Keynote Speakers

Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker

Albert G.J. Tacon Ph.D
Technical Director – Aquatic Farms Ltd
USA

” Aquaculture – A Fish for All Seasons: Sustaining the Growth of Aquaculture Production and Role in Global Food Supply “ 

Dr Albert G.J. Tacon is Technical Director of Aquatic Farms Ltd in Hawaii, and works as an international aquaculture consultant, specializing in aquatic feeds and nutrition. After obtaining his PhD in fish nutrition at University College (University of Wales, UK – 1978) he spent eight years within the UK as a university lecturer and researcher in applied fish nutrition at the University of Aston in Birmingham and at the Institute of Aquaculture in Stirling. In 1984 he joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and worked for fourteen years as a aquaculture feed and nutrition expert. In 1999 he moved to Hawaii and served as Director and Program Manager of the Aquatic Feeds and Nutrition Program at the Oceanic Institute. Since then Albert was has been working with Aquatic Farms Ltd (Hawaii) as an independent consultant in aquaculture and aquaculture nutrition and feed related activities. His expertise has taken him to working in over 44 countries, and has over 228 scientific publications and one patent. He currently serves as Scientific Advisor on Aquatic Resources to the International Foundation for Science, Stockholm, Sweden (since 1998), is Editor in Chief of Reviews in Aquaculture, serves on the editorial board of Aquaculture Nutrition and Aquaculture Research, and is on the board of directors of the charity Aquaculture without Frontiers (AwF).

Guest Speaker

Rohana Subasinghe (PhD)

Honorary Life Member of the World Aquaculture Society
President Elect of the World Aquaculture Society – Asia Pacific Chapter (WAS-APC).
Retired Chief of FAO Aquaculture Service
Managing Director, Future Fish
Sri Lanka

Topic: “Fish for Nutrition, Health and Wealth for Rural Poor”

Rohana Subasinghe is a specialist in aquaculture development and aquatic animal health management. He retired from FAO in October 2015, while serving as the Chief of the Aquaculture Brach. Since his graduation in 1980 from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, he has worked in all parts of the world, with most experience in Asia. He joint FAO in 1994 and took responsibility in implementing many projects on aquaculture and aquatic animal health at national, regional and international levels worldwide until his retirement. Among others, at FAO, he was also responsible for analyses of trends in aquaculture development globally. A former teacher of the University of Colombo and the Universiti Putra Malaysia, Rohana earned his PhD from Stirling University. Rohana is a strong advocate of sustainable aquaculture and its significant contribution to poverty alleviation and food and nutrition security. His passion is to empower people engaged in small-scale aquaculture value chains. He supports responsible certification of aquaculture and is also responsible for developing the globally approved FAO technical guidelines on aquaculture certification. He served as the Technical Secretary to the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture of the Committee on Fisheries of the FAO, the only global inter-governmental forum on aquaculture. His spearheaded the development of a global partnership for aquaculture development in FAO, particularly addressing the need for a concerted effort to ensure future aquaculture development will become increasingly socially acceptable, environmentally sustainable, and responsibly managed. Rohana is still active in the field of fisheries and aquaculture, currently extending his years of experience and expertise, as a consultant, to many agencies and institutions worldwide.