Name: Brooklyn Aquarium Society (BAS)

Location: BAS holds regular meetings in Brooklyn, New York. However, they also have a website with active forums, as well as educational articles and photos. Membership is open to anyone, regardless of location.

Website:http://www.basny.org/
The website includes:
- Calendar of events
- Copies of their monthly bulletin
- Copies of their bimonthly publication "The Aquatica"
- Breeder program information
- Forum

About: As far as we can trace, we are the oldest continuous Aquarium Society in the U.S.A.

We started 100 years ago and celebrated our 100th anniversary this past summer, with a big bash at the New York Aquarium. In honor of our anniversary, we produced a small booklet about the history of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, and gave a copy of to all our members and dignitaries who attended our 100th anniversary party. The booklet contains many little known and interesting facts about the history of our society as well as the hobby in general.

We have approximately 300+ members and meet on the 2nd Friday of each month, except July and August, at the New York Aquarium Education Hall in Brooklyn's Historic Coney Island. Our membership is almost equally divided between freshwater and saltwater hobbyists. At our meetings, we have had many renown freshwater and saltwater experts from the U.S. and speakers from around the world. We also have many events to serve the community, and engage in setting up aquariums at schools and educate the public about the hobby and changes around the world that impact both freshwater and saltwater habitats.

In addition, some of our members are involved in the IBC and other species maintenance programs that work to breed rare and endangered fish in an attempt to increase their numbers around the world. We have a number of excellent Fish Breeders in our society, our President Joe Graffagnino being one of the more prominent breeders in the NYC area.

Guide Comments: BAS is a great example of what an aquarium society is all about. There's a good reason why they have been around for over a hundred years, and you'll begin to see it as soon as you visit their website. BAS is active, holding regular meetings every month, and provides a wealth of information for their members. The membership supports each other and promotes the aquarium hobby. I only wish that I lived close enough to actively participate in this club. In fact, I was so impressed I registered at their forum and plan to join them as a member, if nothing more than to support their club. It's well worth the investment.