Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by the Chair Rich Childers at 12:12 pm. Rich made a brief statement about the absence of Jenny Whitney and wanted to recognize her contribution to the success of this year’s conference.
The following members and interested people were present: Rich Childers, Don Velasquez, Kelly Toy, Andrew Cookson, Aleta Erickson, Randy Hatch, Cathy Stanley, Graham Gillespie, Chuck Woelke, Joth Davis, Lisa Hillier, Tina Blewett, Tamara Gage, Jim Moore, Adam Brisbois, Craig Dolphin, Yongwen Gao, Brent Vadopalas, Peter Becker, Dan Cheney, Chris Langdon, David Fyfe, Ban Balade, Jason Suzuki, Cyrus Ma, Kelly Curtis, Kelly Little, Lizzie Nelson, Anna Uiliona, Brian Allen, Eric Sparkman, Mary Middleton, Matt Hunter, Mitch Vance, Sean McDonald, Kurt Johnson.
Adoption of 2005 Agenda
The 2005 agenda was adopted as written.
Adoption of 2004 Minutes
The 2005 minutes were adopted as written.
Treasurer’s Report
a) Kelly Toy gave a status report of both the general fund and the Ken Chew Student Endowment fund. The total amount of funds for both accounts was $9,458.22. Incoming funds and outgoing expenses were approximately the same with a net increase of $5.14. A total of $2,314.80 was spent for student sponsorship which supported 9 students.
b) Ken Chew Endowment Fund: There was a discussion of past fund raising methods, such as T-shirts, bar-b-que etc. Joth suggested something in combination with PCSGA to fund students and felt industry needs to be involved. We could share a fund raising event. Brett suggested an event in conjunction with the reception. Raffle tickets work out well because it does not distract from other conference events. It was suggested to have students help with conference for their lodging. Events that involve food may be out of the question because of hotel policies. The silent auction works well so maybe we should just focus on silent auction and raffle tickets. We have been spending approximately $3,000.00 to fund students.
c) Abstract Fees: Abstract fees for the Journal of Shellfish research were $35.00 until 2 years ago when it was raised to $50.00. NSA-PCS has been supplementing the remaining $15.00. The membership was asked if the fee should be raised to $50.00. After a brief discussion a motion was made and approved to raise the abstract fee to $50.00.
Ongoing Business
a) NSA-PCS Membership: The Pacific Coast Section has approximately 65-70 members, National and PCS has approximately 400 members. A few years ago PCS had over 100 members and this may be a reflection of a decrease in renewal or State funds. Current members need to recruit new membership. Membership should be presented as a source of employment. It was pointed out that at the conference NSA is dominated by PCSGA. Students are not aware of the organization and they need to know that NSA is important. T-shirts are good advertising and we could work with Sea Grant to educate others about NSA. Next year work on T-shirt/hat and silent auction.
b) NSA-PCS Web page: A Member-at-Large will be designated for overseeing web page. We need assistance with web page and it is difficult to get articles. PCSGA should have a link to web page and it doesn’t cost anything to have a link.
New Business
a) National NSA annual meeting report: Joth gave a brief report from the national planning meeting. There will be good sessions next year which will include climate change effects to aquaculture, research issues affecting aquaculture, abalone and other shellfish research. National is trying to pull together academic research with aquaculture and fisheries.
b) 2006 National NSA meeting, Monterey California: The dates of the conference are March 27th to 30th. Attendance is encouraged particularly since it is on the west coast this year. Rich Childers will chair the crustacean management session.
c) Planning topics and session organizers for 2006 meeting: Need to determine what sessions we need to have for attendance. There is a need to have a management and assessment session. Make sure sessions aren’t duplicating each other.
- Crustacean session-Rich Childers
- Abalone and Dive Fishery Management- Don Rothaus
- Poaching session (Loss to industry/Problems & Solutions) – Dan Brinson?
- Shellfish Restoration-
- Burrowing Shrimp (Integrated Pest Management)
- Invasive Species/Species Management
- Brood Stock Development (Genetics) - Genetics integrated with domestication issues-product development. Industry needs to hear this issue, avoid using the word genetics.
- Disease session – Dan Cheney. Bring in human health issues.
Members at Large: Members are identified and in charge of specific duties.
a) Conference Coordinator for PCS-NSA: Jenny Whitney. Jenny has always been a key person for coordinating the conference and is willing to continue in this position.
b) Abstract Coordinator: Lizzie Nelson. This year Lizzie did a wonderful job coordinating all the abstracts. Abstracts must be sent in on time. Late abstracts create extra work and everyone must adhere to the drop dead date for submission.
c) Silent Auction Coordinators: This year Lisa Hillier and Tina Blewett did an excellent job. There should be 2-4 coordinators. Lisa and Tina suggested that a document is written that explains what NSA is and what the donation will fund. Joth will give them information that National has produced. A packet consisting of a list past donators, donation forms and receipts should be given to coordinators. A list serve was suggested as a reminder to members for donation items. Suggested donations: World Aquaculture registration, fishing trips, condo time, restaurants, jewelry, kayak and sailing trips, Russel Rogers Dunk Tank.
d) Website and Bulletin Board: It was agreed that a website and bulletin board would be better than a newsletter. Craig Dolphin will be in charge of the website.
Election of Officers
Rich Childers stated that he has enjoyed his time as chair for the last 2 years but he has a new position that will require much more of his time so he will be stepping down. The officers proposed to split the treasurer/secretary position into 2 separate ones. The officers also proposed that Don Velasquez moved up to the Chair position, Kelly Toy to the vice Chair, Randy Hatch as treasurer and Lizzie Nelson as secretary. The motion was made and the membership agreed.
Meeting Adjourned at 1:10 pm.
