President's Welcome
December 2008
Dear Aquaculturist,
It is my privilege to welcome you to the OAA and invite you to actively
participate in the activities of our Association. The Oregon Aquaculture
Association represents the private freshwater aquaculture industry in Oregon.
You can find out more about the Association at
www.oregonaquaculture.org. This
recently redesigned website has links to our members and is an excellent
resource for information about aquaculture in Oregon. Check it out and give us
more information to add to it!
In addition to our website, our main public outreach is our annual Pond School
which we host with help from the Oregon State University Extension Service,
AquaFish CRSP, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Over 350
producers, customers, students, vendors and friends have attended our three
previous pond workshops. Handouts from the last workshop are enclosed. We look
forward to our upcoming 2009 workshop, and encourage you to not only attend, but
to assist us in putting it on. Please contact our Secretary, Kathy Bridges, at
(503) 743-2931 to find out how you can help!
It is the goal of the Association to promote private aquaculture in Oregon in
all its forms, and to work to create a legal, economic, and regulatory
environment where this industry can thrive and prosper. Thanks to the support of
our members and a USDA grant, we recently completed a research project on the
opportunities and challenges facing the aquaculture industry in Oregon. This
report is available to our members. We also participate in the private hatchery
working group – an ad-hoc committee set up by ODFW to address ongoing regulatory
issues facing the industry. Membership in OAA also makes you a member of the
National Aquaculture Association.
We cannot do this alone. There are many issues facing this industry that need
your support including workman’s compensation, fish health policies,
transportation permits, invasive species, and sturgeon propagation, just to name
a few. We need your membership support and your participation to be successful.
Please return the enclosed membership application with your dues payment for the
2008-9 fiscal year.
I look forward to working with you in 2009!
Sincerely,
Clint Bentz, President
Oregon Aquaculture Association
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