EDITORIAL

Pedro René Eslava Mocha
Sub-editor of the Revista Orinoquia
Associate Professor, Unillanos

Dear reader,

On October 5, 2012, fish farmers, entrepreneurs, technicians, reseachers, and students came together for a meeting in Villavicencio from different regions of the country to attend the XVIII Conference on Fish Farming of the University of the Llanos. With justifiable pride, research groups attached to the IALL (Aquaculture Institute of of the Plains) presented to the community the results of their research at this important event, which has become the specialized meeting with the most tradition in Colombia's fish farming. It was an academic event of great institutional and human significance. As a recognition of the 18 years of the event, the Dirección General de Investigaciones wanted to add to it through the Revista Orinoquia, whose editorial committee decided to publish and make available a Supplement to the Revista Orinoquia dedicated to the XVIII Conference on Fish Farming of the University of the Llanos; that you now have in your hands to read.

The conference was coordinated by Professor Martha Inés Yossa Perdomo, the leader of the Granac Research Group (the group that does research on nutrition and feeding of aquatic animals) at the IALL. She acknowledged the special participation of the fish farmers, who play an important role in the development of fish farming in the region due to their achievements. She urged that their dedicated work be continued, while working jointly with others that also exploit the fields, while maintaining a deep respect for the conservation of the environment with its always desirable diversity, in the assurance that fish farming will be established as a sure option to provide foods of the highest quality. In this supplementary issue, in addition to the traditional technical topics, the associated environmental aspects stand out.

As in the past, the effort of the IAll faculty to doing research with resources from the University of the Llanos and other national sponsors has borne fruit; thus, reflecting a joint effort made by students in the program of study for the Master of Aquaculture degree, as well as those who are studying for the MVZ degree, and also by other students on short term internships at our university.

As is the tradition at the event, a brief written report in book format was given out. Additionally, there were selected some original research articles that had been submitted to the specialists of the Revista Orinoquia, which after rigorous evaluation were included in this supplement. There are also included copies of summaries of the rest of the papers that were presented on that day.

Finally, recognizing the significant support of fellow researchers who evaluated the papers in this special issue, the Dirección del IALL extends its gratitude for the support received from the Dirección General de Investigaciones, and the Consejo Institucional de Investigaciones of the University of the Llanos, underscoring with this Supplement of the Revista Orinoquia a tangible example of their contribution to the dissemination in written form about the Conferences on Fish Farming over the last 18 years, which can be considered from now on, as an essential immaterial heritage of Colombian fish farming.