Keynote Speakers

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.

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.

He has 40 years of professional experience in aquaculture research and development, with a specialty focus on aquatic feeds and nutrition, and increasing the contribution of aquaculture to global food security and poverty alleviation, including 14 years of in-house experience with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) working within National, Regional, and Inter-regional Aquaculture Development Projects, and within the Regular Program of FAO in Rome, Italy;

44 in-country work experiences with FAO & other agencies in aquaculture and aquaculture nutrition related activities, including: Africa – Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Tunisia; Americas – Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, USA, Venezuela; Asia/Oceania – American Samoa, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Nepal, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam; Europe – Belgium, Cyprus, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK, Yugoslavia; and

228 aquaculture related publications and one patent on aquaculture technology, including scientific research publications, review publications, FAO technical papers and field documents, books, book chapters and magazine articles, with a focus on aquatic feeds and feeding, aquaculture development trends, the nutritional value of aquatic food products, and aquaculture aspects related to food security and poverty alleviation.