Aquaculture’s Premier Conference
Connect. Collaborate. Commit.

Launching in 2020, SOLI will bring together 25 industry, NGO and government leaders from around the world to address the impact of climate change on seafood production. In this four-hour workshop, participants will gain a better understanding of the structure and content of next year’s SOLI program. Cost is $99 for GAA members and $199 for non-members. To register, contact soli@seafoodassurances.org.

Open to GAA executive committee members only.

Open to GAA directors and staff only.

Space is limited. Transportation to and from venue provided. Time to be announced soon. To reserve a spot, contact steven.hedlund@aquaculturealliance.org.

Join your fellow GAA members for cocktails on the Leela Palace’s beautiful patio, the Chess Garden. Members can be identified by their locally made, artisan peacock pin. DYK? The country’s National Bird is the Indian Peacock.

Join the GAA staff for an update on GAA’s pre-competitive activities as well as its industry-leading Best Aquaculture Practices third-party certification program. Among the topics that will be addressed are new facility growth, program integrity and market development. Open to all attendees. Sponsored by Devi Fisheries Ltd.

The opening ceremony will commence with a traditional lamp lighting. The lamp lighting symbolizes knowledge as the greatest form of wealth. There will also be dancers who will lead the crowd upstairs to the opening reception. Sponsored by Devi Fisheries Ltd.

Join your fellow attendees for hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Open to all attendees. Sponsored by Devi Fisheries Ltd.

In 2017, GAA established the student chef cooking competition to provide student chefs with a life-changing experience while partnering with local culinary institutions to raise awareness of responsible aquaculture. Last year’s competition at Escuela Culinary de las Americas in Guayaquil, Ecuador, drew more than 60 applicants, and the winner, Fernando Correa, received a five-day training session at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London, and met world renowned chef Raymond Blanc. This year’s competition will feature some of the best young chefs that India has to offer! Sponsored by Charoen Pokphand Foods.

GAA’s Andrew Mallison will set the tone for GOAL 2019 by addressing the conference theme: “Connect. Collaborate. Commit.”

On behalf of the host country, MPEDA Chairman K. S. Srinivas will welcome GOAL’s international audience to India, a global leader in seafood production and the world’s No. 1 shrimp exporter.

Fabrice DeClerck — co-author of the influential EAT-Lancet Commission report “Food. Planet. Health.” — will answer the question, “Can we feed a future population of 10 billion people a healthy diet within planetary boundaries?” In his keynote address, DeClerck will address aquaculture’s role in “sustainably intensifying” food production (producing more with less) while balancing the health of humans and the planet. He will also address aquaculture’s contribution to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

For the 13th consecutive year, GOAL stalwarts Jim Anderson of the University of Florida and Ragnar Tveteras of the University of Stavanger will present and analyze original data on global farmed shrimp production and global farmed finfish production, respectively. The data is based on GAA’s exclusive aquaculture production survey, administered annually by GAA’s Darryl Jory, with contributions from Ragnar Nystoyl of Kontali Analyse. Following Anderson and Tveteras, Gorjan Nikolik of Rabobank will address the factors potentially reshaping global seafood trade in the years ahead, including production growth, market development and international trade politics.

Moderated by GAA’s George Chamberlain, this session will feature Loc Tran, who will explain advances in management of early mortality syndrome (EMS), Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP), white feces and shrimp hemocyte iridescent virus (SHIV). Ahmed Al Balla will describe the adoption of new technologies that are driving efficiencies in Saudi Arabia, followed by Sreeram Raavi, who will discuss a suite of new technologies improving the efficiency of feeding and pond management. Rounding out the panel are Robins McIntosh, who will share remarkable advances in sustainable intensification, and Travis Larkin, who will talk about progress toward development of the Shrimp Marketing Initiative, launched at GOAL 2018 to increase shrimp consumption in the U.S. market.

Perhaps the most sophisticated of the farmed seafood sectors, salmon is well positioned for sustainable growth with a consistent balance between supply, demand and price. Though its roots are in salmon aquaculture, Canada’s Cooke Aquaculture recently acquired shrimp farming and processing operations in Central America. Is this the beginning of the modernization, or “salmonization,” of farmed shrimp? Cooke Aquaculture co-founder and CEO Glenn Cooke will discuss in a pre-recorded video. What does the future look like? A Norwegian presenter will address transformative salmon farming technologies and innovations, including post-smolt recirculating systems and open-ocean culture and processing technologies.

The world’s leading retail and foodservice companies are always well represented at GOAL. Each year, GAA hand picks some of the more influential buyers and suppliers to address the major challenges and opportunities facing aquaculture. Moderated by Steve Hart of GAA’s Best Aquaculture Practices certification program, this is the first of three question-and-answer marketplace roundtable, focusing on the challenges and opportunities specific to Asia.

Sponsored by Falcon Marine Exports Ltd.

Breakouts TBD.

Invitation only. Transportation to and from the Taj Connemara provided. Sponsored by Sandhya Aqua Exports Pvt. Ltd.

Ramanan Laxminarayan is founder and director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) in Washington, D.C., and a senior research scholar at Princeton University. Since 1995, Laxminarayan has worked to improve the understanding of antibiotic resistance as a problem of managing a shared global resource. His work encompasses extensive peer-reviewed research, public outreach, and direct engagement in 11 countries in Asia and Africa through the Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership. Through his prolific research, active public outreach (including a widely viewed TED talk) and sustained policy engagement, he has played a central role in bringing the issue of drug resistance to the attention of leaders and policymakers worldwide, including the United Nations General Assembly in 2016. Following the keynote address will be a panel discussion with representative of the seafood supply and retail community.

Keynote speaker Ramanan Laxminarayan will join Ramraj Dhamodar of Padmanabha Labs/HiBreeds Shrimp Hatchery, Ruth Hoban of New England Seafood and Will Rash of Big Prawn Co. for a question-and-answer discussion on antibiotic use in aquaculture and AMR in humans, moderated by GAA’s Iain Shone.

Donal Maguire of Ireland’s Bord Iascaigh Mhara will give an update on BIM’s CLAMS (Coordinated Local Aquaculture Management Systems) initiative, a success story in area management, while Randy Brummett will explain the World Bank’s Blue Revolution Project in India, aimed at creating business opportunities in the domestic seafood trade. Syed Mahmudul Huq of the Bangladesh Shrimp & Fish Foundation will also give a brief presentation.

Leaders from two accomplished startup companies — the winners of the Aquaculture Innovation Challenge, a pitch contest organized by Seafood Trade Intelligence Portal — will deliver brief versions of their presentations to investors and industry professionals. Anugerah Erlaut of Seable will talk about his automated-feeder technology for Indonesian shrimp hatcheries, while Kamran Mahmudov of WETech will introduce his company’s innovative, solar-powered pond aeration solution for small-scale Bangladesh producers.

What is the role of investors in helping aquaculture to become a truly sustainable solution to global food security challenges? How can aquaculture businesses mitigate risk and become a more investable sector? How can investment foster innovation across the value chain? What solutions are best suited for producers or other technology and service providers? Join GAA and Aqua-Spark for this timely and important discussion with select members of the growing aquaculture investment community.

The fever-pitched presentation format — 20 slides, 20 seconds each — returns to GOAL for the third consecutive year, this time with an all-Indian lineup. Five innovative, forward-thinking entrepreneurs will share their visions for India’s burgeoning aquaculture sector — from production to market — in this exciting and engaging format.

You pick the winner! For the second consecutive year, the winner of the seventh annual Global Aquaculture Innovation Award will be selected by the audience after the three finalists present their innovations for 10 minutes each. A record 43 applications were submitted this year. Judging is currently under way, and the finalists will be announced one by one in the Global Aquaculture Advocate in September. Sponsored by Preferred Freezer Services.

Recipient to be announced soon.

Join the F3 (Fish-Free Feed) Challenge as the winner of its latest competition is recognized. A sizable cash prize will be awarded to the team that has sold the greatest amount of a fish-free fish oil substitute from cultured organisms, including but not limited to yeast, algae and fungus in a dry powder or liquid form. It must be free of marine animal ingredients and have an essential fatty acid profile that meets a specific range criteria. The winner of the previous F3 Challenge for a fish-free fishmeal substitute was Guangdong Evergreen Feed Industry Co., Ltd., which accepted a $201,000 prize at GOAL 2017 in Dublin, Ireland.

The world’s leading retail and foodservice companies are always well represented at GOAL. Each year, GAA hand picks some of the more influential buyers and suppliers to address the major challenges and opportunities facing aquaculture. Moderated by BAP’s Mike Berthet, this is the second of three question-and-answer marketplace roundtable, focusing on the challenges and opportunities specific to Europe.

During lunch, the second of two recipients of the Wallace R. Stevens Lifetime Achievement Award will be recognized.

Breakouts TBD.

Donal Maguire, technical services director of Ireland’s Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), and Peter Marshall, CEO of RS Standards and chair of GAA’s new Biosecurity Area Management Standards, are calling on stakeholders and funders to join this discussion on the potential of area management to solve aquaculture’s challenges, including disease management, which costs the industry $6 billion per year. They will discuss how area management projects can be a stepping stone to programs such as BIM’s CLAMS (Coordinated Local Aquaculture Management Systems) and the Biosecurity Area Management Standards.

Immediately following the Day 2 afternoon breakouts, join your colleagues in a fun and inspiring networking event in which we’ll celebrate our growing global aquaculture network and the task we all share: Feeding the world with responsible aquaculture. Wear something blue for a special toast to the Blue Revolution presented by Aqua-Spark. We’ll be taking a group photo, so don’t forget — Wear Blue on Day 2!

Join your fellow attendees for dinner and drinks at The Flying Elephant restaurant at the Park Hyatt Chennai. Open to all attendees. Transportation to and from venue provided. Sponsored by Devi Seafoods Ltd.

As the global director of corporate affairs and sustainability at Thai Union Group since 2015, Darian McBain has taken one of the world’s largest seafood companies from a commodity focus to a wholistic ecosystem approach, with an emphasis on oceans and people. Working within the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, McBain developed Thai Union’s sustainability strategy, SeaChange®. She also played a role in Thai Union adopting its Ethical Migrant Recruitment Policy, one of the first “zero-fees” recruitment models regionally, which encouraged the Thai government to adopt new legislation eliminating recruitment broker use in Thailand. In her keynote address, McBain will focus on the two main topics of discussion for the Day 3 plenary — social responsibility and feed sustainability — and how each of the two play off of each other.

Social responsibility in aquaculture and fisheries is not simply the absence of slave labor and forced labor. To solve its labor challenges, the industry must treat the problem, not the symptoms, by providing platforms for worker voice and creating safe working conditions with gender equality, protections for young workers and community development. Leading off the session is a presentation by Rani Hong of Rani’s Voice, a survivor of child trafficking and one of the world’s leading voices in the fight against modern-day slavery. Following Hong is a presentation by Froukje Kruijssen of KIT Royal Tropical Institute, who will present the final results of an impact assessment aimed at gauging whether GAA’s Best Aquaculture Practices standards in Chile, Indonesia and Vietnam are driving social change and improvement. Moderated by BAP’s Avery Siciliano, the session will conclude with a question-and-answer panel discussion.

Moderated by BAP’s Dan Lee, representatives of the various feed ingredient sectors will discuss the obstacles associated with bringing new feed ingredient products to market. Despite a strong sustainability story, acceptance in the production community as well as in the retail and foodservice community remains a challenge. But progress is being made. Sponsored by Veramaris.

The world’s leading retail and foodservice companies and seafood supply companies are always well represented at GOAL. Each year, GAA hand picks some of the more influential buyers and suppliers to address the major challenges and opportunities facing aquaculture. Moderated by BAP’s Chris Trosin, this is the third of three question-and-answer marketplace roundtable, focusing on the challenges and opportunities specific to North America.

A panel of representatives from the world’s leading third-party aquaculture and fisheries certification and ratings programs will discuss opportunities to drive efficiencies in the certification process and verification process, opportunities for more pre-competitive collaboration, the push to put aquaculture stakeholders on a path of continual improvement, the main threats to providing responsibly sourced seafood, and the effort to reduce confusion and fear in consumers.

GOAL veteran Travis Larkin of The Seafood Exchange wraps up the conference with a summary of three-day program, reflecting on this year’s theme, “Connect. Collaborate. Commit.” The location of GAA’s GOAL 2020 conference will also be unveiled.

Breakouts TBD.