When Shrimp Summit attendees gather in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, July 24-26, 2023, those who attend in person are expected to be joined by an unusually large number of virtual participants. Motivated by the belief that knowledge and resources need to be more accessible to drive meaningful change, The Center for Responsible Seafood (TCRS) is waiving the virtual access fee for members of aquaculture/seafood organizations around the globe, with translation available for 30 languages. Through this channel, producers, feed companies, processors, buyers, government officials, and others who may be remotely located are encouraged to participate and share their ideas. The ultimate objective of the Summit is to improve the shrimp farming sector by developing practical, consensus solutions to existing challenges.
“Members of shrimp farming associations and related hatchery, feed, processing, importing, and buying organizations, as well as government bodies, have tremendous knowledge and experience about the real-world challenges and potential solutions in their sectors and regions,” remarks George Chamberlain, President of TCRS and the Summit Chair. “Applying their strengths and numbers to the focus of this Summit is an invaluable and transformative opportunity.”
Pressing issues in shrimp culture, including production efficiency, growers’ livelihoods, market demand, and more, will be addressed with a cross-topic focus on sustainability and climate change. Expert speakers and panelists from around the globe will guide nine sessions over two days. An overview of the Summit’s first day can be found in “2023 Shrimp Summit is Set for Solutions in Global Shrimp Farming”. The second engaging day of sessions covers Sustainable Feeds, Improver Programs, Expanding the Market, Investment, and Innovations.
The Sustainable Feeds session will address how greenhouse gas emissions and other impacts from feeds can be reduced by evaluating ingredients from different origins, applying advances in manufacturing, and managing feed distribution in grow-out ponds. The discussion will include an updated look at innovative ingredients. The moderator, speaker, and panelists include:
- Pamudi (moderator), Aquaculture Technical Contractor, U.S. Soybean Export Council
- Richard Newton (speaker), Lecturer in Resilient Food Systems, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Sterling
- Avery Siciliano, Senior Manager, Surety of Supply, Walmart
- Michael Tlusty, Associate Professor of Sustainability & Food Solutions, University of Massachusetts at Boston
- Tarik Eluri, Sustainability Manager, U.S. Soybean Export Council
- Ming-Dang Chen, Executive VP, Research & Development of Aquatic Feed, CP Foods
- ·Sergio Nates, Advisor, North American Renderers Association
Improver programs are a mechanism to assist smallholder farmers by grouping them into clusters, improving their productivity, and guiding them toward certification to access premium markets. These programs are administered by a diverse array of organizations with different business models, entry criteria, and registration platforms. Collaboration among programs could expedite the improvement process and provide a common database of registered participants for market recognition. The moderator and panelists in the Improver Programs session include:
- George Chamberlain (moderator), President, The Center for Responsible Seafood (Summit Chair)
- Kim Thanh Nguyen, Vice Director, Kim Delta Vietnam
- Amyne Ismail, President, and CEO, The Unima Group
- Syed Mahmudal Huq, Chairman, The Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation
- Corey Peet, Co-Managing Director, Asian Seafood Improvement Collaborative
- Yitno Suprapto, Aquaculture Coordinator, The Nature Conservancy
- Cormac O’Sullivan, Senior Fellow for Global Aquaculture Science, Seafood Watch
In the Expanding the Market session, industry leaders throughout the value chain will address a key common interest: How can we expand the market and assure sustainable growth for our industry? Let’s imagine how the future of our industry would look if we were capable of exploring new market segments, envisioning engaging narratives to promote shrimp consumption, and developing global collective marketing initiatives that can trigger new and exciting paths for our industry as we venture into the future.
- Allan Cooper (moderator and speaker), Business & Value Creation Director, Vitapro
- Sandro Coglitore, General Manager, Omarsa S.A. / Panama Seafood Group
- Tony Downs, Director, Category Management – Seafood, Sysco
- LeVan Quang, CEO, Minh Phu Seafood Corporation
- Eric Bloom, COO and President, Eastern Fish Co., Inc.
- Chowdary Kunam, CEO AZ Gems and Sandhya Aquaculture
The Investment session will address the challenge of how to improve financing for small to medium aquaculture companies. It will identify the barriers that the aquaculture community faces and the needs of the financial community. Discussions will include debt financing by banks and credit programs, which is used by feed manufacturers and processors, and the growing importance of IT systems that track the real-time performance of farms.
- Rahul Kulkarni (moderator), Managing Director, India – Lighthouse Finance
- Philip Shull (speaker), Sr. Consultant, USSEC; USDA Minister Counselor (ret.); President & Founder, The Philip Shull Group
- Brian Gordon (speaker), Senior Vice President, Commerce Bank
- Maria Velkova, Investment Manager, AquaSpark
- Supriya Srinivasan, Co-founder and Partner, Hatch Blue Revolution Fund
- Loc Phan, Chairman, and CEO, of Vietnam Food (VNF)
Shrimp farming is a young, dynamic business with innovations occurring rapidly at every level of the value chain. The Innovations session will focus on four areas that are particularly important in improving efficiency and reducing cost: (1) technologies enabling more accurate estimates of shrimp biomass; (2) IT systems with smart tools often driven by AI; (3) a new generation of land-based RAS systems that provide shrimp fresh to local markets; and (4) systems to take advantage of waste streams and the circular economy.
- Manoj Sharma (moderator), Managing Director, Mayank Aquaculture Private Limited
- Sake Kruk (speaker), Researcher, Environmental Policy Group, Wageningen University
- Loc Phan, Chairman, and CEO, of Vietnam Food (VNF)
- Brenda Bowler, Innovation and Product Development Manager, Vitapro S.A.
- Pavan Kosaraju, CEO, AquaExchange Agritech
- Bert Wecker, Co-CEO and CTO, Oceanloop
- Fridi Mellemgaard, CEO/Founder, Sincere Aqua
Every session of the Summit will end with proposed action steps presented to the in-person and virtual audiences for a vote through a polling app. Even those who miss the in-person or live-stream virtual event are encouraged to tune in at their convenience to the on-demand virtual event and register their votes through the app. “Finding actionable solutions to shared issues will move the shrimp sector forward in a way that benefits people and the planet,” says George Chamberlain. “Equally important is ensuring that the largest possible global audience is reached for accelerating the progress.”
Associations representing thousands of members have requested free virtual access. These knowledgeable contributors will be participating from Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Brunei, Australia, India, Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Panama, Brazil, Peru, United States, Belgium, and many more countries represented by organizations such as the World Aquaculture Society. Aquaculture or seafood associations/organizations who would like to offer free virtual attendance to their members should contact Laura Rose for further details.
Attendees and non-attendees can contribute to discussions and access relevant resources before, during, and after the Summit in the TCRS Online Community. Beyond its Shrimp Summit subcommunity, the TCRS Community is a growing community of over 1400 peers dedicated to supporting regenerative seafood processes through knowledge sharing, thoughtful discussion groups, and unique content and podcasts only available in the community. Members can expand their networks and earn credentials by taking courses developed by aquaculture experts. There is no cost to seafood professionals to join our community.
Sponsorship inquiries should be directed to Carson Roper. Industry professionals who wish to attend should visit http://www.responsibleseafood.org/shrimpsummit to review the full agenda and register.
