Caribbean Aquaculture Network
Lunch and Learn summer series
August 2025
Hosted by The Caribbean Aquaculture Hub
Dr. Juli-Anne Russo
CEO & Founder CAEIH
Caribbean summers are getting hotter, with climate change driving rising temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns. These shifts impact tropical fish farms—especially for species like tilapia, carp, and ornamental fish—leading to increased fish deaths.
Warmer waters hold less oxygen and stress fish, making them more vulnerable to disease. Sudden weather changes can disrupt feeding, water quality, and growth rates. How can farmers adapt? Join our Lunch & Learn Series with top scientists and experts to explore climate-resilient solutions for tropical aquaculture. Let’s protect your farm's future together—because healthy fish start with a healthy environment. Register now to secure your spot!
SPEAKERS
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Pr Thomas Plocoste
“African Dust Haze our Worst Enemy or Best Ally” - The Sarah dust and Fish mortality
August 7 2025 / 12:00pm Jamaica
Thomas Plocoste based in Guadeloupe is a professor of physical science and a qualified research director (HDR) with over 15 years of experience in air pollution and the atmospheric boundary layer in tropical environments. As the founding president of KaruSphère, a private research laboratory, he is dedicated to the scientific analysis of Caribbean geoscience & the scientific study and analysis of air pollution and climate change in tropical regions. -
Dr. Riccardo Russo
“Water Quality Testing for Tropical Fish”
August 14, 2025 / 12:00pm Jamaica
Dr. Riccardo Russo has over 20 years in the aquaculture industry. A graduate of the University of Florida is a fish health specialist and consultant supporting farmers with practical solutions to reduce losses from disease. His research focused on improving survival and growth through better biosecurity, disease diagnosis, and treatment strategies. Dr. Russo worked directly with aquaculture producers in Florida to test vaccines, probiotics, and antibiotics like florfenicol and enrofloxacin. He has consulted in Jamaica for NGOs such as USAID and IADB. He helps farmers identify disease early using on-farm diagnostics such as necropsies and water quality testing. His goal is to make fish farming more productive and sustainable by preventing outbreaks and improving fish health through science-based, farm-tested methods.
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Dr. Carla Philips Savage
“Summer Fish Mortality - Causes and Solutions”
August 28, 2025 / 12:00pm Jamaica
Dr. Ayanna Carla Phillips Savage is a leading aquatic animal veterinarian and associate professor at Virginia‑Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (joined August 2022), with over 20 years of veterinary experience and 17+ years in aquatic clinical and research work. She earned her DVM and MPhil at the University of the West Indies, then a PhD in Aquatic Animal Medicine via a Fulbright at the University of Florida. Before moving to the US, she founded the Aquatic Animal Health Unit, Diagnostic Lab, and Marine Mammal Stranding Network at UWI‑SVM, becoming Trinidad & Tobago’s first certified aquatic veterinarian. Her work advances marine mammal, sea turtle, ornamental and food fish health, biosecurity, and One‑Health principles in the Caribbean
