Melissa Good began her career as a Marine Advisory Program Extension Agent in the remote Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea region. After developing a pilot seaweed farm with local partners, she became Alaska Sea Grant’s first Mariculture Specialist in 2020, a position she still holds in addition to her appointment as an Associate Professor at University of Alaska Fairbanks.

In addition to the many courses taught and committees served, Melissa has developed an impressive number of aquaculture resources being used at the state, national, and international levels. This includes founding a “farm to table” program connecting consumers to locally-grown oysters and seaweed products, being a key contributor to the National Sea Grant Seaweed Hub, writing a book on seaweed processing, developing a seaweed parameters testing report, producing a webinar series on access to business capital (which lead to a statewide conference on mariculture), and serving on the Strategic Advisory Council of the UN Global Compact’s Global Seaweed Coalition. Melissa is also an active member of USAS, organizing the annual Macroalgae session at conferences and, most recently, serving as a USAS Board member.

Growing up in a commercial fishing family in rural Alaska, supporting herself through college as a commercial fisherman, and living in a pristine waterfront landscape, Melissa is guided by a deep connection to the sea that is not only familial but practical. She has touched the lives of many Alaskans, bringing together farmers, seafood processors, Alaska Native Tribes and Corporations, regulators, and rural community members. A true embodiment of this year’s conference theme, she is bringing us together and “Setting the Table for US Aquaculture”.

Matt Smith completed his Master of Science degree at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He first worked in Extension at the UAPB Lonoke Lab. His talent for Extension was soon realized, and he became the Program Specialist in Aquaculture Extension at the Ohio State University. Within three years, he became the program director for Aquaculture Extension at OSU. Being part of the northcentral region, Matt became actively engaged in the North Central Regional Aquaculture Center, arranging special talks and demonstrations. Perhaps his greatest impact has been the project he initiated to determine the impacts of COVID-19 on aquaculture. He assembled a team of researchers and developed a quarterly survey to document the financial damage of COVID-19 on aquaculture producers. The information provided by his team was quickly transformed from research data to deliverables for US policymakers and the aquaculture industry. This effort ultimately led to the eligibility and inclusion of US aquaculture producers in federal relief programs such as CFAP and the Cares Act, among others. This documented real impact was felt by hard-working US farmers and is the work necessary to help sustain and grow US aquaculture.  

He has been very active in USAS, having served a term on the Board of Directors and as the chair of the USAS SocialNetworking / Website Analysis Committee. He has also served as a board member for WAS and the Student Director, which during his tenure was an inaugural student board member position for the parent society. Smith embodies all the qualities of the best Extension practitioners, including high intelligence, initiative, wit, resourcefulness, and a commitment to helping others. He relates to others regardless of their background and has a relentless work ethic. 

Dr. Ian Butts completed his Ph.D. at the University of New Brunswick, where he focused on spermatozoa cryogenics of Atlantic cod, an important species harvested in the US. While in Denmark, he focused on embryo and larval culture of the European eel with application to US eel production. Since coming to the US in 2017, his work has focused on reproductive questions related to hybrid catfish, eastern oysters, largemouth bass, Atlantic salmon and southern flounder. He has developed techniques to cryopreserve stem cells for blue catfish, standardize in vitro techniques for the hybridization of catfish, shed light on complex gamete interactions during fertilization, and elucidated the mechanisms of regulating sperm motility in the eastern oyster, all species of economic importance to US aquaculture. In his effort to improve US aquaculture hatchery production techniques, he has obtained nearly $7 million in grant dollars. One producer said, ”He has helped us improve our genetic breeding, fertilization procedures, and blue catfish spawning techniques. He regularly checks in, and his research has maximized our effectiveness.”

Not only is his research impactful, but his teaching and mentoring of future aquaculturists and researchers are commendable. One student wrote, “He manages to make the class super entertaining and fun.” His Hatchery management course requires students to spawn fish (regardless of the time, day or night), hatch, and raise them, providing students with a real sense of what is involved in hatchery work. He is also active in USAS, having served as a judge on the Student Award Committee and a member of the US Publications committee for several years. 

Dr. Ganesh Kumar Karunakaran is an Assistant Research Professor with Mississippi State University and has quickly becomea recognized leader in modern aquaculture economics. He received his undergraduate degree in Fisheries Science at Kerala Agricultural University, Kochi, India, and Master’s degrees in aquaculture at the Central Institute of Fisheries Education in Mumbai, India and at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. In 2015 he was the recipient of the first doctoral degree ever awarded by the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and his dissertation was recognized as the best doctoral dissertation in aquaculture economics by the International Association of Aquaculture Economics and Management.

His primary research addresses the development, adoption and economics of new production technologies and alternative management practices, but he has worked on a wide range of issues including the economic impacts of disease, vaccines, predation, diet formulations, regulatory costs and the coronavirus disease pandemic. Most of his work focuses on practical, farm-level issues, and his work is appreciated by producers because his research is grounded in production realities. His work has also been used to inform important policy discussions in the US related to aquaculture. Dr. Kumar has published more than 45 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, numerous abstracts and popular papers, and has been awarded more than US$3 million in competitive research grants. His work has been recognized with numerous awards and he has already provided substantial service to the USAS and WAS.

There are few young scientists who have so quickly established themselves with such ground-breaking research that has been recognized by scholars and industry alike. Dr. van Senten’s research demonstrates a key reason why US aquaculture lags behind other countries. The unique methodology applied and analysis has shown the added cost of fish production, reduced farm efficiency and loss of markets are directly correlated to the regulatory burden place don US aquaculture. The first of its kind, his research outcomes have been used in legislative debate, been cited by news media and have triggered the need for follow-up studies.

Dr. Aaron Watson received his B.S from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, his M.S. in Marine Science in 2008 at the University of Texas in Austin working on early juvenile cobia energy budgets, then earned his Ph.D. in 2013 from the University of Mary land, College Park, evaluating the effects of graded levels of taurine in cobia diets. Dr. Watson then began working at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resource’s Marine Resources Research Institute in 2014, where he immediately hit the ground running, starting up a new aquaculture nutrition program in cooperation with a number of other federal and state entities. His research involves the use of cutting edge technology to analyze fish tissues to evaluate and improve diets important to marine fish aquaculture. Dr. Watson has received funding from competitive sources each of the last four years and has 11 publications (eight as first author) with another four currently in review. Dr. Watson is now responsible for all mariculture research at South Carolina DNR, including their extensive stock enhancement program and research at the Waddell Mariculture Center.

The spectrum of his innovative scientific research is very wide. For his doctoral work at LSU, he completed studies on the preservation of germplasm resources for aquatic species through sperm cryopreservation. At Kentucky State University, Rafael did applied research on reservoir ranching and an integrated approach for sustainable aquaculture production with the use of reclaimed water from rural communities. He is now an Assistant Professor at Humboldt State University, where he teaches four courses with enrollments of many as 70 students. 

Ben Beck is currently the Research Leader of the USDA-ARS Aquatic Animal Health Research Unit in Auburn, AL. His research has elegantly combined basic and applied approaches to better understand and exploit the intersection of genetics, nutrition, and the environment in aquaculture. Dr. Beck’s work has led to several new practical approaches for fish health management currently being utilized by commercial producers. He is a broadly-trained cross-disciplinary scientist with the desire to apply advances in biotechnology to real-world aquaculture problems.

Chris Green joined the LSU AgCenter Aquaculture Research Station about six years ago with a  focus on physiology and related aspects of aquaculture science. To date, he has 26 peer-reviewed articles published or in press, 6 book chapters, 5 popular or extension publications and over 66 presentations at professional conferences. Chris has directed four graduate students and has been successful in obtaining funding to build his research program. He has contributed significant time to support professional organizations such as the USAS, for which he served as Conference Program Chair in 2010 and 2011. He has organized six professional meetings or symposia in recent years and has served on the WAS Student Activities Committee since 2007. 

Brian Small, from the USDA Catfish Genetics Research Unit at Stoneville, Mississippi, has 35 peer-reviewed papers, 50 published abstracts, and 12 additional papers in symposium proceedings and popular publications in a career that spans only nine years. His work has had an impact on catfish production practices in the area of egg and embryo survival. In 2006, he was named USDA ARS Mid-South Area Early Career Research Scientist Award Winner.

Dr. Chuck Mischke gained the attention and respect of the aquaculture industry through his highly relevant research focused on cost-effective fry-pond fertilization practices.  His findings on the sensitivity of fry to abrupt increases in pH has resulted in significant improvements in fish seedstock production. He has been instrumental in helping the channel catfish industry improve their general pond management strategies as well, through innovation and simplification of traditional practices. The aquaculture industry has implemented many of his methods commercially, which is the hallmark of effective applied research. 

Chris Bridger grew up in the island fishing community of Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He completed a Bachelor of Science (Honours in Marine Biology) from MUN about the same time that the groundfish stocks collapsed with extensive fishery closures and accompanying negative social impacts. This dramatic shift in outport life convinced him to pivot his graduate level studies (Advanced Diploma in Aquaculture and Master of Science in Aquaculture both from MUN) towards aquaculture, or farming of the oceans, as a more viable future-looking option for coastal working communities. He was twice enrolled in PhD level programs in Coastal Studies and International Economic Development but in both instances got bored and moved on before finishing.

A pivot to aquaculture opened many international opportunities with nearly four years living in Mississippi developing offshore aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico, contracts working for both the New Brunswick Salmon Growers’ Association and the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association, and nearly two years managing research projects in 26 less developed countries while working for a USAID-funded program based at Oregon State University. He moved to New Brunswick in 2006 to work in the local fish farming sector then transitioned in 2013 to manage research at The Huntsman Marine Science Centre while later also becoming its Executive Director in January 2020.

In 2005, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Early Career Award from the United States Aquaculture Society, a Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society. Bridger has published more than 50 peer-reviewed research papers, reports, chapters, and books, including Open Ocean Aquaculture: From Research to Commercial Reality published by the World Aquaculture Society, and provided more than 50 presentations at regional, national, and international venues on topics related to aquaculture industry development and its effects on the environment. He has served on numerous Technical Review Panels in both Canada and the USA.

Chris Bridger's Bio from ResearchNB's Spring Legislative Breakfast 2025.