Aquaculture takes center stage in Florida! On February 10th, 2025, one of the most accomplished individuals in the aquarium industry added another accolade to her ever-growing collection. That person is Segrest Farm’s President, Sandy Moore, who Florida’s Department of Agriculture recognized as the 2024 Woman of the Year in Agriculture. If you weren’t already aware, Segrest Farms may lay claim to being the largest wholesale distributor of freshwater and saltwater aquarium fish, coral, invertebrates, and more, on the planet.
A Conversation with Sandy Moore
I spoke with Moore about the recognition on Friday, February 21st, and learned that she had actually known about the honor for a substantial amount of time. “As I understand it, my fellow fish farmers, the Florida Tropical Fish Farmers Association (FTFFA), nominated me last year. I got a call last April from Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, telling me I’d won. It was astonishing.
“I had to sit on this for almost a year. The state has been so great to work with getting prepared for the ceremony last week. They sent out an entire film crew and spent hours and hours preparing that 15-minute video. I didn’t see it until they showed it at the ceremony.” Readers, you’ll find the video at the end of the story, and I encourage you to watch it!
I asked Moore to reflect on what this honor means. She responded, “It really speaks to how much a part of the culture in Florida. We’ve been farming fish in Florida for 100 years. That we were finally recognized by the state of Florida in agriculture and became part of the Hall of Fame speaks to how much Florida appreciates aquaculture.”
Photos from the event shared by Moore and friends highlighted the importance and prominence of the recognition. “They put up a whole wall inside the Agriculture Hall of Fame building at the state fairgrounds for the Woman of the Year in Agriculture. I got to meet some of these other incredible women, and they feel like my group, yet they come from such diverse backgrounds. They are doing wonderful things. The lady who was inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, Madeline Mellinger, is helping farmers apply pesticides in a more focused manner so that they’re more effective. It saves the farmers a lot of money and is better for the environment.”
“At the awards luncheon, 200-300 people were in attendance, and customers [of Segrest Farms] flew in from all over the country to attend the event. I can’t tell you how much that means.”
Florida’s Blue Economy
Sandy continued to explain how this latest honor has opened up doors and opportunities for the aquarium trade and pet trade that didn’t exist before. “I just represented aquaculture on the Florida Agriculture Council. The week before the award, we were up in Tallahassee lobbying to support the University of Florida IFAS program. That program includes a number of programs like UF IFAS Cedar Key, Keys Aquaculture, Indian River, the Tropical Aquaculture Lab…these are all things that help support the fish farming industry in Florida and beyond. Aquaculture is the ‘blue economy’ as we now call it in Florida. I get to teach everyone up on the Hill how important aquaculture is to the state of Florida and the rest of the pet industry.
“When I was up on the Hill with the Florida Agriculture Council, we had support for agriculture and aquaculture on both sides of the aisle. It was really good to see. Part of what UF IFAS is doing now is that it intends to be the AI (artificial intelligence) capital for AI for agriculture. I’m looking forward to seeing what AI can do for row crops and what it can do for aquaculture. It’s a good year for us in Florida to have agriculture and aquaculture so supported. Our leadership is currently calling for a Rural Renaissance.“
When asked about how this award would impact her future, Moore remarked, “This recognition gives me access to lawmakers that I wouldn’t normally have. As I always have, I’m going to be sure that, for all it’s worth, we continue to have the right to own, breed, and distribute pets.”
On Recognizing Woman
While Moore perhaps downplayed the emphasis of this award being for the “Woman of the Year,” we discussed the realities of the gender bias that exists in the aquarium trade. Even the demographics of both AMAZONAS and CORAL readers, subscribers, and social media followers heavily skew towards men, approaching 90 percent in some instances. Personally, I’m keenly aware of this discrepancy, given that I have an 11-year-old daughter who shows more interest in the aquarium hobby than her elder and only brother. Given that reality, I want my daughter to see women role models within the aquarium hobby and trade, and I want her to feel welcome in the community
Moore recognizes this and feels, “It is important to call this out; I’m not sure why there aren’t a whole lot of women in leadership positions in the pet industry or agriculture, but it’s really important for women to lean in. It’s the road less traveled, and it has been worth it, every single thing.”
On behalf of the entire Aquatic Media Press team, I want to thank and congratulate Sandy Moore again for this well-deserved recognition. And to you, reader, take the moment to get to meet Sandy Moore through her own words and the words of her colleagues in the video that follows. Moore has been highly instrumental in the never-ending battle to ensure the future of the aquarium hobby and the trade that supports it.
Watch 2024 Woman of the Year in Agriculture, Now
