Monthly Archives: May 2023

Training on sustainable aquaculture practices – for young women from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea

The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are organizing a training session on sustainable aquaculture practices for young women from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

The training will take place in Greece, during 11–19 June 2023. 

The deadline for registration is 10 May 2023. In order to register, please access the following link: https://ee.kobotoolbox.org/x/XFOKvydw

Participants should meet the following criteria:

• be under 40 years of age;
• have basic knowledge on aquaculture (production, research, administration, civil society, etc.);
• have the ability to swim.

This training, which aims to bring together young women from the region in order to learn about the latest developments in aquaculture and get hands-on exposure to some of the best aquaculture practices in Greece, is the result of a collaboration between the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean), the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) and the Hellenic Aquaculture Producers Organization (HAPO).

The training will consist of:

• theoretical sessions held by aquaculture experts from the region, aiming to build a foundation of best practices, highlight the importance of the involvement of women in the sector, share success stories, and showcase the GFCM approach for the sustainable development of aquaculture;
• field visits in Greece in order to highlight Mediterranean aquaculture and different environments, species and production systems.

Genome Editing and Future Advances

AQUA-FAANG  and AQUAIMPACT are organising the joint webinar Genome editing and future advances, as a last part of a series of webinars focused on Aquaculture Genomics.The event will take place on the 11th of May 2023, at 14:00 CEST.

In order to attend the, please register at the link below:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIsc-GhpjsoE9z09F0-2cLHrRgvy1T-rQEj#/registration

The first webinar of the series, Using genomics now and in the future in aquaculture, took part in March 2023. In case you missed it, you can find video recordings below:

Blue Food Innovation Summit 2023

The Blue Food Innovation Summit will take place on 23-24 May 2023, in London, aiming to put blue food, sustainable aquaculture, and restorative ocean practices at the heart of the global conversation.

The event brings aquaculture industry together to discuss forward-thinking approaches to aquatic food production, including sustainable aquafeed, seaweed, fish health and welfare, and digital platforms for smallholder farmers, encouraging collaboration and partnership between stakeholders across the value-chain.

The key topics to be covered are:

• Ocean data – scaling solutions in restorative and sustainable aquaculture
• Empowering small scale farmers
• A restorative deep dive
• Aquatic health and welfare
• Expanding the horizon for RAS (recirculating aquaculture systems)
• Blue investment
• Sustainable aquafeed
• Accelerating the seafood revolution
• Unlocking blue carbon

The first annual Blue Food Innovation Summit took place last year in London, featuring in-person sessions and networking, with a live audience of 250 and a virtual streaming to a global audience of over 60 delegates online. The participants, consisting of aquaculture producers, feed specialists, technology providers, kelp farmers, investors, start-ups and retailers from 41 countries, were able to exchange ideas, share experiences and forge new partnerships to scale blue food production sustainably while protecting and restoring the oceans.

For more information and registration, please access: https://www.bluefoodinnovation.com/

Financing Opportunity: Valorisation of Aquatic Biomass Waste and Residues

Programme: Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON)

Call: Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (HORIZON-JU-CBE-2023)

Type of action: HORIZON-JU-IA HORIZON JU Innovation Actions

Deadline date: 20 September 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time

Legal entities from Greece, Romania, Türkiye and Ukraine, among other countries, are eligible applicants.

The maximum Horizon Europe funding rate for Innovation action is 70% (except for non-profit legal entities, where a rate of up to 100% applies).

Scope:

The specific challenge consists in demonstrating and deploying the efficient operation of a full value chain based on residuals and side streams from aquaculture, fisheries and aquatic processing for valorisation into new bio-based products (food/feed ingredients, chemicals and materials), increasing the value of extracted fractions, while retaining and adding functionality and increasing the range of end applications. Additional challenge consists in guaranteeing quality of the biomass for processing, including by mobile and modular units (where relevant). Microalgae and related streams are not in scope.

Proposals under this topic should:

• Demonstrate the suitability of small scale, decentralised biorefinery concepts (that may include modular and mobile units when relevant), extracting maximum value from (all components of) the sustainably sourced bio-based feedstock to produce a variety of products in the scope of CBE JU including chemicals, bioactives, soil nutrients, as well as food and feed ingredients.
• Upscale the production technologies and deploy the complete value chain to address the hurdles and bottlenecks regarding the availability, sourcing, logistics and associated infrastructure in the targeted biomass feedstock supply systems. These could include pre-treatment aspects as necessary to preserve feedstock quality and minimise losses due to biodegradation.
• Demonstrate the selection, extraction or production of specific compounds from these residual streams into products for further value-added applications in the chemical industry, cosmetics and human or animal nutrition. Proposals may address more than one feedstock and production chain in an integrated concept.
• Include processing operations tailored to local circumstances. These operations will need to cope with availabilities, distances, qualities of the residuals and side streams, possible variations in these qualities, etc. The business case underlying the proposal must include a feasibility assessment (technological and financial) of: (i) the associated processes at the envisaged scale; and (ii) combinations with other relevant processes.

Proposals are recommended to include a task to perform an assessment based on the safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) framework, developed by the European Commission, for assessing the safety and sustainability of chemicals and materials. Under this context, proposals are recommended to also include a task to contribute with and develop recommendations that can advance further the application of the SSbD framework.

Proposals may consider making existing/new industrial assets (e.g., labs, test rigs, etc.) accessible to researchers, SMEs, etc., for visit, training and testing bio-based processes.

Proposals must apply the concept of the ‘multi-actor approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of primary producers and other relevant actors in rural/coastal areas

Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section).

More information available at: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/horizon-ju-cbe-2023-iaflag-04;callCode=null;freeTextSearchKeyword=aquaculture;matchWholeText=true;typeCodes=0,1,2,8;statusCodes=31094502;programmePeriod=null;programCcm2Id=null;programDivisionCode=null;focusAreaCode=null;destinationGroup=null;missionGroup=null;geographicalZonesCode=null;programmeDivisionProspect=null;startDateLte=null;startDateGte=null;crossCuttingPriorityCode=null;cpvCode=null;performanceOfDelivery=null;sortQuery=sortStatus;orderBy=asc;onlyTenders=false;topicListKey=topicSearchTablePageState

Gene Editing in Aquaculture

The publication Gene editing in aquaculture is a brief of a specific aquaculture innovation. 

The document contains information on the technique and approach used, scope and scale of application, accessibility and the outcome and benefits of the innovation.

You can access the publication at the following address: https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/publication/294817