OAA Member Update

As summer begins in earnest, we would like to provide you with an update about your aquaculture association. You will recall we were co-hosts for a first-of-its-kind aquaculture conference last year at Chemeketa’s Salem campus (please see view the report here). This highlighted the current watershed period for aquaculture here in Oregon. There is considerable interest in investing in a wide variety of aquacultural systems and opening markets for farm-raised products. However, there is also growing interest among aquaculture adversaries who continue to attempt to pass anti-aquaculture legislation (for example, HB 2655 and SB 89). OAA needs to enlarge its footprint to optimally benefit from the positive and satisfactorily address the negative.
 
To this end, we have started the process to elect a new and expanded Board. In line with our By-laws, we see this Board as having 11 or 12 members—6 or 7 being producers. For the other 5 members, we are hoping to attract candidates with a variety of complementary backgrounds including at least one person representing Oregon’s Tribal Communities.
 
We are presently confirming candidates and preparing short biographies for each. When we have a complete list, Michael Lee, the OAA Outreach Officer, will be organizing the election for you, the members, to elect the new Board. When the new Board is seated, they will elect the OAA Officers. The new Board with the new leadership will review the OAA By-laws and propose any changes or adjustments which will, in turn, be sent out to you, the members, for acceptance or refusal.
 
Please visit our new website and await, in the near future, the details concerning the Board election. And if you haven't yet, please renew your membership for 2023.
 
Kindly let us know if you have any questions.
 
Thank you for your support,
​OAA Leadership