Sally Eason, CEO of Sunburst Trout Farms in Canton, is one of the featured speakers at the 2013 N.C. Aquaculture Development Conference.
The role of local, farm-raised fish in the American diet is the focus of the 2013 N.C. Aquaculture Development Conference, scheduled for Feb. 7-9 at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in New Bern.
Keynote speaker is Chuck Anderson, director of retail and marketing for Sousa Seafood, a Boston-based supplier of ocean seafood to New England. An avid supporter and promoter of aquaculture for more than 20 years, Anderson will discuss the public’s demand for seafood and how fish growers are helping to meet that demand.
Other speakers include Sally Eason, CEO of Sunburst Trout Farms in Canton, and Duane Stone, proprietor of Cedar Creek Fish Farm in Fayetteville. Aquaculture and conservation specialists from the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services also will be on the agenda for the conference, whose theme is “Fish: Made in the USA.”
The conference begins Thursday, Feb. 7, with tours of area fish farms. Presentations and the popular AquaFood Fest, which features the state’s finest farm-raised fish and shellfish, start Feb. 8. The event concludes Feb. 9 with concurrent workshops on the resources available to succeed in freshwater and marine aquaculture.
Registration and event details are available at www.ncaquaculture.org. Email Cathy_Smith@ncsu.edu with questions about the conference.
North Carolina has a vibrant aquaculture industry, with farmers growing trout, catfish, hybrid striped bass, prawn, crawfish, clams and oysters. The NCDA&CS provides business planning, regulatory and marketing assistance to N.C. aquaculture producers. The staff listing is available here.