Canadian aquaculture launches youth wing

THE Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) has launched its own National Youth Council, partly to encourage more young people into the industry and partly to showcase the growing presence of the younger generation in the fish farming sector.
CAIA executive director Timothy Kennedy said: ‘Seafood farming is a young and growing sector for Canada. We are delighted to be attracting top calibre young people to create a strong and sustainable future.
‘The diversity and strength of these young people is a testament to a bright future for our sector.’
The alliance said it had established a National Youth Council to connect young professionals in Canada’s aquaculture sector, to propose and develop ideas for the flourishing of the sector, and to be ambassadors for the sector.
Kennedy added: ‘We have brought together a group of 14 young people from across the country – seven women and seven men – to represent the growing presence of youth in this science, sustainability and future oriented sector.
‘Representing six provinces, they are excited and eager to share their knowledge and passion for seafood farming. We look forward to their ideas and energy.’
R.J. Taylor, the inaugural Youth Council chair, said: ‘We hail from across Canada’s thriving seafood farming sector: finfish to shellfish, land based to net pens, freshwater to marine, industry to research.
‘And we all share the same passion for advancing this incredibly dynamic and sustainable sector.’
The National Youth Council members convened their first face-to-face meeting at the 2018 Canadian Farmed Seafood Policy Conference in the federal capital Ottawa last week.
Picture: Timothy Kennedy,executive director of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance