President's Welcome
March 2008
Dear Member of the OAA,
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 and
the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Over 250 producers, customers,
students, vendors and friends have attended our two previous pond workshops. We
look forward to our upcoming 2008 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 will be made available to our members shortly. 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.
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
2007-8 fiscal year.
I look forward to working with you in 2008!
Sincerely,
Clint Bentz, President
Oregon Aquaculture Association
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