Introducing our Guest speakers, 'Celebrating Women in Caribbean Aquaculture' CAEIH Networking Event
#IWD2024 Conch aquaculture, social media & aquaculture, seamoss farming in Belize
Hello Everyone
In continuing the celebration of Women in Caribbean Aquaculture I am pleased to present our guest speakers.
Our first speaker will be Dr. Megan Davis, a renowned conch aquaculture specialist, who will share her work and vision for conch hatcheries around the Caribbean. Next Hazel Peat, social media consultant for The Caribbean Aquaculture Hub (CAEIH) who will touch on the importance of social media in aquaculture communication and Ruth Gutierrez-Corley who is currently a PhD student investigating the culture of seaweed in Belize.
On March 20th, 2024, The Caribbean Aquaculture Education and Innovation Hub CAEIH, will host a special networking online event ‘CELEBRATING WOMEN IN CARIBBEAN AQUACULTURE’ to highlight women who are involved in the aquaculture industry. We welcome all our members to attend, and we also invite women who are interested in becoming involved or just want to learn more; Students, farmers, entrepreneurs, or professionals are welcome.
Please register at the link below:
Dr. Megan Davis
For nearly 50 years, Dr. Megan Davis, Research Professor and Director for FAU Harbor Branch Queen Conch Lab, has been studying the queen conch lifecycle and innovating ways to save the species. She has become the world’s foremost expert on queen conch aquaculture and has designed, implemented, and operated community-based queen conch hatcheries throughout the Caribbean. Her philosophy is to work in the communities with fisherfolk and citizens to empower them to grow their own conch for restoration, conservation, and sustainable seafood. Her work addresses vital blue economy growth by providing jobs for local staff and diversified incomes for fisherfolk. In addition, she proposes that restoration of this key herbivore into seagrass habitats will assist with carbon sequestration, thus aiding important international climate change mitigation efforts. Dr. Davis and her team are currently involved in projects in Florida, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Curacao, Jamaica, and several other Caribbean nations. More than ever, communities are seeking her knowledge to bring a solution to the escalating species decline.
Hazel Peat
Hazel Peat is a marketing manager of over 16 years, with experience across a range of sectors, including oil & gas, renewables and aquaculture. She helps businesses focus on what they do best and take the stress out of marketing by taking a holistic view, implementing strategies that are multi-channel, but connected.
Hazel has been involved in running CAEIH's social media accounts, creating content and managing campaigns to encourage engagement and education on aquaculture in the Caribbean, as well as providing other marketing services.
She has also been working in Scottish aquaculture for over five years, managing events and marketing activities for the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre, gaining significant experience of the sector and making important connections.
Ruth Gutierrez-Corley
Ruth Gutierrez-Corley, is an aquaculturist with over a decade of interdisciplinary experience. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in islands and small states studies at the University of Malta, having received a scholarship from the Maltese Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs & Trade. Specializing in seaweed farming in small island developing states (SIDS), particularly in the Caribbean SIDS, her doctoral thesis, titled "The Sustainability of Seaweed Aquaculture for Blue Growth and Climate Change Adaptation in Small Island Developing States (SIDS): The Case of Belize," aims to identify local adaptation strategies used by seaweed farmers.
Ruth is a member of the Caribbean Development Bank Future Leaders Network, the Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network, the Women in Caribbean Aquaculture/Caribbean Aquaculture Network, and the International Seaweed Association.
I would like to thank the current members of our Science Advisory Board who have been instrumental in the formation of WiCA and the Hub. I am very thankful to have had their passion and drive since the summer of 2022 when we first came together. It was a very exciting time in learning that there were more women scientists than we thought and especially during the pandemic when we were all stuck at home, the connection was even more special. They share the vision of aquaculture becoming more than a side project for Caribbean governments and leaders to become one of the foremost sectors driving Industry and Economic Development in the region. Now that we are no longer forced to be at home, the challenge of finding a time to accommodate all time zones has become a challenge. With Mia’s assistance as the new Chair, our goal is to have more consistent network meetings dedicated to women.
We now have 700 members in this newsletter who are interested in learning more about aquaculture. Help make the number 1000. Please continue to share this newsletter with colleagues, students, family members and professionals of the aquaculture industry.
Thank you so much to the sponsors of this newsletter, your belief in this work keeps me motivated.
Until next time
Dr. J