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EATIP AT THE AQUACULTURE EUROPE 2023, VIENNA

Our EATiP booth #39 was a great success with lots of visits from many colleagues from all over.

 

Information was given about our project work including:

    • Providing technical input to The EC Aquaculture Assistance Mechanism
    • The AQUAEXCEL 3.0 project – opening up transnational access to EU research networks
    • OLAMUR – considering marine multi use (aquaculture and wind energy) as part of the EU Mission Ocean Baltic and North Sea Lighthouse

The  EATiP / EC / EAS INNOVATION FORUM was extremely well attended on Wednesday 20 September (Programme), as well as the AQUAEXEL3.0 networking drink following the event.

 

More on the AQUAEXCEL3.0 presentations 

Experimental assessment of the fish meal content requirements for Meagre feeds, by Ramon Fontillas | Skretting ARC (Netherlands).

The effect of krill meal inclusion on the growth of juvenile gilthead seabream, by Kiranpreet Kaur | Aker BioMarine Antarctic AS (Norway).

Metal amino acid complexes as a cost-effective strategy to help reducing fish meal in European seabass diets, by Claudia Silva | Zinpro (Portugal).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Knowledge & Innovation key”: Strategic Guidelines for EU Aquaculture – The next decade.

EATiP welcomes the publication by the European Commission (DG MARE) of a communication on the Strategic Guidelines for a more sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture for the period 2021 to 2030.

Of particular importance to us is the clear commitment given to the objective of increasing knowledge and innovation, one of four cross cutting objectives that cover 13 areas of work identified within the Communication.

This much anticipated document takes into account the future of the aquaculture sector referenced in the context of important policy developments such as the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy – and also takes into account the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Of the four cross cutting objectives identified, the remaining three consider; building resilience and competitiveness, participating in the green transition and ensuring social acceptance and consumer information.

The Farm to Fork Strategy & EU Green Deal highlight the strategic potential for farmed seafood.

As the guidelines themselves note, “knowledge and innovation (including the use of digital technology) are key to achieve the other objectives [set out in the Communication] and they are especially important for building the resilience and competitiveness of aquaculture and ensuring its green transition”.

Horizon Europe, the forthcoming EU framework programme for research and innovation is set to play an important part in the realisation of these objectives. Sustainable aquaculture is identified as an important priority within Horizon Europe where it is hoped that aquaculture research and innovation will ensure a faster response to the current and future challenges and opportunities of the sector whilst avoiding a duplication of efforts and creating synergies across other research areas.

The multi stakeholder and collaborative approach is central to the function of EATiP and the development of our Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda.  As the new strategic guidelines note, further efforts are suggested in several areas that are highly complementary to our aims and current working methodology.  Specifically those listed in the Communication cover:

  • Creating a framework for cooperation that brings together public authorities, industry, researchers, and educators, both at national and regional/local levels. This framework should include the development of innovation clusters for sustainable aquaculture.
  • Fostering the development and matching of research and innovation strengths across Member States and regions. This should include smart-specialisation strategies aimed at building full value chains across the EU.
  • Fostering effective dissemination of research and innovation results to industry end-users and the general public, as well as their exploitation, including by means of the close monitoring of the establishment and implementation of solid dissemination and exploitation plans of EU funded projects.
  • Promoting complementarity and synergies between research projects.
  • Facilitating access to EU funds for research and innovation in the aquaculture sector, by providing a clear overview of the available EU funding.

EATiP currently operates with 16 national / regional innovation clusters across 11 nations. Will the Guidelines encourage more clusters to form?

EATiP will continue to work on all these fronts and the emphasis on the development of innovation clusters is something that EATiP particularly welcome – noting the vital role that the current 16 national & regional Mirror Platforms currently play within our organisation.   Welcome too is the commitment given to the setting up on an EU Aquaculture Assistance Mechanism, not only in terms of assisting in the sharing of best practice but also in the development on an online platform hosting information on EU funding and EU funded projects.

Two further significant themes also emerge from the guidelines with regard to innovation.

It is encouraging that emphasis is placed on promoting investment in innovative solutions. As the Communication goes on to note, “investors often enter unfamiliar territory when investing in innovation” and this can be particularly true for aquaculture. As such we welcome commitment that  the EU’s BlueInvest initiative will continue to bring together investors and entrepreneurs in the aquaculture sector and that a financial instrument will be set up with EMFAF and InvestEU contributions which will be available to support investment in sustainable aquaculture activities and technologies. This will be in addition to that support afforded by individual EU Member States.

Finally, the key area of skills, education and training are acknowledged, and we look forward to further development of the themes referenced in the Communicaiton relating to the “promotion of specialised curricula and knowledge on aquaculture… …as well as life-long training for farmers on innovative approaches for the aquaculture sector”.

EATiP looks forward to building on our strong relations with the European Commission and other linked stakeholders in the delivery of the ambitions contained within the newly published Commuication and will ensure that technology, knowledge and innovation remain at the forefront of a sustainable European aquaculture sector. The role that EATiP and our Mirror Platforms have in the development of European aquaculture is something that we have already been discussing with the European Commission and with the publication of these guidelines and the imminent publication of both the Horizon Europe work programmes and EMFAF funding mechanism these proposals will be progressed further.

An exciting decade of innovation in European aquaculture is underway!

EATiP Communication Survey

Effective communication is vital in order to successfully engage in knowledge transfer, especially with regard to innovative technology and research outputs.

For that reason, EATiP are inviting any interested parties to take part in our annual communication survey.  Although primarily aimed at EATiP members and stakeholders, there is much merit in broadening our survey to those interested in the field of promoting technology, innovation and research in the aquaculture community.  Results of the survey will be considered by the EATiP secretariat and any conclusions and necessary actions agreed by our Board and General Assembly later in the spring.

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey and providing your feedback to us.  Your views are important to us and will help ensure that we continue to be effective in our role as an interface in aquaculture research and innovation.

CommOCEAN 2018 – 3rd International Marine Science Communication Conference

Are you a professional communicator working in a marine institute, governmental body or a NGO, or a marine scientist that would like to be speed-trained by experts in the skills of modern ocean science communication?  Then CommOCEAN 2018 is for you. The conference programme combines hands-on exercises in current science communication skills for disseminating ocean research and technology, with plenty of expertise-sharing, social interaction and fascinating marine science along the way.

CommOCEAN 2018 will take place on 4-5 December 2018 in Southampton, United Kingdom.  Registration and call for abstracts are now open (Abstract submission deadline: 1 July 2018; Early Bird registration before 31 August 2018). You can find out more information about the conference, programme, fees and venue at http://www.commocean.org/

Dissemination, outreach and communication of scientific knowledge are becoming more and more important in today’s society, where social inclusion is an integral part of environmental protection and sustainable development.  This is particularly true for the world of ocean research, a world that is largely hidden from our view, representing an added challenge to the communication of marine research.  From its inception, the Ocean Literacy movement has advocated closer interaction between marine scientists, educators and other stakeholders (the public, policy-makers, private sector), and inspired new events and networks all over the world.  Both the EMSEA (European Marine Science Educators Association) annual conferences and CommOCEAN are prime examples of such new initiatives.  CommOCEAN as the International Marine Science Communication Conference, was launched by the European Marine Board Communications Panel (EMBCP) and organized in the first instance by its Portuguese partners (CIIMAR, Ciencia Viva) in Porto in 2014, and a second was held in Belgium in 2016 (Bruges-Ostend) and organized by VLIZ, EMB, EMBCP and UNESCO/IOC/IODE. CommOCEAN focuses on a target audience of young marine scientists and communicators who want to be trained in science communication skills.  The third event, in Southampton, UK, is being arranged and hosted by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and will see some of the programme split for marine scientists and professional communicators ensuring the programme is relevant, challenging and inspiring.

Keep track of CommOCEAN 2018 on Twitter and Facebook.