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Tropical Participates in Four International Aquaculture Conferences

GLOBALG.A.P. Summit - London

Laurent Metivier, our European sales manager, represented Tropical at the GLOBALG.A.P. held in London. We were honored that Laurent was invited to participate at this year's meeting. At the summit, he was a panelist alongside Mike Picchietti of Regal Springs, Jack Morales of SFP, Jose Villalon of WWF and Norbert Sporns of Maritime Industries, Inc. He fielded questions from the audience about what the GlobalGAP certification means to our Ecuadorian farms, Aquamar and Produmar, as well as what the certification means for Tropical at the market level.

GOAL 2010 - Kuala Lumpur

John Schramm, President of Tropical, attended the Global Aquaculture Alliance's GOAL 2010 conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last month. GOAL allowed for, "an opportunity to learn about the increasing demand for seafood which is primarily driven by the middle class in China and other Asian nations, countries that are growing at a rapid rate" said Schramm. GOAL 2010 played a pivotal role in moving the aquaculture industry forward to better meet the world's economic and environmental needs. Tropical is a firm supporter of GAA's initiatives and is pleased to support their ongoing efforts.

AQUA 2010 - Guayaquil

Lorena Schwarz Schramm, Project Manager; Food Safety and Environmental Standards was invited to participate as chairperson of the market session at the AQUA 2010 conference held last month in Guayaquil, Ecuador. This session included talks on the certification of aquaculture products and their importance in international markets. AQUA 2010, in their twelfth year, provided three days of conferences where issues of relevance for the aquaculture industry were reviewed.

Tilapia 2010 - Kuala Lumpur

Craig Appleyard, VP of Operations & Business Development at Tropical and Jose Antonio Lince, General Manager of Produmar Farm presented at the Tilapia 2010 conference in Kuala Lumpur, October 27th - 29th hosted by InfoFish.

Lince discussed the recirculation system and polyculture technique used at Produmar farm in Ecuador amongst other topics. He reported that since 2006, Produmar has operated a fully closed system, which is not only environmentally sound but also has other advantages including higher water-quality in which the animals grow. Produmar has practiced polyculture since starting operations 17 years ago. Just as our other farms in Ecuador, they were among the first producers to cultivate shrimp and tilapia in the same ponds.

Lince was "happy to have been able to participate in this important event, which was impeccably organized and included the participation of many of the industry's key players. The conference reconfirmed the growing importance of tilapia in the global market."

Appleyard presented on: tilapia growth in the U.S. and Canada, development, implementation and consumer demand of sustainable seafood as well as essentials to tilapia's continued growth in the market. He stated that tilapia has grown to become one of the most important seafood items in the United States accounting for nearly 7.5% of all seafood consumed. While sustainable tilapia aquaculture has not gotten the attention as other armed-species in the last couple of years, tilapia producers are working with NGO's knowing that sustainability is going to become a key issue in the very near future. Appleyard concluded that, "recent reports state that consumers still value food safety and price above sustainability. Tilapia producers must not lose sight of the importance of these attributes as they address sustainability," Appleyard said.

Appleyard and Lince accounted for just two of thirty presentations at the conference and felt privileged to be included in the program.