A Welcome Message

Dr. Jae-Sang Hong
President of The Korean Association of Benthology
CEO of Korean Institute of Coastal Ecology
Professor of Inha University, Korea

　　On behalf of The Korean Association of Benthology, I am highly honored and delighted to give you a message of welcome from the organizing committee. Especially, it is a great pleasure to have this meeting under the title of the First Asian Marine Biology Symposium, which is being held in Phuket, Thailand. We know that the First European Marine Biology Symposia dates back to 1966 on Helgoland in Germany and this year 47th EMBS will be taking place in Arendal, Norway, September 3-7, 2012. Now, it became one of the greatest triumphs of modern international marine biology symposia and that symposia have been held annually since 1966. In this respect, the First Asian Marine Biology Symposium gets off to a late start. However, I hope that this meeting will grow fast and continually attract many marine biologists not just from Asian countries but also from all over the world and allow for an efficient exchange of ideas and discussions concerning various issues in the areas of local, regional, and global marine biology. Those issues, which transcend national borders, continue to increasingly require an international research effort. In addition, the post-symposium field trip is organized to experience various habitats of tropical tidal coastline. That will certainly provide an excellent opportunity to meet the diversity of fascinating tropical marine flora and fauna. I hope that all participants will greatly enjoy the first meeting for the Asian Marine Biology, and wish you every success in your deliberations.