MINUTES
Attendants: David Alderman (President), David Bruno (Vice-President), Sven Bergmann (Treasurer), Steve Feist (Meetings Secretary), Roy Palmer (Publication Officer), Lone Madsen (General Secretary)

Monday April 21st Subject: EAFP conference 2009
The council met at the Clarion Congress Hotel Prague with the local organising committee for the EAFP Prague conference in 2009 represented by Iva Dykova, as well as the conference organising company Czech-In represented by Alexandra
Chroma. First the hotel conference centre facilities were visited. Thereafter project management director Tomas Maxa and project manager Alice Trägerová, both from Czech-In, joined the meeting. A conference budget draft (based on 400 delegates attending the conference) as well as a conference agreement draft was presented by Alexandra Chroma. The two drafts were discussed and amendments were suggested. The following morning the amended conference agreement and the budget were discussed within the council. After further adjustments together with Czech-In the agreement was signed in the afternoon. The revised budget will be checked by the council members shortly after this council meeting.
Possible facilities in Prague for the reception as well as the banquet were visited Monday late afternoon. It was agreed to use the St. Agnes Convent for the reception. Further discussions will be undertaken with the local organisers regarding the
banquet venue.

Tuesday April 22nd Subject: Routine council business
Name of the EAFP conference:
Changing the conference name from “14th International conference of the EAFP” to the name “14th International conference on diseases of fish and shellfish” (organised by the EAFP) was discussed. A vote in the council (4 votes to 2) was in favour of the latter name

Statutes:
At the General Assembly in Copenhagen 2005 it had been decided that a revision of the current statutes for the EAFP should be considered. A statutes review committee with specific terms of reference was established. Their review and suggestions for statutes amendments were presented at the General Assembly in Grado 2007. The work done by the statutes review committee is very much appreciated by the council.
Since then EAFP members have had a possibility of stating their point of view concerning the proposed revisions. Based on the work done by the statutes review committee, input from members as well as discussions within the council, the President presented a written document on Council proposals for updating of Statutes 2008, divided in two parts, part two being the Council’s proposed statute revision and part one being comments and explanations for these statutesproposals. Within the next month this document will be finalised. All documents concerning the statutes review will be made available to the members on the EAFP webpage through the message board. The documents will include statutes review committee proposal and background information as well as the council proposal and background information. The old statutes are already available on the webpage. The different suggestions relating to amendments of the statutes will be made as clear as possible and it was agreed that a single document should be made, where the old statutes are presented together with new suggestions. The timeline for having all documents on the internet is 1st June. Voting on statutes will be done electronically and will be possible at the EAFP webpage at the member pages. Members will have to register for the message board, before the documents are accessible as well as voting on the relevant statute changes. Voting electronically on the internet should be done within a limited time span. A draft text for the Bulletin (number 2 is going to the printers shortly) on the statutes revision will be provided by the President and Vice-President.

Branch officer elections:
It was emphasized that branch officer elections shall be arranged by the general secretary and not conducted without an open democratic process.
Bank accounts:
The Treasurer proposed to change the bank. The communication between the Norwegian Bank and the Treasurer has been poor since the current non-Norwegian Treasurer took over. The council decided that the Treasurer should investigate the possibility of the EAFP using a bank in the home country of the current Treasurer.
The Treasurer needs to make sure that when another treasurer takes over (maybe from another country) then this person will also be able to use this bank. Bank arrangements need to be clarified in dialogue with other council members before the next council meeting in September.
Account used for credit card payments:
The possibility of paying the membership fee by credit card is currently not available and missed by a number of members. The Treasurer will take this into consideration while negotiating with possible banks.
Discrepancies of old years accounts (2004, 2005, 2006):
The President has been in contact with the former general secretary and treasurer Paul Midtlyng, who has promised to look into the matter. The current Treasurer will contact former treasurers Kristin Thorud, Paul Midtlyng and Brit Hjeltnes to ask about the amount of the error (the approximate figure). If this sum is confirmed to be small the council will consider the matter closed.
EAFP 30 years in 2009 - awards/celebrations at the Prague conference:
It was suggested that a note on the subject will be put on the EAFP website, asking for celebration suggestions from members. A note in the EAFP bulletin will lead members to the webpage. Suggestions from members should reach the council before the next meeting in September. The Meetings Secretary suggested a memento due to the 30 years celebration (maybe Bohemian glass, pen or equal) in the bags for all delegates attending the EAFP conference 2009.WSID Marine version in Spanish - ideas for use: It was decided that if members will pay for postage they can get a copy for free. The Vice-President will put this on the webpage.
EAFP Secretariat:
The current secretary for the EAFP secretariat retires in 2009. The President recognises the need for a replacement – helping with typesetting the Bulletin, keeping the membership database as well as helping treasurer and meetings
secretary. This was agreed by the council members. The Meetings Secretary will investigate the possibility of Cefas managing such a job before the next council meeting. Other possibilities will also be considered.
Locations for future EAFP conferences:
EAFP council received a formal request from Greece which is much appreciated by the council. This proposal will be considered along with one from the Croatian branch which is in preparation. The Finnish branch has expressed the interest of hosting the EAFP conference in 2013.
Council elections next year:
In 2009 the following posts will be on election: President, Treasurer, Meetings Secretary. Nominations are invited – it is emphasized that nominees for President should either serve or have served in the council. The call for nominations will be
advertised in issue 4 or 5 of the Bulletin 2008 (at the same time it will be advertised on the website).
Any other business:
The EAFP status was discussed. There is a need for seeking professional advice with regard to legal status and its implications, wherefore a professional accountant should be contacted. The President together with the Meetings Secretary will report before the next council meeting.
Currently all branch officers have not settled this years membership payment. The General Secretary will contact these branch officers after having compared payments to the EAFP accounts together with the Treasurer.
A point was raised about online access to members list. The Meetings Secretary was worried about having member details such as email addresses on the web. The Publication Officer suggested locking the list so it cannot be saved from the web.
The Vice-President (being the webmaster) advised that it is easier to have a members area only and this will be included in the message board area. The files will go onto the message board where only members will be able to access this
particular area. Other non-EAFP people can use the message board but will not see the statutes or the members handbook.
Next council meeting is scheduled for September. The President will contact the council members concerning dates. A one-day meeting was suggested at an easy accessible site like Stanstead, Manchester or Southampton.

May 8th
2008
General Secretary