” Lerøy told the crowd of academics, scientists and other seafood farming experts. “It is a given for us, but it has to be repeated.”
Lerøy also noted the industry may be well-established, but it is still only 30 years old, and still relatively new to the world.
“We have a lot to learn, and we have to do it together,” he said.
One major change in those three decades, he said, is the greater prevalence of regulation and standardization.
“You cannot hide anymore,” he said. “You have to document it.”
Lerøy said he hopes his company’s sustainability agenda, which he is calling “the blue revolution,” will serve as a benchmark for aquaculture around the world.
But it will take time, and Lerøy said it is very likely that in another three decades, there will be a whole new generation of leaders, who are likely working their way up the ranks right now.
“They are already working in your company,” he said. “You have to find them.”
The GAA also acknowledged two leaders in their fields: Bjorn Myrseth, co-founder and former CEO of Stolt Sea Farm, and founder and former CEO of Marine Farms, both based in Norway, and Don Lightner, longtime pathologist, biologist and professor at the University of Arizona. Both men were honored with lifetime achievement awards from the GAA, and Myrseth, in accepting the award, mentioned the need for leadership, giving credit to the people who worked for him during his three-decade career.
“I couldn’t have done this alone,” he said.
Attendees also listened to panel discussions about production and disease control before breaking up into smaller question-and-answer sessions with panelists and speakers.
