Pine Bluff, AR — Dr. Rebecca Lochmann, professor of aquaculture and fisheries at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, was recently presented the Distinguished Service Award at the Aquaculture America conference held in San Antonio, Texas. Hosted by the U.S. Aquaculture Society (USAS) and partners, Aquaculture America is the nation’s only major national aquaculture conference and exposition.
According to USAS, the Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding personal contributions to the society and the U.S. aquaculture industry. It emphasizes significant leadership and overall impact in research, education, Extension or industry development in the field of aquaculture.
“Dr. Lochmann has practiced a career of professional service,” Dr. Anita Kelly, Extension professor at Auburn University and immediate past president of USAS, said. “Particularly noteworthy contributions include serving as president of both USAS and the World Aquaculture Society. She has regularly presented her work to industry organizations such as Catfish Farmers of Arkansas and the Arkansas Bait and Ornamental Fish Growers Association and has participated in international outreach programs in Brazil, Cuba, Ghana, Indonesia, Panama, Portugal, Peru and Tanzania. She is known for her generosity as a collaborator and seemingly boundless energy as a teacher, advisor, administrator, researcher and colleague.”
From 2015 to 2023, Dr. Lochmann served as chair of the UAPB Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries. She also served as director of the UAPB Aquaculture/Fisheries Center of Excellence from 2015
to 2021. She was first hired at UAPB in the role of assistant professor in 1993 and was promoted to associate professor in 1996.
In 2022, Dr. Lochmann was awarded a grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service’s 1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical Program. This allowed her to conduct a year-long sabbatical project at the H.K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center.
Her research addresses the interaction between nutrition, growth, stress resistance, immune responses and product quality for multiple fish species of commercial importance.
Dr. Lochmann is a member of the USAS, World Aquaculture Society, American Fisheries Society, National Aquaculture Association, Catfish Famers of Arkansas, Arkansas Baitfish and Ornamental Fish Grower’s Association and the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society.
Dr. Lochmann formerly served as associate editor for the North American Journal of Aquaculture. She has published more than 80 refereed journal articles and 20 Extension publications.
Her honors and awards include being named an Arkansas Research Alliance fellow in 2017, as well as being presented the Catfish Farmers of Arkansas Excellence in Catfish Nutrition Research Award in 2010, Gamma Sigma Delta Teaching Awards in 2006 and 2007 and the B.D. Mayberry Young Scientist Award in 1997.
The theme for this year’s Aquaculture America conference was “Setting the Table for U.S. Aquaculture.” More than 2,000 people attended.
Each day, the conference featured over 10 concurrent sessions, which addressed all aspects of aquaculture research, production technologies, Extension, education, human dimensions, and regulatory
issues, Dr. Lochmann said. The conference also features the largest aquaculture trade show in the Western Hemisphere.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
