Top 5 reasons why we love MACNA

The Marine Aquarium Conference of North America is a yearly event buzzing with a cornucopia of reef related awesomeness. For some, it’s an annual tradition, for others, a pilgrimage. Regardless, MACNA presents its attendees with an exuberant atmosphere of fun and relaxation, acting as a catalyst where amateur hobbyists, to world renowned scientists and everyone in-between are able to interact in a manner most casual. In no particular order, we’ve picked our top 5 reasons as to why we love MACNA. [Photo credit above: Jeff Saurwein]

New sights, new sounds

11988593_10152926215837434_3897138144610984643_n — A me sized *Coelacanth* at the Natural History Museum. Photo credit: Aaron Brett.

The state hopping nature of MACNA presents the event goer a serendipitous excuse to go sightseeing. While vendors and speakers are just as alluring, taking an hour or two each day to see something new is definitely not going to hurt. This year’s MACNA at Washington D.C. really delivered in the cliché touristy department. The White House is cool and all, but there’s really nothing better than a Coelacanth at the Natural History Museum!

The talks

11951955_10152922234782434_8175254663796113092_n — Kevin Kohen’s talk at MACNA this year focused on uncommon reef fish for the nano tank. Photo credit: Lemon TYK.

Most MACNA attendees would single handedly agree that the talks given at the show are by far and large, the best and most anticipated experience. Really, to sit in the presence of industry icons and experts talking about their areas of expertise — what could be better? My favourite talks this year were those given by Dr. Luiz Rocha, Matt Wandell, Richard Ross, Brian Greene, Lyle Squire and Kevin Kohen. What were your favourites?

Vendors

12025353_10152956584692434_666227440_n — Cairns Marine’s beautiful booth made up of Coral Sea fish and corals. Photo credit: Julian Baggio.

You’ve seen them on Facebook. You’ve engaged with them via e-mail. Now you get to see them face to face. With new products, new thingamabobs and gadgets, the vendor booths offer a platform for consumer and provider to engage and geek out. This casual engagement brings us to our next point….

Networking

12041832_10152956686812434_373990201_n — Lyle Squire and Julian Baggio of Cairns Marine, Dr. Luiz Rocha from the California Academy of Sciences and Ehsan Dashti, founder of Triton, having fun and talking. Photo credit: Lemon TYK.

Networking! The combination of a casual atmosphere and the presence of industry names from all over the world in a single location sparks a logarithmic expansion of networking. Meeting new people, exchanging new ideas, isn’t that what MACNA is all about? Who did you get to connect with this year? Was there anyone on your wish list of people to meet? I’m sure of it, and I hope you managed to connect with them!

Friends

11986457_10152931567672434_6704354550401806806_n — Dr. Sanjay Joshi, Richard Ross and Kevin Kohen. Some of the familiar faces and great friends that I look forward to seeing at such events.

I lied. There is a #1 in my top 5 MACNA moments. And that, my friends, is reconnecting with friends – both old and new. The afterparties, the obnoxious selfies, the embarrassing dancing. There really is no greater joy, and just for a moment, the world stops spinning, and the crowd keeps dancing. Here’s to an even better MACNA in San Diego next year. One filled with playful banter, childlike happiness and educational, informative lectures about the wonderful hobby that we’ve all come to know and love.

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KaiTheFishGuy

Kai is a systematic ichthyologist at The Australian Museum, Sydney. His research interests combine the use of cutting-edge next generation sequencing techniques with traditional methods of morphology to better understand the evolutionary history of coral reef fishes. He is a legacy ReefBuilders contributor, having previously written close to give hundred articles under his pseudonym LemonTYK.