GRI-21 will be held on 5 March 2008 in Cancun, Mexico at the Hilton Cancun Golf & Spa Resort. The event will feature the latest installment of “Hot Topics in Geosynthetics” papers. The themes: agriculture and aquaculture. “We’re excited about it,” says Dr. George Koerner, Director Designate of the Geosynthetic Institute, Folsom, Penn. “Unlike fishing, aquaculture implies the cultivation of aquatic populations under controlled conditions. Geosynthetics are used directly and indirectly in all of these operations. They are tools to facilitate better aquaculture management.” For example, geosynthetics are used in pond lining, cage construction, spawning mats, filtration, habitat creation, and spat collection systems. “The conference,” Koerner says, “is positioned to strengthen and facilitate communication and information exchange on topics related to geosynthetic and emerging issues within the diverse, global aquaculture community.” This will mark the first time the GRI event has included aquaculture as a main topic and the first time the event is being held outside the United States. GRI-21 will be held in conjunction with the GeoAmericas 2008 (2 – 5 March 2008), the first pan-American geosynthetics conference and exhibition.
GRI’s afternoon session (2:00 – 5:30 pm) will be for aquaculture. (The morning session will focus on agriculture.) The scheduled aquaculture topics and speakers are:
· “Turbidity Curtains” – George Koerner, Geosynthetic Institute (GSI)
· “In-land Hatchery in South Dakota” – a joint presentation from personnel of liner manufacturer Firestone and contractor and installer Comanco
· “Geogrid Fishnets” – John Henderson, TenCate Geosynthetics
· “Wave and Current Loads on Fish Net Cages and Pens” – Rich Weggel, Drexel University
· “Anchored Geosynthetic Underwater Habitats” – Ian Peggs, I-CORP International
· “Shrimp Farm Liners in Indonesia” – Boyd Ramsey, GSE
· “Health Aspects of Fish Farms and Bacteria Removal” – Wayne Hsieh, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST), Taiwan
· “Geotextile Tubes as Artificial Reefs” – Grace Hsuan, Drexel University

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