California Aquaculture Association

July 14, 2009

Your CAA Board of Directors met on July 14, 2009 at the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute in San Diego. By all measures, the meeting was a productive one. In addition to receiving updates on the many activities of the association, the Board worked on four very important matters.

First, the Board heard a legislative update from Rob Ross, our Government Affairs staff member. He briefed the Board on the status of bills on our watch list. This conversation blended nicely with the next item on the agenda, a report and discussion from the DFG Aquaculture Coordinator, Devin Bartley. Bartley reported that two items of concern to CAA have been removed from the August meeting agenda of the Fish and Game Commission. There will be a delay in approving the new regulations about the labeling of vehicles transporting live fish. This is to allow amended wording that addressed concerns expressed by CAA and others about loopholes that might allow out-of-state producers to import fish into the state without notification or labeling. The proposed changes to Section 671 will also be pulled from that agenda for rewording. In this case, some of the changes are less satisfying to CAA. DFG continues to have concerns about the marketing of live barramundi and has added two more counties (Santa Barbara and Ventura) to the list of southern California counties where these fish may not be marketed alive. Bartley also discussed renewals of oyster culture leases in state waters. DFG is mandated by statute to recover its costs in the area of aquaculture, and these leases do not accomplish that for the oyster production segment of the industry. DFG is considering fee increases and other means of raising revenue, in addition to modifying the leases as they come up for renewal.

The Board of Directors formally endorsed a proposal to create an independent review protocol and panel to evaluate proposed regulations that affect production in California.

Next, the Board turned to the election of officers for 2010. The following were elected:

President – Greg Dale

Secretary – Tony Vaught

Treasurer – Don Crain

VP for Government Affairs – Tony Schuur

VP for Member Services – Dennis Faria

VP for Conference Committee – Iva Gaglione

VP for Marketing, Promotion, and Research – TBA

These officers will assume their roles during the first Board meeting of the year.

The third major item for discussion was plans for the WAS International Meeting in San Diego next March. CAA is co-sponsoring the event and will be presenting a day of programming, along with a set of tours and activities to augment the Conference. Iva Gaglione is the chair of the committee and is working with the Board and other volunteers to ensure that CAA makes a strong showing at this important event.

The final big item on the agenda was approval of a number of changes to the ByLaws of CAA. These changes were made primarily to modernize and streamline the rules under which the association operates. There are several significant changes, however, which provide for member-driven initiatives. The Board approved the amended ByLaws, subject to a 30 day comment period for members who may wish to obtain, read, and comment on them. If you would like a copy of the ByLaws to review, contact the association office directly (execdir@caaquaculture.org; or 916 915-1151). The comment period will close on August 30 at 5:00 p.m. At that time, the amended ByLaws will be considered approved, unless comments by members cause the Board to move for reconsideration.

One other item deserves mention in this summary as well. Peter Struffenegger reported on conversations with faculty and administration at UC Davis. He has been working with them to plan a two-day conference between UCD faculty researchers and producers to discuss past and future collaboration. The event will be a day-and-a-half conference at UCD and will be held in conjunction with the next Board of Directors meeting and possibly DFG’s Aquaculture Development Committee. All producers will be urged to participate. Details will be coming to you soon.