GCAN Photo Contest Winners

The main image on the GCAN home page was selected following a photo contest.

The image was submitted by Two Docks Shellfish, founded by father-son duo, Aaron Welch Jr. and Aaron Welch III. Through Two Docks, the pair has built a strong team of farmers and watermen dedicated to Florida’s agricultural and maritime traditions. Two Docks Shellfish provides locally grown hard clams, oysters and sunray venus clams.

Aaron III is a native of Bradenton, Florida, who has an MS in aquaculture and a Ph.D. in ecosystem science and policy from the University of Miami, where he continues to serve as an adjunct professor in the aquaculture program. Prior to starting Two Docks he was a sea-going naval officer for five years, earned a law degree, and worked on fish farms throughout Latin America and other places around the world.

Aaron Jr. has a Ph.D. in plant pathology from North Carolina State University and decades of experience growing citrus and tomatoes in Florida. After retiring from his career as a research scientist and agricultural consultant, he embarked on a second career as a shellfish farmer.