discuss the CRSP project's success in the promotion of tilapia culture and the positive impact this has had on the lives of rural people in Central America, and to find new partners for future collaboration. Meyer met several women from Latin America, Asia, and Africa who were interested in working with her, and the women from Latin America were especially interested in the idea of having a regional meeting on women in aquaculture to further the progress gained at the conference.
Dr. Vu Cam Luong became a lecturer at the Fisheries Department of the University of Agriculture and Forestry in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam in May 1997 after he received his Bachelor degree from the same university that April. He joined the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) as a Master student in January 1999 with a DANIDA Master Research Abroad Fellowship, and received his M.Sc. degree in December 2000. He conducted the research entitled "Trophic model and technical-economic aspects of cove aquaculture in Tri An Reservoir of Vietnam" under the supervision of CRSP PI Professor C. Kwei Lin.
He was selected as an exchange student to be trained for Ecopath modeling and research methodology during January–April 2000 at center, Aarhus and Copenhagen University in Denmark, and in September 2001 he started his doctoral study at AIT with support from the Vietnamese Government Ph.D. Research Abroad Fellowship. The Aquaculture CRSP sponsored his dissertation research entitled "Management strategies of
Graduate Student Profile: Vu Cam Luong
natural food webs for marble goby-carp polyculture in coves based on natural food webs in Tri An Reservoir, Vietnam" and it linked with Aquaculture CRSP project in Vietnam under Dr. Yang Yi's supervision. He successfully obtained his doctoral degree in December 2004, and returned to his home institution where his research interests are limnology, aquaculture, food web interaction and trophic modeling.
Suyapa Triminio Meyer of the CRSP project in Honduras represented the Aquaculture CRSP at the AKTEA International Conference titled "Women in fisheries and aquaculture: Lessons from the past, current actions and ambitions for the future" in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, from 10–13 November 2004. As many as 200 women and 10 men from around the world attended the event to hear presentations and participate in forums dedicated to the roles, challenges, and opportunities that women share in fisheries and aquaculture despite their different social cultures and to highlight the importance of women's contributions to the fisheries sector.
Meyer presented two posters at the conference. The first, entitled "www.acuacultura.org" explained the power and function of a new Spanish-language website that offers information related to tilapia culture and also presents an opportunity to connect farmers, students, NGO agents, experts, and others interested in aquaculture via the Internet. The site was developed and supported in a collaboration between the Aquaculture CRSP, Zamorano University, the University of Georgia, and Auburn University.
The second poster, "Effecting Organizational Culture Change: A Brief History of the Aquaculture CRSP" was the product of members of the Aquaculture CRSP Management Entity. This poster
AKTEA Conference on Women in Aquaculture
presented information on the increasing participation of women in the research and activities of the project from 1982 to 2004.
This information was a good fit for the theme of the conference, and both during their two-hour presentation and later throughout the event, the posters drew a great deal of interest from the participants.
The conference also gave women in aquaculture an important forum through which to make new contacts,
By Yang Yi, Asian Institute of Technology
