Dr. Juli-Anne Royes Russo
Founder and CEO, Caribbean Aquaculture Education and Innovation Hub
Juli-Anne Royes Russo was born in Kingston, Jamaica. She attended Immaculate Conception Prep and High School and later the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. After graduating with a BS in Chemistry and a minor in Zoology from the Department of Life Sciences, Juli-Anne worked in the early 1990s with the Ministry of Agriculture Bodles Research Station as a Livestock Research Officer. There she worked with Dr. T.P Lecky (Jamaica’s renowned geneticist) and conducted nutrition studies to enhance the milk production of the Jamaica Hope dairy cattle. While at Bodles, she was awarded a USAID scholarship to pursue her Master of Science in Animal Nutrition at the University of Florida.
After graduating in 1996, she returned to Jamaica and was introduced into the world of aquaculture while working at Jamaica’s only marine shrimp hatchery as an algae production specialist at Hellshire Hatcheries located on the Hellshire coast of St. Catherine. In 1998, she managed one of the largest ornamental fish farms in Jamaica. From the Martha Brae River in Trelawny, freshwater species such as plecostomus, gourami, angelfish, and guppies were exported to Florida and Canada. The farm also catered to local pet fish stores.
READ MORE ABOUT DR. RUSSO IN AN INTERVIEW WITH BONNIE WYCOTT AT THE FISH SITE.COM at the link below
She returned to the University of Florida and was awarded a full Graduate Fellowship to pursue her Ph.D. in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, where she specialized in diseases and nutritional management for fish. For her post-doctoral studies, she was awarded a three-year Research fellowship at Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute in San Diego, California. There she had the opportunity to conduct research at the only research facility in the USA for marine fish culture and stock enhancement and participate in aquaculture activities as an Aquatic Animal Nutritionist, at SeaWorld, San Diego, Birch Aquarium and Scripps Oceanographic Institute in La Jolla. One of the highlights of her career was as a Senior Scientist at one of the largest pet food companies in the USA, where for 5 years she created and managed from innovation to market over 40 products with several SKUs for the aquarium market.
 Dr. Royes Russo’s career has encompassed government, academia, the food industry, and entrepreneurship. She has worked to improve the nutritional and health status of beef & dairy cattle; small companion animals; freshwater, marine, aquarium and food fish.
Fish Site columnist wins Fulbright award
Dr Juli-Anne Royes Russo, a regular contributor to The Fish Site, and founder of the Caribbean Agriculture Education and Innovation Hub (CAEIH), has received a Fulbright specialist program award.
Now, as an aquaculture consultant, she has provided her expertise to NGOs such as, USAID, Compete Caribbean, and IDB developing workshops and training fish farmers in Jamaica, Zambia, and Nepal to improve the nutritional and health status of their fish. More recently she was an Aquaculture Biosecurity consultant at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy. She also volunteers with USAID, Farmer to Farmer, and Winrock International to provide technical services to fish farmers in developing countries. Her interests are in food and nutrition security, women in aquaculture, aquaculture biosecurity, environmental sustainability, and rural development.
 With over 15 years of experience, Dr. Royes Russo, in 2021 formed the Caribbean Aquaculture Network. The goals of the network are to share scientific knowledge and inspire and motivate aqua enthusiasts and fish farmers. Juli-Anne also wants to increase the awareness in Jamaica and the Caribbean region of the field of aquaculture and all that it encompasses including job creation and food security.
As a member of the coalition for Blue and Aquatic Foods, she believes that Jamaicans should learn more about the full potential of sustainable blue, or aquatic, foods – such as fish, shellfish, aquatic plants and algae, captured or cultivated in freshwater or marine ecosystems – to help build nature-positive, equitable and resilient food systems. The Network hosts Caribbean Scientists who give presentations on their field of expertise, interview aquaculture students, and will be creating technical workshops for farmers.
In 2025 Dr. Russo became a Member of the Board of Advisors for the Fed by Blue Organization. The mission of Fed by Blue is to drive awareness and action in supporting a responsible blue food system.
Fed by Blue is working to amplify efforts that are bringing new pathways, new dialogue, new perceptions, and new HOPE. Hope that in the face of what can seem like an insurmountable crisis, we continue striving to restore a bountiful resource that can nourish us in unimaginable ways.
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