The International Conference & Trade Fair
on Recirculating Aquaculture Systems technology
April 20-21, 2023
JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes, Florida

Abhinav Choudhury, Ph.D., is responsible for research on investigation of strategies for improving the environmental impact and economic viability of intensive land-based aquaculture production, providing waste management and waste conversion expertise for external projects, and assisting industry partners with problems related to waste management and waste conversion.

A biochemistry graduate of the University of Havana, Adriana Artiles completed a doctorate in biological sciences in 2001 and has expertise in research and clinical laboratories. Her passion for aquaculture began more than 10 years ago when she took a position as the molecular laboratory head at the Fisheries Research Center in Havana, Cuba. As part of the team at Center for Aquaculture Technologies (CAT), she brings her expertise and enthusiasm for both field and laboratory work to help clients to identify optimal tools and solutions to facilitate genetic improvement for a variety of aquatic species and production systems.

Alejandro Rojas, DVM is a renowned expert in salmon farming. His areas of expertise include technical and economic analysis for M&A activities, new species development and consulting on fish production, aquatic health, environment, and biosecurity programs.

Alexandre van der Wees has launched the aquaculture investment sector at Creadev in 2018 and is at the boards of Noray Seafood, The Kingfish Company and InnovaFeed. Creadev is an investment company based in NY, Paris, Nairobi and Singapore, accelerating companies in the food & ag sectors.

Andrew Preston has been working within aquaculture production and research over the last 15 years, spending the last two years with Benchmark Genetics. Prior to joining Benchmark, Andrew worked with AquaMaof Aquaculture Technologies as Head of Production on their land-based projects and at the University of Stirling, where he started his career as a salmon biologist in 2008. Andrew completed both his BSc and PhD at the Institute of Aquaculture and plays a key role in Benchmark’s technical support within the Commercial Team for land-based. He undertakes research focused on developing the portfolio of products for Benchmark’s land-based customers.

Asbjørn Bergheim, PhD is a former senior researcher in the Dept. of Marine Environment at IRIS – International Research Institute of Stavanger (NORCE since 2018). Asbjørn holds a doctorate from the Norwegian University of Life Science. He is a former president of the Aquacultural Engineering Society (AES, 2011). Asbjørn ‘s fields of interest within aquaculture are primarily water quality vs. technology and management in tanks, cages and ponds, effluent loading and treatment, recirculation systems, and intensification of farming systems.

Kennebec River Biosciences, located in Richmond, Maine, provides a range of diagnostic services and veterinary biologics (vaccines and probiotics) to aquaculture companies around the globe. Bill Keleher sits on a number of state and national aquatic animal health focused committees including the Maine Aquatic Animal Health Technical Committee, the USDA’s National Aquaculture Health Plan & Standard Technical Working Group, and National Aquaculture Association’s Aquatic Animal Health Committee.

Carlos Leon Ramos is shareholder and founder of Grupo BOFISH. He also currently serves as the company’s director of innovation and technology and has designed more than 100 commercial farms in Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and the United States. His background is in aquaculture biotechnology and engineering. His first works in aquaponics began in 1999, and commercially in 2006.

Carlos Lopez oversees the commercial operations breeding nucleus, also providing technical support to customers in the United States and globally. He is also the global tilapia representative for Benchmark’s animal welfare committee and a committee member that developed the new BAP (Best Aquaculture Practice) hatchery certification standard. He was recognized in 2022 as one of Hatchery International’s Top 10 Under 40.

Carlos O. Letelier-Gordo, PhD works on end-of-pipe treatment of marine and freshwater recirculating aquaculture systems with focus on denitrification, phosphorous removal, biogas production, H2S production, and aquaponics. He was an aquacultural engineer from Universidad Católica del Norte Chile, where he worked at the Applied Aquaculture Engineering unit designing marine culture centers and recirculating marine aquaculture systems. His doctoral thesis at DTU Aqua was on “Transforming waste into new resources: optimizing sludge hydrolysis to improve nitrogen removal in aquaculture through denitrification.” He served as a board of director in the Aquacultural Engineering Society from 2018-2022 and is now a board of director in Niva Chile.

Chris Beattie, PhD has over 25 years of experience in the aquaculture sector. He brings extensive expertise in fish physiology, health, nutrition, and technology and specializes in leveraging R&D knowledge into pipeline development. Chris leads the research and development, compliance, and regulatory functions of the company.

Christopher M. Good is the director of Research at The Conservation Fund’s Freshwater Institute. Chris earned his B.Sc. from the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada) and went on to earn his M.Sc., D.V.M. and Ph.D. from the Ontario Veterinary College (Canada). He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine (2017–), and a Certified Aquatic Veterinarian with the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association (2014–).

Chris Haughey is a serial entrepreneur who leads Exciton Clean in its work to bring a novel water treatment technology and associated solutions to bear on the RAS industry. Chris lends his background in engineering, product development, applying technology to industrial processes and business strategy to Exciton Clean’s development of products and business model. Prior to Exciton Clean, Chris co-founded and led Tegu, a social impact focused toy company, and was a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group.

VEK Environmental has focused on being an industry leader in designing, installing and servicing oxygen and ozone systems throughout the aquaculture and RAS community. Chris Kinasewich works to bring energy efficient, environmentally friendly gas-based water treatment technologies to the forefront, in a variety of global markets for the past 22 years. As a key distributor and global partner of Primozone and Airsep Corporation, VEK Environmental strives to uphold the highest quality of gas generation systems.

Christian Bang-Møller has an M.Sc. and PhD degree in engineering within renewable energy and spend his early career in academia. He transferred into industry where he has been leading corporate innovation and business development of various new technologies. In Alumichem, Christian is leading the Engineered Solutions business, which delivers customized and turn-key wastewater treatment solutions to the aquaculture industry, as well as Alumichem’s research and innovation team.

Christian Brayden’s work at Maine Aquaculture Association focuses on the economics and workforce development of aquaculture in Maine. He recently produced the Maine Aquaculture Occupational Standards, which have been developed into two apprenticeship programs in Maine. The aquaculture occupational standards and apprenticeship programs are the first of their kind in the nation.

Chris Manley is a RAS designer at Innovasea, where his primary focus is on designing, modeling, and managing recirculating aquaculture projects. He has spent more than a decade improving marine hatchery husbandry protocols and developing novel marine species to be successfully cultured in recirculating aquaculture systems. Chris holds a Bachelor’s degree in marine science from Coastal Carolina University and a Master’s in coastal sciences (specializing in aquaculture) from the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory.

Curtis Crouse is a research support specialist at The Conservation Fund’s Freshwater Institute. He is responsible for RAS operation and management, constructing experiment set-ups, developing sample collection and analysis methods, and compiling and summarising research results in reports, presentations, and industry and peer-reviewed articles. In 2020, Crouse was recognized by Hatchery International as a Top 10 Under 40 professionals.

Prior to joining Atlantic Sapphire, Damien Claire was the President of Platina Seafood Inc. His experience includes positions in several industries around the world. From 2009 to 2014, he served as Sales/Analyst for South Pacific Specialties in Miami. From 2004 to 2008 he also acted as Vice President of Business Development for Global Outsourcing in Chile. Damien earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Business Administration from Lander University in South Carolina.

Dan Farkas is an experienced RAS operator, project manager, and co-founder of HTH Full Spectrum Aquaculture, currently based in Jensen Beach, Fla., USA. Farkas specializes in marine aquaculture operations and facility management, and has extensive experience with species including cobia, pompano, and shrimp.

David Kuhn has more than 20 years of experience in civil engineering and environmental technology. He is currently the associate professor and extension specialist of food science and technology at Virginia Tech. Kuhn has published more than 100 journal articles on seafood quality, aquaculture research, and outreach programs.

Dianna Fletcher is Founder and President of Fletcher Media, a global public relations and media production company. She’s also Communications Director for Kingfish Maine, supporting the team’s media relations and community outreach over the last three years. Prior to founding Fletcher Media, Dianna was an award-winning news reporter and anchor, honored by the Associated Press for her work in investigative and consumer reporting. Dianna has traveled the world for video production services, providing multi-language video production for clients in several countries.

Eric Pedersen is the president and founder of Ideal Fish, a RAS aquaculture company located in
Waterbury, Conn., USA that produces 120 tons annually of European seabass (Branzino) in a recirculating aquaculture system. Ideal Fish has developed a differentiated approach to the fish farming business and is planning to expand significantly in the United States, beginning in the central Connecticut region where the company is operating its first facility.

George Nardi has three decades of experience in the seafood and aquaculture industry, and provides clients with strategic direction and expertise on hatchery and farm operations. In 1995, George co-founded GreatBay Aquaculture, a New Hampshire-based fish farm that started as single marine species hatchery before evolving into a large hatchery and grow-out operation spread across three states and four countries. George holds a Bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of New Hampshire and a Master’s degree in marine environmental science from SUNY Stony Brook. He currently serves on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Aquaculture Task Force.

Heather Hamlin is a reproductive endocrinologist primarily interested in the mechanisms by which environmental factors influence the reproduction and development of aquatic animals. She is a professor and director of the School of Marine Sciences, and a member of the Aquaculture Research Institute at University of Maine. She has been engaged with RAS aquaculture for more than 20 years.

For over a decade, Henrik Levy has been a valuable member of the OxyGuard International team, leveraging his expertise to facilitate the installation and operation of a wide range of water quality measuring, monitoring, and control systems for fish farmers across the globe.

Huy Tran has 30 years in the aquaculture industry as a farm manager to system designer/integrator of RAS. Tran has worked in the aquatic toxicology industry, managed multi-species (29) broodstock and hatchery production, producing aquatic organisms for testing. Tran has worked on turnkey aquaculture education systems and aquaponics designs for the Aquatic Eco-Systems catalogues and sale from 1997 to 2014.

Igal Magen, BioFishency CTO and co-founder, is the former head of the Aquaculture Division at the Israel Ministry of Agriculture. He has been a consultant and project manager for developing public and private aquaculture projects in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, South America, and the Caribbean, with USAID projects in Guyana.

Jake Reznick is a senior associate at S2G Ventures, Oceans and Seafood. He is focused on evaluating new investments and serving the needs of portfolio companies. Before joining S2G Ventures, Jake led commercial strategy and innovation projects for Fortune 500 clients as a management consultant at Fahrenheit 212 (now Frog). Prior to Fahrenheit, Jake advised sustainable infrastructure and technology clients on a variety of M&A transactions as a banker at Greentech Capital Advisors. Jake is a Fulbright Scholar, holds an MBA and a Master of Environmental Management from Yale and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Carleton College. In his free time, you can find Jake on his road bike, losing golf balls, or cooking with family and friends.

Jamie Stein is a co-founder of Devonian Capital. Devonian is focused on catalyzing new investment into land-based fish farming, by identifying and supporting early-stage businesses that have the potential for strong growth and sustainable success. Devonian has made early-stage investments into projects growing coho salmon, tilapia, shrimp and pompano.

Jane Davis has been managing her family’s aquaculture, timber and cattle farm for almost 40 years. The 25-hectare freshwater land-based fish farm produces sturgeon, tilapia, hybrid striped bass, bluegill, sunfish and largemouth bass. Jane also has experience as aquarium curator (1983-2020) for Disney’s Animal Programs and Environmental Initiatives at Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts. She currently serves as a board of director for the Florida Aquaculture Association.

Jason Spadaro, PhD is staff scientist and program manager for Coral Reef Restoration at Mote Marine Laboratory. He is a community ecologist whose research focuses on the restoration of Caribbean coral reef ecosystems. Spadaro has been working with the Caribbean king crab as a potential tool for coral reef restoration for more than a decade. Developing effective and efficient methods for mass producing this species in recirculating aquaculture settings is a critical step toward expanding the application of this species to restoration and for the blue economy throughout the region.

Jean Ko Din manages and curates the print and digital media content for Hatchery International and RAStech Magazine. She also assists in the production of Aquaculture North America. Jean produces a wide range of special projects for these aquaculture industry publications, including HI’s Top 10 Under 40 program, the Hatchery 101 webinar series and the RASTECH Conference and Trade Fair. She is also co-host and producer of the RAS Talk podcast for recirculating aquaculture professionals.

Jens Jensen grew up on a Danish trout farm. Jensen has owned his own fish farms where he rebuilt most of the traditional flowthrough trout farm systems into RAS, with a total production of 3,000 tonnes per year. Jensen sold the operations in 2011 and started up at AKVA group as a consultant one year later. In 2017, he joined one of the biggest construction companies in Denmark as a business developer and the head of the RAS department. In 2020, Jensen joined Graintec as a business developer with a focus on RAS and land-based feeding systems.

Jim Franklin has worked at Blue Ridge Aquaculture since 2008. Blue Ridge Aquaculture is the largest US producer of tilapia utilizing indoor recirculating aquaculture. Jim has previous experience in banking, manufacturing, accounting, and aquaculture where he focused on cost accounting, supply chain, and operational efficiencies.

Joe Cardenas is founder and CEO of Aquaco LLC, a marine land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) based in Ft. Pierce, Fla., USA. Aquaco is currently the only commercial scale RAS producers of Florida pompano in the country.

John Davidson is a research scientist at The Conservation Fund’s Freshwater Institute where he has been employed for 25 years. He was recently awarded his doctoral degree from the University of Bergen (Norway) through their Dr. Philos. program. He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed research articles that support the development of the growing land-based aquaculture industry.

John Holder is a registered professional biologist in the Province of British Columbia and he graduated from the University of Guelph in 1973. He started his aquaculture career in that same year. He has had extensive experience with designing land based fresh and salt water systems dealing with Salmonids, Cichlids as well as numerous salt-water species including shrimp and he can be considered an expert in the RAS field. He has worked and consulted for aquaculture companies on six continents.

John Keeler founded Blue Star Foods in May 1995 during which time he grew the company to become a leader in multiple species RAS seafood companies. He oversees procurement as well as its total societal impact business model in its own operating facilities in North America. He received his BS in Economics from Rutgers University in 1995 and attended multiple Harvard Business School executive programs since 2005.

Dr. John Stieglitz is a research assistant professor in Aquaculture at the Rosenstiel School of the University of Miami. Utilizing approaches centred on applied ecophysiology and bioenergetics of marine fish, his research aims to address marine aquaculture production challenges while also developing a greater understanding of the impacts of both natural and anthropogenic induced environmental stressors on marine fish species throughout the world. In addition to teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in aquaculture at UM, John conducts research investigating sustainability within the seafood business sector and has served as a consultant to commercial marine aquaculture companies in the US, the Caribbean, and the Americas.

John Stubblefield has more than 30 years of applied aquaculture and fisheries research experience. He is currently the project coordinator and a project leadership yeam member for two multi-institutional projects, funded by NOAA and USDA respectively, focused on building capacity for the US salmon RAS industry. As part of the Zohar Lab at the University of Maryland, his work has emphasized sustainable and environmentally responsible production approaches, as well as technology/end-products that are fully transferrable to aquaculture/fisheries personnel, the seafood industry and end-users.

John Taylor, PhD is AquaMaof’s Salmon R&D biologist responsible for coordination of biological performance & nutrition trials at their R&D facility in Poland. An expert in salmonid biology with over 20 years of experience both in academia and working in the aquaculture industry in a wide range of fields including: physiology, reproduction, feed formulation, triploidy, and impacts of RAS technology on salmonid development and smolt robustness. John also forms part of AquaMaof’s Technical Support and Customer Success team.

Jonathan Lee is a food science graduate student at the University of Florida’s Food Science and Human Nutrition Department expecting to graduate with his master’s degree by August 2024. His thesis involves the investigation of spent brewer’s yeast as a feed supplement to fish meal in fish feed. After graduation, he hopes to work in a role focused in sustainable initiatives.

Justin Henry has worked with RAS since 1995, built his first commercial RAS facility in 1998, and his first aquaponics system in 2010. Henry developed the monosex female Coho broodstock program in BC, Canada. He chairs the technical committee for the Canadian Organic Aquaculture Standard and sat on the WOAH ad hoc group on Aquatic Animal Biosecurity. In 2017, Henry started Henry Aquaculture Consult Inc. and in 2020, launched a Graduate Certificate in the aquaculture program at University of British Columbia.

Kathleen Hartman has been with USDA APHIS VS for 20 years – first as an aquaculture epidemiologist and then as the aquaculture coordinator in Import/Export Services. She received a Master’s from the University of Maryland (fish nutrition) and both a DVM and PhD (aquatic animal pharmacokinetics) from Virginia Tech. She has a courtesy assistant professor appointment at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences. She has served as chair on the both the Technical Standards and Professional Standards Committee of the American Fisheries Society-Fish Health Section and has been a certified AFS FHS Aquatic Animal Health Inspector. She is a current member and secretary on the board of the World Aquaculture Society (WAS) and is a past president of the U.S. Aquaculture Society (USAS).

Restaurant Partners Procurement (RPP) is the full-service supply chain management division of Buyer’s Edge Platform specializing in multi-unit Foodservice. At RPP, we focus on optimizing your supply chain by improving distributor performance and delivering quality products at the most competitive delivered costs while mitigating supply risks. Kristen Brooks has 26+ years of experience in the Food Service industry including Multi-Unit Restaurant operations and over 20 years in Food Service Supply Chain management specializing in Global Procurement and Executive Strategy. Prior Brand Experience: Bloomin’ Brands- Outback, Carrabba’s, Fleming’s, Bonefish, Aussie Grill

Larsen Mettler brings two decades of experience in the oceans and finance sectors. Prior to joining S2G, Larsen was an owner and chief financial officer of Silver Bay Seafoods, a position he held since 2016. Before joining Silver Bay, Larsen was a director at KeyBanc Capital Markets where he led the firm’s Seafood Investment Banking and Corporate Lending practice. Larsen holds an MBA with a concentration in Investment Banking from Wake Forest and Dual BBAs in Finance and Information Systems from the University of New Mexico.

Lauren has over 25 years of seafood experience serving in roles such as, VP Sales/Purchasing at Midwest Seafood (a regional seafood distributor/processor) , Director of Seafood Purchasing at Darden Restaurants (parent company of Olive Garden, Longhorn, Capital Grill, Eddie V’s, etc.) and VP of Business Development for Mark Foods (largest US importer/processor of Chilean Sea Bass and other high value seafood categories). Lauren also serves as Chairperson of National Fisheries Institute Future Leaders Committee and is a proud graduate of the NFI’s Future Leader Class of 1998.

Maddi Badiola, PhD, PM, is a RAS engineer and co-founder of HTH Full Spectrum (fullspectrumaquaculture.com; HTHaqua.com) in Basque Country, Spain. Her expertise includes energy conservation, lifecycle assessments and RAS global sustainability assessments.

Maria Federica Carboni is responsible for research on end of pipe treatment, nutrient removal and valorization. Her studies also focus on the GHG production associated with the water treatment processes. Federica holds a PhD in environmental biotechnologies a M.Sc. and B.Sc. in environmental engineering.

Marianne Naess is the CEO and co-founder of Katahdin Salmon and Xcelerate Aqua. Before launching Xcelerate Aqua, she came from the position of EVP Commercial in one of the largest RAS developments in the U.S. with responsibility for the company´s California business. Prior to that, she has more than two decades of various C-suite positions in strategy, business development, commercial & HR in international companies such as McKesson and Aker Solutions. Over 10 years as a management consultant at EY and Anderson responsible for several larger restructuring programs.

Martin Gardner has more than 15 years of experience in aquaculture development projects in the U.S., Colombia, South Africa, and Zambia. He serves on the Governor of Virginia Aquaculture Advisory Board and the Global Aquaculture Alliance RAS Technical Standards Committee. He joined the company in 2008 to initially explore commercializing marine shrimp production in RAS. Martin holds an International MBA from the Business School of Vienna(Austria) and the University of South Carolina, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Charleston.

As founder of Spheric Research, Matt Craze has carried out consultancy projects in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The company has carried out eight multi-client studies through an
exclusive partnership with Undercurrent News. Through Spheric Research, Craze conducts business with several major agricultural and aquaculture companies, governments, and NGOs.

A tradesman turned academic, Matthew J. Stromberg has transitioned from a full-time blacksmith to an engineering doctoral student at IMET. Graduating from UVA with degrees in both civil & environmental engineering and environmental sciences, Matthew is co-advised by Dr. Yonathan Zohar and Dr. Upal Ghosh. His research focuses on both the removal technologies for off-flavor, and the underlying mathematical end engineering processes that control their operations.

Mathew Zimola co-founded ReelData AI in 2019 after learning of the deficit in technology dedicated to the growing land-based aquaculture industry. ReelData uses data-driven artificial intelligence to optimize the day-to-day operations of farms, helping to grow fish faster without wasting expensive feed. Most recently, they have introduced their second product, ReelBiomass; the first biomass estimation camera built specifically for the land-based industry.

Megan Davis, PhD has been working at Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute for 27 years. She is internationally recognized for her 40 years of work in the field of warmwater aquaculture. Megan and her team work on community-based queen conch aquaculture, restoration and conservation projects in Florida, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Curaçao and other locations in the Caribbean. She also conducts research on sea vegetable aquaculture, a sustainable crop for coastal restoration and culinary dishes.

Megan Murray is responsible for routine water quality analyses, collection and analysis of test samples related to closed-system aquaculture, and assistance with sampling and data requirements for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits.

Megan Sorby has several years’ experience in the aquaculture industry, with her most recent positions being hatchery manager at Golden Eagle Sablefish, and a consultant of True Blue Aqua. She has worked with several different species on opposite sides of the USA, and even in Canada. Today, Sorby is the operations manager at Kingfish Maine, and is overseeing, together with her team in Maine, the construction project of the new Jonesport, Maine facility for The Kingfish Company.

Michael Nystrom has over 20 years in the aquaculture industry as a senior biologist and staff manager in the Saltwater Aquaculture Department of Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Flo., USA. Mote’s Saltwater Aquaculture program is centred on the aquaculture of indigenous sportfish of the Gulf of Mexico region. He has worked on many disciplines of aquaculture, such as live feeds production, broodstock maturation, hatchery & growout production, and system maintenance. Over the past 10 years, Nystrom’s primary efforts have been in recirculating system design and construction with a focus in saltwater aquaponics. Current bi-product crops incorporated into the aquaponics filtration systems are sea vegetables, macroalgae, periphyton, and coastal restoration plant species.

Nicole Kirchhoff, PhD is owner of Live Advantage Bait LLC, a warm water marine bait and food fish hatchery located in Florida. She was also one of Hatchery International’s 2022 Top 10 Under 40.

President, project manager and lead consultant at HTH engineering & equipment LLC for aquaculture and aquatic systems and facilities. With a B.S. in ocean engineering from Florida Atlantic University, and an M.S. in mechanical engineering for the University of South Carolina, Hundley has worked with seawater systems, marine hatcheries, marine RAS, and marine laboratories for over 40 years. In addition to aquaculture designs for bivalves, crabs, finfish and shrimp, he has designed aquatic life support systems for alligators, fish, frogs, and turtles.

Paul Zajicek manages the administration, programs and strategic plan for the only national non-profit trade association representing and advocating for U.S. aquaculture at the state and federal levels. Prior to joining the NAA, Paul worked for 27 years with a state agency focused on Florida and federal environmental regulations, farm operations, and mitigating environmental effects.

Per Heggelund has acquired more than 40 years of experience in aquaculture with a focus on Pacific salmon conservation and aquatic livestock domestication. He founded AquaSeed Corp. in 1988, a company which applied captive broodstock technologies to four ESA threatened Chinook strains from the Columbia River watershed. In parallel, AquaSeed adapted traditional livestock breeding programs to Domsea® strains of Pacific Coho and Donaldson Steelhead. This dual focus led to pioneering efforts in freshwater conservation applying both partial and full RAS technologies.

Rakesh Ranjan is responsible for research on precision aquaculture and utilizing sensing technologies, machine learning, and big data to enhance the productivity of intensive land-based aquaculture. Rajan holds a PhD in biological and agricultural engineering from Washington State University, a Master of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur, India) and a Bachelor of Technology from the College of Technology (Pantnagar, India), both in agricultural and food engineering.

Rob van de Ven is managing director and co-founder of Landing Aquaculture. Based in the Netherlands, Landing Aquaculture is specialised in design and engineering of challenging RAS projects around the globe. As an aquaculture engineer, Rob has been working on a wide variety of RAS design, construction & consultancy projects for over 10 years.

As a multifaceted project manager, Rodrigo has successfully lead projects ranging from biodiesel facility automation, plant optimization and financial projections to product design, technical drawing, and prototyping among others. Recently, I’ve been working on aquaculture projects, attending specialized workshops and forums in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) to apply that knowledge into creating the first non-seasonal soft shell crab farm.

Retired from Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Louisiana State University with the distinguished title of Chevron USA Professor Emeritus after 37 years service. Ron Malone, PhD is the author of over a hundred technical papers. He now serves as President and Chief Officer for AST filters. This company manufacturers filters for a variety of chemical, agricultural, and domestic markets and is he is known for his development of floating bead filters.

Sabine Mader has more than 14 years of experience in RAS Aquaculture. Sabine specializes in RAS Feed concepts along with the optimization of processes around growing fish in RAS to maximize feed performance for every unique RAS system. Her mission is to focus on industry needs to set the path for feeding the future in North America.

Sam directs investments in big-picture projects through his family office, Livorna Capital—based in New York City and Seoul. Having had exposure to deep-tech direct venture and real estate projects, Livorna Capital invested in BluGen, a Korean aquaculture genomics technology company scaling to sustainable commercial production via RAS.

Sarah Hoffman graduated with a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Clemson University and a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from Florida Atlantic University. In her graduate degrees, she focused on the interplay between fish biology (biomechanics, physiology), habitat use, and phylogenetic context. She also worked to develop novel methods for quantifying free-swimming kinematics of large fishes to better evaluate habitat interaction. After receiving her degrees, she worked as a fisheries scientist for the applied biological services division of Biomark before it was acquired by Merck Animal Health. She currently leads scientific marketing efforts to support Merck Animal Health’s biopharmaceutical and technology portfolio.

Mary Scarlett Tudor was introduced to aquaculture when she moved to Maine working on a diversity of research projects with animals like lobsters and salmon. She then shifted her career path to education which has brought together her passion for aquatic animals and mentorship. She currently mentors students through her own research, internship programs (Aquaculture Research Institute’s Externship Program and AquEOUS), and youth development programs. (4-H Aquaponics Project and 4-H Aquarium Club).

Scott Snyder’s background includes over 15 years of commercial experience in the catfish and trout industries as well as international aquafeed ingredient and premix sales. Scott’s role with Zeigler includes formulation management, feed product continuous improvement efforts, global licensing support, and research and development of feeds for finfish.

Dr. Steven Summerfelt manages the scientific research and leads the technological designs during facility expansion at Superior Fresh. He has pioneered technologies for land-based salmon farming, designing facilities and publishing more than 100 refereed journal papers. Steve is a professional engineer with degrees in Chemical and Civil Engineering (environmental emphasis).

Sylvia Wulf is currently the president and CEO of AquaBounty Technologies Inc., a recirculating aquaculture system leading the commercialization and growth of the world’s first genetically engineered animal approved for food – AquaBounty’s salmon. Wulf also serves on the executive committees and boards of the National Fisheries Institute Board and Biotechnology Innovation Organization.

Dr. Wong studies fish germ cell development and develops technologies blocking germ cell formation to achieve sterility induction.

Thue Holm boasts a background in land-based aquaculture, including co-founding Atlantic Sapphire. Specializing in land-based RAS technologies, Thue has propelled the industry’s sustainable advancements. As a trailblazer at Atlantic Sapphire, he played a pivotal role in pioneering RAS land-based salmon farming. Now at Aqua Founders, Thue remains committed to promoting environmental sustainability and advancing the land-based aquaculture sector.

Dr. Timothy A. Hovanec his PhD on nitrifying bacteria phylogenetics in recirculating fish culture systems and continues to research the microbial pathways of closed aquatic systems and to develop “green” products for the aquarium industry. Previously, Dr. Hovanec was head of R&D for Marineland Aquarium Products and Instant Ocean for 17 years where he discovered many novel species of nitrifying bacteria. Dr. Hovanec holds over 13 U.S. and foreign patents and has authored numerous papers on aquatic microbiology, water quality and filtration techniques for closed system life-support systems.

Todd Deligan brings extensive business and legal experience to the salmon aquaculture industry. Todd joined Salmon Evolution in November of 2021 as the general manager of North America after working at Optimar AS, a world leader in aquaculture and processing equipment. Todd was also a founder and first employee of Whooshh Innovations where he co-invented the “Salmon Cannon™”, a novel means to transport live migratory species over or around barriers (e.g., dams) and more efficiently move fish within seafood processing facilities. Todd attended the University of Washington earning a B.A. degree and then attended Vermont Law School where he earned two degrees – a J.D. and a Master of Environmental Law and Policy.

Tom Sorby has spent many years in the aquaculture industry between the US and Canada and has focused on the development of new species with proven success in this area. With expertise in system design and operation as well as larval rearing. Currently, Tom has been working for Kingfish Maine with a focus on permitting for the construction of a 6,00-8,000 metric ton facility in Jonesport. He is also designing and building a hatchery space at University of Maine’s CCAR facility. He obtained a master’s degree in Sustainable Aquaculture from the University of Stirling.

Tracy Nazzaro is a principal & president for Traders Hill Farm™, an innovative aquaponics greenhouse farming operation in Hilliard, Florida that produces leafy greens and tilapia year-round. The farm is the largest aquaponics enterprise in the Southeastern United States and is proud to be the first aquaponics operation to receive SQF (Safe Quality Food) Level 3 status. She joined Traders Hill Farm in late 2015 in the role of chief financial officer as the company embarked on a significant expansion of its aquaponics operation.

Travis May has experience in every facet of aquaculture systems from the most advanced recirculation technology to traditional flow-through technology. His strong background includes HACCP implementation, SOP development and system maintenance, and bioplan creation. In addition to staff management and training, he was responsible for the production of more than 1,000 metric tons of yellow perch annually in one of the largest and most advanced food fish RAS systems in the U.S. Travis holds an MBA from Hood College (Maryland, USA) and a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Natural Resource Management from Shepherd University (West Virginia, USA).

Trevor Gent got his foundation in raw water and wastewater treatment starting in 1998 in Canada working in oil & gas, power production, and the pulp & paper industry. His passion for sustainability and the environment brought him to Alumichem to focus on the Aquaculture industry. Trevor’s main role is to support the design and implementation of sludge management systems and supporting his clients to ensure they meet their environmental discharge limits.

Tyler Jones serves as product Manager for AirSep Corporation, a division of the global oxygen equipment manufacturer CAIRE Inc. He has nearly 15 years of engineering and product life-cycle management experience, most of which was spent in cryogenic and non-cryogenic gas generation. Tyler has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a Master’s of Business Administration from Kennesaw State University, and is a co-inventor of two patents.

Vit Profant is a RAS and Aquaculture specialist at Mat-Kuling AS (Norway), previously a production manager at Swifish AG (Switzerland) and a farm operator at AquaPri AS (Denmark), Master’s degree in Fishery and Protection of Waters from the Czech Republic. 

Yonathan Zohar has 40 years of substantial R&D record in sustainable aquaculture and marine biotechnology and integrating academia with industry. He currently leads a large USDA/NIFA-funded national consortium called “Sustainable Aquaculture Systems Supporting Atlantic Salmon” (SAS²) that aims at building capacity for the expanding land-based, RAS Atlantic salmon aquaculture in the U.S. Zohar has published more than 250 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters and is the inventor of 10 issued international patents in aquaculture and biotechnology.