President’s Message

This is a difficult President’s Message to write. Our events for March, April and May have been canceled, along with every other club in the world. The Coronavirus has impacted economies worldwide, hundreds of thousands of people have died and it isn’t over yet.

We’re not the only ones who are struggling to modify the way we have meetings. It’s important to us and our members to create a semblance of balance in our lives. I think that whenever this is over, our lives will have been greatly affected.

I pray that you stay safe and remain healthy until this pandemic passes. Please continue to be mindful about socially distancing and practice common sense. Life will return to a different type of normal eventually.

June 12, at 8:00 pm, we will have a live virtual meeting with our scheduled guest speaker Chad Clayton from Reed Mariculture. Chad’s topic for the evening is, “Copepods are changing the face of aquaculture.” All current and up to date members will be getting an email with directions on how to watch this informative and educational live video presentation. There will be FREE parking if you leave your vehicle where it is! There will be FREE refreshments when you get them from your refrigerator! I hope you enjoy the presentation from the comfort of your own couch!

BAS has a new program that we want all to participate in. In memory of longtime BAS Editor John Todaro we have created the John Todaro Memorial Writers Award. This is open to members and non-members. Articals can be any size, they can include drawings or photos for extra points. You can enter 3 articles to be judged by the BAS committee. Not only will your story or artwork get published in our newly designed Aquatic News publication, there are prizes too! 1st prize is $50, 2nd prize is $25, and 3rd prize is $15. There will be several Honorable Mention prizes of $5 if the articles submitted warrant an award (all payments are in BAS Bucks). It starts now and ends on August 31. To enter please email your submissions to Ginny at basny.editor@gmail.com. Submission(s) must be received by 8/31/20. So get busy writing that article that you’ve been putting off! Now’s the time to share your knowledge, epic battles, unusual marine life stories, or simply your experience with your fish and why you love them.

If you want to see different speakers and learn about a variety of aquatic systems, fish, plants, and marine life, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why, because it would be helpful to everyone.

Please visit and patronize our sponsors, most of them are open during this pandemic because our pets must eat too. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society — so help us, help you!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455

Steven Matassa
President