Current Initiatives

Seafare - Sustainable and Environmentally friendly Aquaculture for the Atlantic Region of Europe

Funding Programme: Interreg Atlantic Area Programme 2007 – 2013
Duration: 35 months
Start date: 01/01/2010
End date: 31/12/2012

SEAFARE brings together applied R&D centres, aquaculture industry organisations and environmental agencies across the Atlantic maritime region, to promote sustainable expansion of European aquaculture. SEAFARE will develop solutions to specific constraints on industry development for Europe’s fish and shellfish farmers, through species diversification and development of low-intensity aquaculture systems that are compatible with sensitive coastal habitats. Thus it will provide models for profitable expansion of the aquaculture sector that can be integrated with sustainable management of coastal ecosystems. The partnership will bridge the knowledge gap to facilitate rapid and effective capitalisation of project results as tangible and sustainable examples of good practice to inform sustainable industrial expansion, environmental management and policy development.

AquaMed - Developing a strategy for aquaculture research in the Mediterranean

Funding Programme: 7th Framework Programme (FP7)
Sub-Programme: Co-Operation: Theme 2 Food, Agriculture & Fisheries, and Biotechnology
Funding Scheme: Coordination and Support actions (coordinating)
Project Duration: 36 Months

The fast development of the Mediterranean aquaculture is confronted with a set of difficulties e.g. inadequate production systems and competitiveness, interaction and space competition with other users and the need for a proper integration in the coastal zones, possible negative impact on the environment and negative image of the product quality. Consequently, a strategy for a knowledge-based development of the activity has to be implemented using a flexible and concerted approach.

The strategic aim of the AQUAMED project is to reinforce scientific collaboration between the main stakeholders concerned with of the freshwater and marine aquaculture sectors in the Mediterranean basin. This aim has been set in order to (1) promote a sustainable development of the activity and (2) improve coordination and programming of research activities funded both at national and community levels. The three fundamental objectives of AQUAMED are to:
- Develop a shared vision among the stakeholder groups of the current strengths and weaknesses of the Mediterranean aquaculture sector, and identify the needs for knowledge-based development to comply with the Lisbon agenda to make the EU "the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, and respect for the environment by 2010".
- Enhance exchange and synergy between existing research programmes and operational research infrastructure, in order to avoid duplication, misuse and fragmentation of efforts and to address new promising issues.
- Set up a durable international multi-stakeholder platform with the capacity to extend beyond the project duration.

AquaInnova - Supporting governance and multi-stakeholder participation in aquaculture research and innovation

Funding Programme: 7th Framework Programme (FP7)
Sub-Programme: Co-Operation: Theme 2 Food, Agriculture & Fisheries, and Biotechnology
Funding Scheme: Small or medium-scale focused research project
Project Duration: 30 Months

AquaInnova deals with the establishment of an operational framework for dialogue – based on best governance practises - between the aquaculture industry, the research community and policy makers, focusing on exploiting the potential for innovation and technological development in the European aquaculture value chain. It will actively promote the exploitation, dissemination and communication of Community aquaculture RTD research actions and results, looking to improve the manner in which the knowledge generated is efficiently and effectively managed, disseminated and transferred. AquaInnova supports the European Aquaculture Technology & Innovation Platform (EATIP), in which AquaTT is the facilitator for the Knowledge Management Thematic Area.

COEXIST (Interaction in coastal waters: A roadmap to sustainable integration of aquaculture and fisheries)

Coastal areas are subject to an increase in competing activities and protection and are a source of potential conflict for space allocation. COEXIST is a broad, multidisciplinary approach to evaluate these interactions with the ultimate goal to provide a roadmap to better integration, sustainability and synergies among different activities in the coastal zone.

The project will study the interactions between capture fisheries and aquaculture and evaluate mutual benefits and possible bottlenecks for concomitant development of these activities in the coastal zone within the context of the ecosystem approach to management.
It will propose, develop and evaluate the efficiency of spatial management tools (zoning, closed areas, etc) to promote different forms of coastal aquaculture and fisheries at different scales (e.g. local, regional) and it will exploit mutual opportunities (e.g. artificial reefs, protected areas, wind farms, tourism etc) within a context of competition for space by multiple users.
The project will address differences in acceptance of activities (fisheries, aquaculture, and other use of the coastal zone) by the society.
A detailed strategy for communication and involvement of stakeholders and for dissemination of results to general and targeted audiences is integrated in the project.

By these actions, the project will support the new European Maritime Policy and spatial planning of coastal areas. Case studies, supported by national projects will be used to provide data for further analysis through the integrated work packages This will include detailed comparative analyses and integrated models for the regional seas, as well as a synthesis on the European scale. COEXIST will address interactions on a biological and biogeochemical level, as well as a socio-economic level, and the governance and legal aspects.

MarineTT (European Marine Research Knowledge Transfer and Uptake of Results)

Funding Programme: 7th Framework Programme (FP7)
Sub-Programme: Co-Operation: Theme 6: Environment (including Climate Change)
Funding Scheme: Coordination and support actions
Project Duration: 2010 - 2011

MarineTT is premised on the concept that knowledge is a major source of competitive advantage in business. Much potentially valuable knowledge, locked into inaccessible or non-user-friendly contexts, is unused because key stakeholders are not aware of its existence. Marine TT is primarily concerned with marine environmental research, but the approach used will facilitate coverage of other themes (climate change, biodiversity, earth observation, and urban development) and important sub-topics (such as fisheries and aquaculture) to be included, given their relevance to the key area of the impacts of economic growth leading to environmental degradation, and the current ecosystem management approach supported by the EC.

MarineTT will make a real contribution to the call for improved access to EU research results for industry, multipliers, the civil society, and policy-makers.

Vocational Aqualabs - Vocational Generic Skills for Researchers

The competitiveness of the European aquaculture industry can only be assured through the quality of its future research support-base and an adequate supply of sufficiently skilled personnel. Researchers must remain in touch with technical developments in order to provide solutions to industry. Such up-skilling must be subject-specific but equally important are the generic skills. Essential though they are in today’s world, they are not usually part of course provision. Vocational Aqualabs focuses on generic skill provision to aquaculture researchers at all stages of their career offering flexible learning pathways for skill acquisition.

AQUA-TNET 2008-2011

AQUA-TNET is growing in activity and relevance and with the approved Community co-funding for the new phase (2008-2011) we now have an excellent opportunity to build upon the first phase and continue this long running network (1996-2008). The new programme (2008-11) will allow us to continue the important work of helping the sectors we cover contribute to the creation of a European Higher Education Area. The renewal will allow us to review priorities and activities and make any improvements necessary to help meet the needs of all stakeholders.

VALLA (Validation of All Lifelong Learning in Aquaculture)

VALLA will develop and pilot methods of recognising and accrediting lifelong learning in the aquaculture sector via the European Qualifications Framework. VALLA builds on the results of WAVE and will contribute towards the aims of the EQF by developing competence-based learning outcomes for a specific sector, providing a reference for the validation of non-formallly acquired competences, and linking such reference points to establish sectoral standards.

PESCALEX

The PESCALEX project's main aim is to create content and language integrated learning (CLIL) courses in fish health/fish diseases in order to benefit those areas of Europe where the aquaculture industry is vital to the economy.