The third Aquaculture Africa Conference (AFRAQ24), which took place in November 2024 in Hammamet, Tunisia, attracted nearly 1,300 attendees from the industry, academia, government, and development partner delegates, spanning from 74 countries around the
world, mostly from Africa. The event was a unique opportunity for attendees to celebrate achievements, learn, share ideas and create new partnerships that will shape the future of aquaculture in Africa.
The event coincided with the African Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society (WAS-AC)’s fifth-year anniversary celebrations. The Chapter was formally established in November 2018 and has now successfully hosted three AFRAQ events: in Alexandria, Egypt (2022) and Lusaka, Zambia (2023) and Hammamet, Tunisia (2024) demonstrating its ability to organize large events that bring global aquaculture actors together for a common vision.
The guest of honor was the Tunisian Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, Ezzedine Ben Cheikh. Other senior state dignitaries from Tunisia, Zambia, Algeria and Angola as well as specialist guests from the African Union (AU), FAO, EU, World Bank, and others also featured at the conference. The global WAS president, David Cline, and African Chapter president, Foluke Areola also attended.
AFRAQ24 program featured 41 sessions, 277 abstracts, 46 posters and 4 training workshops. The technical and scientific program was complemented by an international trade show which featured 55 exhibition booths from 22 countries. This comprised a Tunisia exhibition pavilion that showcased the country’s aquaculture industry and some support projects. Several renowned aquaculture companies in Tunisia and the Mediterranean region were featured within the pavilion.
WAS-AC also organized the Africa Student Programme Sessions to the benefit of over 80 students who physically participated. The second annual session of the WAS Platform for Portuguese-speaking countries (PALOPs) also took place.
The next WAS African conference is scheduled for Entebbe, Uganda from June 24-27, 2025. This will be followed by AFRAQ26 slated for Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania around early December 2026 and World Aquaculture 2027 in November 2027 in Accra, Ghana. Details will soon be available on the WAS website www.was.org.
