Prof. S. Ayyappan, with a Master’s Degree in Fisheries Science, has a Ph.D. in Aquatic Microbiology. His specific areas of research are Fisheries, Freshwater Aquaculture and Aquatic Microbiology. With several assignments during the scientific career for four decades, he has served as the Director, ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA), Bhubaneswar, India & ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Mumbai, India; Deputy Director General (Fisheries), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi; Chief Executive, National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Hyderabad, India; Secretary, DARE, Govt. of India & Director General, ICAR, New Delhi; President, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), New Delhi; NABARD Chair Professor; Chancellor, Central Agricultural University, Imphal; Chairman, KSTA, Bengaluru; NABL, Gurgaon, India.

He has been conferred D.Sc. (honoris causa) by 15 Universities and is a recipient of several awards including Padma Shri, 2022 and Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, 2013. Representing the country in important international fora, the interactions have developed a deep understanding and widened the horizon of his vision of Food & Agriculture, Fisheries & Aquaculture, especially in the Developing countries.

Neil Loneragan is a Professor Emeritus at Murdoch University with research interests covering fish and invertebrate ecology, estuarine and marine food webs, stock enhancement, ecosystem modelling and small-scale fisheries. He spent 14 years with CSIRO researching prawn/shrimp fisheries and habitats in northern Australia and through southeast Asia. At Murdoch, he has been Director of the Centre for Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems Research, leader of the Environmental and Conservation Sciences and has completed 25 PhD, 10 Masters and 35 Honours candidates, including students from Indonesia and Malaysia. He has delivered training workshops in Indonesia on Fisheries Science, Management Strategy Evaluation for Data-Limited Fisheries and Ecosystem Modelling for Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management and has published 185 articles in international journals, edited one book and five special symposia (Scopus H = 50; Google Scholar H = 63). He is the President of the Asian Fisheries Society and Editor-in-Chief of Asian Fisheries Science.

Professor Jun Zou is a professor in Shanghai Ocean University (China). He obtained his B.SC. degree in Peking University, M.Sc. degree in the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Ph.D. degree in the University of Aberdeen. Prof. Zou’ research focuses on fish immunology and disease control. He reported the first interleukin in fish in 1999, and has been researching on fish cytokine biology for nearly 30 years. He published more than 250 papers in his career, which are cited over 12,000 times. Prof. Zou is the editor of Fish and Shellfish Immunology, and serves as the editorial board member of several scientific journals including Developmental and Comparative Immunology, Comparative Immunology Reports, and Aquaculture and Fisheries. He is a committee member of Asian Society of Developmental and Comparative Immunology.

Dr. Essam Yassin Mohammed is the Director General of WorldFish, where he leads efforts to advance research and innovation in aquatic food systems. With a distinguished career in both fisheries science and environmental economics, Dr. Mohammed has authored numerous influential publications that have shaped policies and practices in sustainable development. His work emphasizes the integration of economic principles with conservation strategies, aiming to balance planetary health with human wellbeing.
Dr. Mohammed's leadership at WorldFish is marked by a commitment to leveraging science and technology to enhance food security, nutrition, and livelihoods across the globe. Under his guidance, WorldFish has expanded its impact through strategic partnerships and collaborative projects, reinforcing its role at the forefront of addressing global challenges related to water environments and fisheries. An acclaimed speaker and thought leader, Dr. Mohammed's expertise is regularly sought in international forums where he advocates for policy reforms and innovative approaches to manage aquatic ecosystems sustainably. His vision extends beyond immediate challenges, focusing on long-term strategies that foster resilient communities and thriving, diverse aquatic habitats.

Dr. Matthew Camilleri, graduated in fisheries science and ocean science from the University of Plymouth (UK) where he went on to obtain a Ph.D. in fisheries management. Dr Camilleri served as consultant to the Maltese government on fisheries management and as Head of the Malta Centre for Fisheries Sciences between 1998 and 2007. He also acted as national focal point for regional scientific projects of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and for scientific programmes of the European Union. Dr Camilleri joined FAO in 2007 and currently occupies the position of Leader of the Fisheries Global and Regional Processes Team within the Organization. His responsibilities include the promotion and monitoring of the implementation of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and other international fisheries instruments, especially those aiming to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Dr Camilleri served as Technical Secretary for the FAO Technical Consultations which adopted the international Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance, Voluntary Guidelines for the Marking of Fishing Gear and Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment. He also serves as Technical Secretary to the meetings of the Parties to the 2009 FAO Agreement on Port State Measures and leads FAO’s capacity development programme on the implementation of the Agreement and complementary instruments.

Professor Nicholas Andrew Robinson is a Senior Scientist with the Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research (Nofima) and Professor in Aquaculture Genetics with Deakin University Australia with over 30 years’ experience with the genetic improvement of livestock and aquaculture species, holding more than 50 research grants and authoring of over 90 journal publications and book chapters with his many collaborators around the world. His main research concerns the application of genomics to the genetic improvement of fish and shellfish in aquaculture. Access to reliable, fast-growing disease resistant and stress resilient seedstock is needed to ensure the sustainability of aquaculture. Recent work by Prof. Robinson includes the use of genomic selection for improving host disease resistance (e.g. to white spot syndrome virus in shrimp) and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing for proving gene function influencing disease resistance (e.g. for Aeromonas disease in rohu carp and sea lice in Atlantic salmon).

Prof. Dr. Soottawat Benjakul is a professor in Food Science and Technology and Director of International Center of Excellence in Seafood Science and innovation (ICE-SSI), Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand. He received his Ph.D. (Food Science and Technology) from Oregon State University, USA in 1997 under the support from the Fulbright scholarship. His major fields of interest are seafood quality as well as the valorization of fish processing byproducts. He has currently focused his research on non-thermal processes and natural additives for shelf-life extension of seafood and products. Moreover, he has emphasized his research on functional ingredients or nutraceuticals from seafood processing leftovers. He has received several research grants from national and international granting agencies. He has published more than 1,115 research and review articles in peer-review international journal indexed by Scopus with H-index of 106 and his citation is higher than 48,000.

Dr. Alice Joan G. Ferrer is Professor 12 of Economics and UP Scientist III at the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV). She is a health economist, but her research work also includes fisheries and aquaculture social sciences, gender, governance, climate change, among others. Currently at UPV, she is the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and head of Socio-Economics Data Analytics Center. In her region of the Philippines, she chairs an ethics monitoring board and is the Executive Director of a health R&D Consortium. At the national level, she is the founding Executive Director of a consortium for Small-Scale Fisheries R & D (aka Too Big to Ignore Philippines) and an officer of two professional societies, among others. At the international level, she is the Immediate Past President of the Asian Fisheries Society, Immediate Past Chair of the Asian Fisheries Social Science Research Network, and Constitution Coordinator of the Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries Section of the Asian Fisheries Society.

Dr. Krishna R. Salin is the Chair of the Aquaculture Program at Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Thailand. With over 27 years of active academic and industry experience, he has served as the President of the World Aquaculture Society (WAS) Asian-Pacific Chapter, and Honorary Director of NEDAC, an intergovernmental Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific. Dr. Salin is also a Visiting Professor at Shanghai Ocean University, China and an Associate Editor for the Elsevier journal Aquaculture Reports. Salin holds a PhD in Mariculture from Central Institute of Fisheries Education (Deemed University), Mumbai, India, as well as a Masters in Aquaculture and a Bachelor in Fisheries Science from College of Fisheries, Kerala Agricultural University, India. His research interests include cleaner aquaculture production systems, as well as the health, nutrition, and welfare of finfish and crustaceans. He offers customized training programs and consulting services to governments, researchers, and businesses worldwide, based on the AIT's Sustainable Asian Aquaculture Platform.

Maarten Bavinck is emeritus professor of coastal resource governance at the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and was previously employed by the Arctic University of Norway. His ethnographic field research spans more than 30 years and is concentrated in South Asia where he has conducted intensive research on capture fishing and the governance predicaments that occur. His publications include seven books and more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters. He is founder and director of the social-science Centre for Maritime Studies (MARE), based in the Netherlands, and editor of the journal Maritime Studies. He is currently also the chairman of the board of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF). Bavinck has been inspired by interactive governance theory and the legal pluralism approach.

Dr. Nikita Gopal is Principal Scientist & Head, Extension, Information & Statistics Division, at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (ICAR-CIFT), Kochi, Kerala, India. She is a founding member, and currently the Chair, Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries Section (GAFS) of the Asian Fisheries Society (AFS). She is also Vice Chair, Asian Fisheries Social Science Research Network (AFSSRN) of the AFS and Secretary, Society of Fisheries Technologists of India (SOFTI) and Fellow of the Society (FSFT of SOFTI). For the past decade, she has been carrying out studies on gender in fisheries and aquaculture, documenting women’s contributions and challenges in small scale fishing, marketing, and processing. Her earlier work includes seafood trade and market analyses; and technology evaluation in fisheries. Through action research projects she has engaged with stakeholders at the grassroots, leading multi-disciplinary teams for identification, co-creation and transfer of suitable technologies to improve livelihoods and reduce drudgery of fisherwomen. Her current research interests include small scale fisheries, labour migration and women’s work in fish value chains. Recognising her sustained long-term contributions to gender in aquaculture and fisheries she was awarded the AFS Gold Medal Award in 2022.

Dr. Arun K. Dhar is a Professor & Director of Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences in the University of Arizona, USA. Dr. Dhar is an World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH, Paris, France) Expert of Crustacean Diseases and the Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory in the University of Arizona is an WOAH Reference Laboratory and an USDA-APHIS approved laboratory for diagnosis of crustacean pathoigens. Dr. Dhar leads efforts to provide disease diagnostics services to the shrimp industry worldwide. Dr. Dhar's research focuses primarily on pathogen discovery, developing diagnostics tools and therapeutics against viral diseases in shrimp. He has authored 100 peer-reviewed papers and is an inventor in eight patents issued by the US PTO. He serves as an Associate Editor of the “Journal of Invertebrate Pathology” and “Reviews in Fisheries Science and Aquaculture”. He also teaches at Cornell University AQUAVET Program as an Adjunct Professor.

Angela Lentisco has over 18 years of experience in sustainable fisheries management, marine and coastal conservation, and sustainable development. She has worked with the United Nations, bilateral donors, and regional organizations, specializing in fisheries and aquaculture, climate change adaptation, gender strategies, livelihood diversification, and ecosystem-based approaches. Angela has extensive field experience across Asia and Latin America, with a proven track record in project design, implementation, research, and capacity building. Currently, she serves as the Fishery and Aquaculture Officer at FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, providing technical assistance to Asian countries on regional and national fisheries and aquaculture projects. She supports capacity-building, knowledge-sharing, and international cooperation, and contributes to the FAO’s Blue Transformation initiative, focusing on project planning, evaluation, and resource mobilization. Angela holds a Master’s in Environmental Economics from the University of London, a Master's in Integrated Coastal Management, and a Bachelor's in Marine Science from the University of Cadiz.

Mr. Marcio Castro de Souza serves as a senior fisheries officer for international trade, overseeing trade and markets within the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Division. He serves as the Secretary of the FAO Sub-Committee on Fish Trade (COFI:FT), the preeminent global platform for dialogue among countries regarding the technical and economic dimensions of international trade in fisheries and aquaculture products. Mr. Castro de Souza's primary activities encompass formulating studies, projects, analyses, and policy guidance concerning international trade and markets on fisheries and aquaculture products. This includes aspects of market access and regional trade agreements, their interrelations, the principal regulatory instruments governing international fisheries activities, and their implications for trade, markets, and sustainability. His job area encompasses providing training on fish trade and advancing trade and economic topics, along with related studies solicited by FAO Members in COFI:FT. Mr. Castro de Souza is a jurist with a master’s degree in international law and economics (Magna cum Laude) from the Universities of Berne, Fribourg, and Neuchâtel. Before his tenure at FAO, he held various senior positions within the Brazilian Government, focusing on agriculture and fisheries, all linked to international trade. He has worked in global capital markets inside the banking industry and at a government body that regulates foreign trade in Brazil.

Dr. Eduardo M. Leano is currently the Director General (since 2024) and concurrently Senior Programme Officer (since 2010) of the Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific (NACA) based in Bangkok, Thailand. He serves as chief executive officer; directs NACA programme in accordance to a Regional Work Programme formulated and endorsed by the Technical Advisory Committee, and manages the NACA Secretariat. He also manages the Health and Biosecurity Programme and Food Security, Safety and Certification Programme. He provides specialist advice on aquatic animal health matters, and assistance to countries in the Asia-Pacific region on the assessment of health status and institutional development. He also supports strengthening of national programmes on aquatic animal health management, disease surveillance and reporting, and other issues including antimicrobial use/resistance and biosecurity. He graduated: Ph.D. in Applied Biology (Microbiology; 1999) from the City University of Hong Kong; M.Sc. in Fisheries (1993) from the University of the Philippines Visayas; and, B.Sc. in Inland Fisheries (1989; Cum Laude) from Central Luzon State University.