Category Archives: News

Blue Food Innovation Summit 2025

Blue Food Innovation Summit 2025, event connecting a dynamic network of over 300 aquaculture and blue food pioneers scaling innovation and investment in the blue economy, will take place on April 8-9, in London, United Kingdom.

The event will include daily pitch sessions, targeted networking, start-up exhibition and a 1-1 networking app, with topics such as: AI-Driven Aquaculture; Next-Gen Aquafeed; Preventative Aquatic Health; Scaling Production; Seaweed, Bivalves & Algae Cultivation; Future Fisheries, etc.

Registration and further details are available at the link below:

https://www.bluefoodinnovation.com/

Launch of the communication campaign on aquaculture

The European Commission will launch the campaign ‘EU Aquaculture: we work for you with passion‘ with an event taking place on March 25th in Brussels, Belgium.

The event will feature testimonials from aquaculture producers from Germany, Greece and Poland, a retailer, a discussion on ‘The importance of aquaculture for the EU‘, involving representatives of EU institutions and Member States and a tasting of EU aquaculture products.

In person attendance is available upon invitation only, but the event will also be web streamed.

Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking Info Day 2025

Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking Info Day will take place on 3 April 2025, during 08:00–17:00 (Brussels time). The event will be held in Brussels, Belgium and it will also be streamed online.

The info day provides an opportunity to learn more about the CBE JU 2025 call for project proposals, including how to develop a strong proposal, the call management rules and conditions and the submission and evaluation process. The CBE JU 2025 call for project proposals, which includes several aquaculture-related topics such innovation actions on microalgae, will go live on April 4, 2025.

The deadline for registration to attend the event in person is 21 March 2025, at 17:00 Brussels time. Find out more and register at https://www.cbe.europa.eu/events/cbe-ju-info-day-2025.

13th European Algae Industry Summit

The 13th European Algae Industry Summit, organised by Active Communications International (ACI), will take place during 02 – 03 April 2025 in Antwerp, Belgium.

The goal of the event is to give attendees (industry professionals, including those involved in algae production, technology providers, key players from the food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and aquaculture sector, investors and venture capitalists, policymakers and regulators shaping frameworks for sustainable development, renewable energy and environmental protection, algae product distributors) a comprehensive overview of the most critical aspects of the algae industry.

The summit will feature in-depth, informative presentations and discussions, covering topics such as algae cultivation techniques, applications to sustainability benchmarks, market trends and insights into past, present and future innovations and research.

Find out more at: https://www.wplgroup.com/aci/event/european-algae-industry-summit/

Online Course: Fish Health, Welfare and Biosecurity in Mediterranean Species Farming

A Cure4Aqua training course on Fish Health, Welfare and Biosecurity in Mediterranean Species Farming will take place online on 9th March 2025, from 10:00 to 11:30 (CET).

Sea bass, sea bream and meagre farm managers, farm staff, technical personnel, biologists and service and supply staff are the target audience of this course, which aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the health, welfare and disease management of marine Mediterranean species.

The course will cover the following topics:

• General concepts related to fish health applied to marine Mediterranean species;
• Review of common sea bass, sea bream and meagre diseases in Europe;
• Welfare and Biosecurity measures applied to marine Mediterranean species.

Deadline for registration: 14 Mar 2025

Attendance at the course is free, thanks to Horizon Europe funding. In order to register, please access the link below:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=jPZ9ADq7pU-GEHp_6dyTkXxjwnuxdvhImfS-PKmreI5UOVlDTUU5VEhPQ0FIUVRCMFdSNkU3Qk1JTS4u

FAMENET Online Channel: Knowledge and innovation in fisheries and aquaculture

FAMENET (Fisheries and Aquaculture Monitoring, Evaluation and Local Support Network) is organising an online session on Knowledge and innovation in fisheries and aquaculture on the 19th of March, 2025.

The session will include:

• An overview of knowledge and innovation activities under the EMFF (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund)/EMFAF (European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund);
• Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) under EIP-Agri/CAP network;
• Presentations from Managing Authorities on EMFF/EMFAF knowledge and innovation activities in their Member States;
• Opportunities for knowledge and innovation funding and establishing innovation pipelines under the EMFAF.

Registration and further details are available at the following link: https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/events/famenet-online-channel-knowledge-and-innovation-fisheries-and-aquaculture-2025-03-19_en

Tilapia Welfare Online Courses

FAI.ACADEMY, a multi-disciplinary training hub for people working for a better food system, is providing a series of free online courses on tilapia welfare.

The courses are suitable for people working in the tilapia aquaculture industry or studying aquaculture and consist of:

• Tilapia welfare indicators, which will introduce the welfare indicators related to health, nutrition, environment, and behaviour;
• Tilapia nutrition and welfare, which will provide practical tips on how to feed tilapia for better growth, health, quality, and welfare;
• Tilapia environment and welfare, providing practical tips on how to monitor and manage the water quality parameters: oxygen, pH, alkalinity, TAN, nitrite, and transparency, as well as tips on how to manage predators and off-flavours;
• Tilapia Behaviour and Welfare Indicators: from foraging to humane slaughter, which introduces the concept of animal welfare, focusing on how to measure tilapia behavioural indicators such as foraging and swimming behaviours, covering also humane slaughter and how to assess effective stunning.

Registration to the courses is available at the following link: https://fai.academy/aquaculture/welfare-in-tilapia-production-guideline-series/

Good Practice: Mowi Scotland, United Kingdom

Mowi Scotland is an integrated seafood company, with expertise in feed production, salmon farming, processing and marketing. The company operates 48 farms that produce over 68,000 tonnes of salmon annually. 

Find out more at: https://mowi.com/uk/

The Progressive Management Pathway for Aquaculture Biosecurity – Guidelines for application

The Progressive Management Pathway for Aquaculture Biosecurity refers to a pathway aimed at enhancing aquaculture biosecurity by building on existing frameworks, capacity and appropriate tools using risk-based approaches and public-private sector partnerships.

The Progressive Management Pathway for Aquaculture Biosecurity is intended to support food security and nutrition, social and economic development and resilience, rural livelihoods, food safety and public health and the environmental sustainability of the aquaculture sector by reducing the burden of diseases and improving aquaculture biosecurity practices globally.

The FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper, a guidance document for Progressive Management Pathway for Aquaculture Biosecurity application, is available at the following address:
https://www.fao.org/3/cc6858en/cc6858en.pdf

2025 AQUACULTURE AWARDS

Entries are open for the 2025 Aquaculture Awards, event which celebrates projects, businesses or individuals making an exceptional contribution to the global aquaculture community.

The categories for this year are:

• Rising Star – this category, which is open to emerging talents just starting their careers in the industry, attempts to recognize the accomplishments of the next generation of aquaculture professionals;
• Collaboration – this category is open to all companies, organisations, associations and academic institutions that have collaborated to develop a solution or improve a situation for customers and the industry, highlighting the significance of effective relationships in achieving a common objective;
• Innovation – looking for innovations that have made a significant contribution to, among other factors, production performance, animal welfare, processing, health and safety, sustainability or product development;
• Sustainability – recognising initiatives or business practices that have a clear commitment to long-term impacts of their business and/or the wider industry;
• Community Initiative – awarding an individual, company or organisation that has improved the industry’s relationships with the communities where it operates, with an emphasis on supporting local services, charities, diversity, equality and inclusion as well as culturally valuable initiatives;
• Farmer of the Year – category awarding the best hands-on finfish or shellfish farmer for their consistent excellence in all areas of their work or an exceptional achievement in one particular aspect of their responsibilities, that has greatly benefited the farm(s) and the company;
• Animal Health & Welfare – awarding initiatives that have improved the health and welfare of farmed fish/shellfish and/or the wildlife they interact with;
• Supplier of the Year – the category is open to any supplier (of aquaculture products or of goods and services to fish and shellfish producers) who has demonstrated commitment to any of the following: quality of products, services, technical advice and input, back-up service and communication, and R&D to improve the aquaculture industry’s financial performance and sustainability;
• Best New Start Up – all international companies that have been in business for less than three years (as of November 2022) are eligible. Companies should have been successful in identifying a market gap to launch a new business and showcase how innovation, product development, market knowledge and effective leadership have contributed to their current level of success;
• Best Producer of the Year – the award honors finfish, shellfish and seaweed producers that have not only accomplished outstanding success in their endeavors but also upheld environmental stewardship, animal welfare, staff management practices and local community engagement;
• Unsung Hero – this category honors the industry stalwarts who have avoided the spotlight but have persistently worked behind the scenes over the years;
• Outstanding Contribution – As voted for by The Industry – the industry is encouraged to highlight the outstanding people or businesses that have redefined the aquaculture sector;
• Judge’s Special Recognition Award – the judging panel will personally choose the winner of this award (a person, a project, or a company from the awards entries) based on their impressive commitment and responsible approach to aquaculture.

The deadline to enter the Aquaculture 2025 Awards is 10 March.

The event will take place on Thursday 19 June 2025 at the Macdonald Drumossie Hotel, Inverness, Scotland.

Find out more at https://aquacultureawards.com/.