Featured Scientist: UH Aquaculture Guru Dr. Tetsuzan Benny Ron

We had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Ron at the last
HVCA monthly luncheon. Benny gave an
engaging presentation on the past, present and future of aquaculture. In addition to being informative, we were all impressed by his passion for the subject. From bringing in world renown
aquaponics expert James Rakocy to working directly with local fish farmers, Dr. Ron has been hard at work evangelizing ecologically sound and sustainable aquaculture in Hawaii. His next project,
AquacultureHub.org, will leverage a global aquaculture focused social network to allow aquaculturists to share best practices for everything from shrimp farming to aquaponics with their peers in similar environments.



With the world's fish populations dwindling at an alarming rate, interest in aquaculture is on the rise. From the ancient loko iʻa to the advanced aquaculture research facilities at UH Hilo, Hawaii has a long tradition of innovation in this field. It is with great pleasure that we introduce UH Aquaculture Program Coordinator Dr. Tetsuzan Benny Ron, as this month's Featured Scientist.

Message from Dr. Ron

As the new University of Hawai’i Aquaculture Program Coordinator I wish to bring together and enhance system-wide aquaculture research, education and outreach programs. My goal is to help advance the development and implementation of the Aquaculture Program, involving collaboration between both internal and external entities relevant to the University’s mission towards aquaculture.

To achieve the above, I would like to collaborate with you. Working together we can strategically plan, nurture, develop, integrate, and increase funding for the Program to realize a shared vision for future excellence and expansion. For the program to succeed we will need your commitment and willingness to participate in this effort, as well as your help in assisting me with efforts to have to improve communication, collaboration, and partnering among University researchers, educators, departments, schools/colleges as well as Hawai‘i State departments, cooperating institutions/organizations, and extramural affiliates in the aquaculture industry.

Bio

Dr. Benny Ron is currently serving as the Aquaculture Program Coordinator of the University of Hawai’i. Dr. Ron joined the National Center for Mariculture of the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute to serve as the Head of the Fish Physiology Department and since 2003 as the Head of the Genetics and Physiology Department. In 2004 he founded the Society of Israeli Aquaculture and Marine Biotechnology and serves as the president of the society and the board or directors’ of the Israel Journal of Aquaculture – Bamidgeh. His interest in mariculture and marine biotechnology lead him to partner with Ben Gurion University of the Negev in order to open a new Marine Biotechnology undergraduate and graduate program that includes a variety of aquaculture courses. Dr. Ron served as the Chairman of the National Organizing Committee of the 8th International Marine Biotechnology Conference 2007 and as an advisor to the European Commission. Dr. Ron has been working on fish biological clocks, stress responses, marine and brackish water aquaculture, larvae metamorphosis and biological markers in fish for the monitoring of environmental changes. Since 2003 he also works on breeding programs, population genetics and aquaculture genomics in marine fish species. His interest in the conservation of aquaculture fish species and the biodiversity of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea lead him to work on DNA-barcoding and to serve as the Regional Chairman of the FISH-BOL Middle East Work Group. Dr. Ron holds teaching and mentoring positions at both the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Specialties

fish physiology, genetics, breeding programs, biorhythm, marine biology, endocrinology, metabolism, environmental physiology, education, nonprofit organizations