Peace theme in Bogota show

AQUACULTURE for Peace will be the theme of the World Aquaculture Society (WAS) conference in Bogota, Colombia, later this year.
Latin American and Caribbean Aquaculture 2018 (LACQUA18) – organised by the National University of Colombia, the Colombian Federation of Aquaculture (FEDEACUA) and the Latin American and Caribbean Chapter of WAS – will be held at the Ágora Convention Centre in Bogotá, from October 23 to 26, 2018.
This year is auspicious for aquaculture activity in a new Colombia, said the organisers. The country faces challenges, and aquaculture is one of the activities ‘providing opportunities to weave peace networks, as well as to improve the quality of life and resilience of its population’.
In the past year, Colombia has increased its exports of fresh tilapia fillet, with the US as its main market.
The Colombian Federation of Aquaculture has played an essential role in the growth of the sector, empowering fish farmers to produce in a sustainable and competitive way.
As well as tilapia, farmers grow trout, and native species such as cachama, yamú and bocachico. The aquaculture sector grew six per cent in 2016 compared to the previous year, and 9.01 per cent over the last decade.
Some 20 per cent of national production was exported in 2016, with around 7,722 tonnes of fresh fillets exported, 88 per cent of which went to the US and Canada.
Bogota, located on the South American Andes, is Colombia’s largest city and a part of the Best Cities Global Alliance, a network of high-level destinations for congresses and conventions worldwide that includes Berlin, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Edinburgh, Houston, Melbourne, Vancouver and Tokyo.
The conference in October will run alongside a trade fair, which has capacity for 72 stands. There will also be an opportunity for delegates to participate in technical visits, and mini courses will be run during the conference in addition to the presentations.
Topics to be covered – in Spanish, Portuguese and English – will be wide ranging, with a special focus on tilapia, trout, native South American fish and shrimp.
For more information visit www.was.org