Giving thanks, and wrapping up a productive 2017
In 2017, the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) celebrated its 20th anniversary, and with it came growth and change within the organization. As the year comes to a close, we’d like to take the opportunity to thank our industry friends for supporting and participating in our pre-competitive activities. Here are some of the highlights of 2017:
GAA Membership
The organization tripled its membership in 2017 and is expected to end 2017 with 75 Business Members, 78 Individual Members and 29 Premier Partners, a new high-level membership that GAA introduced early this year. Led by GAA Membership Manager Becky Holt, the increase is a result of GAA reorganizing and simplifying its membership structure as well as offering members access to more benefits. Thank you to all for supporting our vision of feeding the world through responsible aquaculture!
Global Aquaculture Advocate
The Global Aquaculture Advocate publication celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2018. From George Chamberlain’s living room in St. Louis to GAA’s new headquarters in Portsmouth, N.H., the Advocate continues to be the leading source of information on responsible aquaculture.
Since transitioning from print to digital in late 2015, the Advocate has published about 650 articles. And interest in the Advocate is only growing, highlighted by a 30 percent jump in monthly page-views in 2017 to 18,000 in November.
Next year, readers will find more original content from Editor James Wright and his team of journalists and contributors as well as articles from the print edition, as the archives are being gradually digitized beginning early next year.
MyGAA
In only nine months, GAA’s new online community, MyGAA, has attracted more than 1,500 users, ranging from students and professors to entrepreneurs and marketers. Access MyGAA for free today!
GAA Films
Today marked the debut of Episode 3 of GAA Films, GAA’s new film initiative, which launched in early 2017 with the premiere of Episode 1. GAA Films creates documentary short films that highlight the untold stories of people who love, fight for or are transformed by aquaculture. The first two episodes have captured about 16,000 views and counting. Titled Hibernia and The Bay, Episode 3 features five Irish siblings farming Europe’s most highly prized oysters.
GOAL
Speaking of Ireland, Dublin hosted the 17th installment of GAA’s annual GOAL (Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership) conference in October. GOAL 2017 brought more than 400 seafood professionals from around the world to Dublin’s historic Croke Park, where attendees put day-to-day business aside to discuss shared responsibilities and goals. As for GOAL 2018, the location and dates of the event will be announced soon after the first of the year. Stay tuned!
With the holiday season upon us, GAA will provide a charitable donation in your name in exchange for your help. It’s simple. Please log in to your GAA user profile by Friday, Dec. 15, and update your profile by ensuring that five fields are filled out accurately: first name, last name, email address, title, primary organization/company name and billing address. In return, GAA will donate five fish (one for each task completed) in your name to a Heifer International aquaculture project. More complete GAA user profiles will provide a clearer picture of our audience and create a better overall experience for our community.
Seasons’ greetings from GAA. We wish you and yours a healthy and fruitful 2018.
