AquaTT

Mediterranean Aquaculture Sustainable Development Project Delivers High-Potential Results

AQUAMED was an EU Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)-funded project designed to support the sustainable development of aquaculture in the Mediterranean region. Following the completion of the project in May 2013, the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) invited Dr Jean-Paul Blancheton, AQUAMED project coordinator, to present the final results of the project at a meeting held in Brussels, Belgium, on 4 February 2014.

Based on three years of research, the AQUAMED project has identified the main research centres, stakeholders and research projects involved in the improvement of Mediterranean aquaculture. Stakeholders from 13 Mediterranean countries were invited to join the AQUAMED project's research partners in order to develop a common Action Plan to support the establishment of a Multi-Stakeholder Platform (MSHP). The purpose of the MSHP is to avoid duplication and fragmentation of research efforts, and to stimulate long-term cooperation and coordination between policy makers, the aquaculture industry, and RTD performers in the Mediterranean.

Dr Blancheton commented: “The AQUAMED project’s success was based on the engagement of the Mediterranean aquaculture stakeholders. The stakeholder events helped the partnership to show the importance of industry, researchers and policy makers working together to define the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for Mediterranean Aquaculture.”

The project also studied the predicted aquaculture trends the region could face by the year 2030 as well as the main constraints that are currently affecting the sector, in order to build a MSHP that will help to overcome the constraints identified. The MSHP will contribute to the development of a common transnational Mediterranean Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), which represents the shared objectives and synergies between the different participating countries.

Dr Blancheton’s presentation of the AQUAMED project in Brussels was followed by a question and answer session. The event’s attendees were particularly interested in the research priorities and communication challenges identified within the project, the possible continuation of the platform’s activities under the aegis of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM),  possible links with the European Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Platform (EATiP), and the AQUAMED plan of action.

At the end of the meeting the participants congratulated the coordinator and the AQUAMED partnership and observers on the excellent quality of the work carried out within the project.

For more information please check www.aquamedproject.net