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New Year: New Members!

The EATiP Platform extend to all readers our best wishes for 2022!  We look forward to a successful year full of innovation and development for our sector and stakeholders.

We begin this New Year in a very positive way by welcoming two new members to our network!  Indicative of our multi-stakeholder nature, one member comes from the aquaculture industry, the other from aquaculture academia.

Ace Aquatec is an award-winning aquaculture technology company specialising in in-water electric stunners; automated waterjet bleeding; gentle contactless pumping; predator deterrents, biomass cameras and Sea Lice removal systems.

Ace Aquatec – one of two new members joining EATiP in January 2022

Ace Aquatec help their customers businesses to thrive by making their operations efficient, ethical and sustainable.  With the high importance attached to aquatic animal health and welfare within European aquaculture, EATiP will certainly benefit from the knowledge and experience this company can bring.  With a head office in Dundee (Scotland, UK) Ace Aquatec were co-founded in 1999 by inventor John Ace Hopkins and investor Annette Pyne-Carter after they saw the potential technological innovation could have in accelerating the adoption of responsible fish farming practices. The company project manages global R&D projects, manufacturing at two UK factories, and co-ordinate installers and engineers worldwide. The company also has a Canadian office and distribution partners in key markets.

Ace Aquatec has grown from a family run business into a global supplier of aquaculture solutions retaining a key focus on local partnerships and personal customised solutions and we are delighted to welcome them to our network – sure in the knowledge we will value their experience and knowledge.

 

From the academic side, The University of Stavanger (Norway) represents another type of Technology Platform membership category, bringing an additional wealth of expertise to our scientific and academic membership.  The Department of Aquaculture offers a number of areas of specific knowledge and expertise, where the University is keen to collaborate with EATiP members and engage in both project and other activities. Specifically, the University seeks to engage in the areas of:

  • Offshore Fish Cage Design, Environmental Load Modelling, Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS), Artificial Reef, Contaminant Transport, Digital Twin Modelling, Fluid Mechanics and Dynamics, Turbulence Modelling
  • Aquatic diseases, Emerging infectious diseases, Pathogen molecular biology and sequencing
  • Innovation, Seafood markets, Competitiveness and resilience in Aquaculture
  • Fish health, fish welfare, Environmental impact, Risk assessment

The University of Stavanger – brining a wealth of expertise to the EATiP Platform.

Welcoming the new members to the EATiP platform, President Gustavo Larrazábal commented “at a challenging time for both the European aquaculture sector and European citizens in general, we are delighted to welcome these two new members to our platform, demonstrating that collaboration and engagement in the fields of research and innovation remain strong within our sector.  With the increasing emphasis on fish welfare in addition to fish health, and the ambitions set out in the Strategic Guidelines for European Aquaculture and Blue Economy, along Horizon Europe and the European Missions, the wealth of knowledge and expertise brought to EATiP through the University of Stavanger and Ace Aquatec will further extend and improve our contribution to the development of a sustainable and innovative European aquaculture sector.”

Stiim Aqua Cluster: expanding the EATiP Mirror Platform Network

EATiP is proud to announce that a further national Mirror Platform has joined the EATiP family – Stiim Aqua Cluster.  Stiim is the sixteenth national or regional cluster to join EATiP and demonstrates the strong commitment to the Platform from the Norwegian aquaculture industry.

Stiim Aqua Cluster – the 16th national cluster to join EATiP

Stiim Aqua Cluster represent a complete ecosystem for aquaculture innovation in Norway. The cluster now has about 130 members and partners from all of the country and is located on the south-western coast of Norway.

This brings the total number or organisations gathered under the EATiP Mirror Platform umbrella to around 1000 members – reaching across all aspects of the aquaculture industry value chain.

 

Amongst the cluster’s main focus areas are:

  • New areas for aquaculture to enhance sustainable seafood production
  • Increasing the availability of capital to stimulate innovation and growth
  • Promoting R&D projects and sharing of knowledge in member companies
  • Facilitating networking events and increasing competence within the indutstry

Blue Planet Academy is the cluster’s platform for promoting best practice in aquaculture. Blue Planet Academy is the world’s largest e-learning platform on aquaculture, offering thousands of videos and a variety of online courses on fish species from salmon to tilapia to customers around the world.

EATiP are delighted to welcome Stiim as a formal member of the platform and look forward to the increased experience, knowledge and potential for aquaculture innovation that our collaboration will bring.

Further details are available from the Stiim Aqua Cluster website and also through the LinkedIn network @Stiim Aqua Cluster

We’re growing again!

EATiP is delighted to announce that EBCD – the European Bureau for Conservation Development has joined our Platform as a member organisation.  EBCD is an international environmental NGO that promotes the sustainable use and conservation of marine resources.

Established in Brussels in 1989, EBCD fosters dialogue and cooperation on ocean governance among all stakeholders, and works together with EU and UN institutions to advance progress on sustainable development.

EBCD has a long history in engaging on sustainable fisheries & aquaculture at European and global level, tracking and informing policy developments through expert-led scientific advice and full stakeholder participation. Embracing its mission of promoting the sustainable use of natural renewable resources, EBCD was involved at the establishment of EATIP in 2007  – bringing in IUCN as an advisory body –  and it has carried out several projects jointly with  IUCN on aquaculture.  

On becoming part of our Platform, EBCD is looking forward to contributing to the sustainable development of the aquaculture sector and in particular to supporting the achievement of SDG14 Life Below Water and SDG 2 Zero Hunger.

One of the key strengths of the European Technology Platforms is their multi-stakeholder approach, joining industry members with researchers, academics and NGO organisations.  Taking a fact and science based policy approach to sustainable development is more important than ever – and such joint working demonstrates the trust and credibility that is to be found in the work of the ETPs, and the importance attached to them by the European Commission and other key stakeholders.

EBCD also provides the Secretariat to the European Parliament Intergroup on “Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development” with a specific Working Group on Fisheries and Aquaculture as well the Secretariat to the Market Advisory Council of DG MARE and the Secretariat  to the IUCN Fisheries Expert Group.