Fish Health Section Conference

The Fish Health Section of the Asian Fisheries Society (FHS-AFS) is one of the formidable professional societies in the world. Initiated in 1987 and formally established in 1989, the FHS-AFS has provided a unique, consistent and dedicated platform for both senior specialists and young career entrants and all others in between for the last 30 years.

FHS-organised events allow members to meet and engage to share knowledge, keep abreast of new developments, expand networks, establish new partnerships, keep the burning passion of finding solutions to aquatic disease challenges, or even just catching up with small talk as part of being a colleague, mentor and mentee.

One of these is the triennial Symposium on Diseases in Asian Aquaculture (DAA) which has facilitated interactions from professional engagements to delegates maintaining friendships that span for decades.  With current membership of more than a hundred from across the globe, DAA is an iconic event – no post DAA-goodbyes – just ‘looking forward to’ and ‘see you at the next’!

The most recent DAA11, scheduled to take place in 2020 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, was postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Instead of the usual in-person event, DAA11 was successfully held in a fully virtual platform.  At the 11th Triennial General Meeting of the FHS, it was decided that an in-person event should be organised prior to the holding of the DAA12 in 2025 (in Chennai, India).

The present conference is a pre-DAA12 event, intended to create an occasion for continuing mentorship, this time the pillars handing over their future outlook and perspectives based on decade long experiences – from the ‘before’ when there was ‘something’ to the ‘now’ when there is almost ‘everything’. 

Objectives

The conference will:

• Provide a platform for a “meet-and-greet”, exchanges of experiences and guidance from the senior experts (pillars) to the current generation of fish health enthusiasts (future pillars).
• Showcase the Fish Health Section from its inception to how it became one of the most reputable networks on aquatic animal health globally.
• Provide a forum for important issues and updates on aquatic animal health through scientific presentations and open discussions.

Organisers

The conference is organised by the:

• Fish Health Section of the Asian Fisheries Society (main organiser).
• Thailand Department of Fisheries (main organiser and host).
• Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (co-organiser).