Reflecting on developments in communication

by Erik Hempel, The Nor Fishing Foundation

This month, I would like to share some thoughts with our readers about communications technology. It has become an important and integrated part of aquaculture technology and operations. Open sea farms can be operated remotely by communications technology, sales are done mainly through electronic communications, logistics depend on it, research is communicated through the web, etc. Everything today relies on modern information and communications technology.
 

Many years ago, when I took up my first overseas posting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1981, communications technology was a far sight different from what it is today. To communicate with my family, I used pen and paper, and sent letters through the mail. To communicate with my head office in Rome, I used something called telex, which most people today have not even heard about. Only later did we get telefax, and about a decade after that we got e-mail. This technological development over the past forty years have led me to think about what the COVID-19 pandemic has done to us and our communications, they we way exchange ideas, the way we interact.

The COVID-19 pandemic put an end to many, many meetings, conferences, exhibitions and seminars this year. Hundreds of events have been cancelled; the Brussels seafood show was cancelled, the Boston seafood show was cancelled, Nor-Fishing 2020 has been cancelled, FOOMA Japan 2020 has been cancelled, VICTAM Asia has been postponed, etc. Meanwhile we each sit in our home offices twirling our thumbs and wonder what to do.

But thanks to technology, it is still possible for us to meet, to discuss issues, to watch presentations, and to communicate. Numerous events will be held on-line instead of in-person. Webinars are exploding in numbers, and on-line presentations are offered to us every day, thanks to technology.

Read more, HERE.

The Aquaculturists

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