The FishSite reports on the Second Symposium on Welfare in Aquaculture

The FishSite – a knowledge-sharing platform with premium news, analysis, and resources for the aquaculture industries. reports on the recent Symposium on Welfare in Aquaculture delivered online on the 29th of November 2020. The article provides a summary of all the presentations and invites readers to access the recorded webinar which is now available on YouTube.

 

 

 

 

Text and images by Dr Sara Barrento

Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research, Swansea University

The Second Symposium on Welfare in Aquaculture puts fish welfare on the spotlight

A total of 262 participants from 38 countries attended the Second Symposium on Welfare in Aquaculture. This year the symposium was delivered online on the 26th of November and focused on Operational Welfare Indicators (OWI) for salmon, lumpfish, tilapia, sea bass, and sea bream. The webinar is available on YouTube and the talks can be downloaded from the symposium website.

The symposium is a follow up from the very successful SWELA 2019, focusing on Welfare Indicators for Novel species. The number of farmed fish outnumbers by far any other sentient animals farmed for food.

 

A recent report by the Access2Sea project highlighted that consumers are starting to realize how their food is produced; consumers more sensitive to the welfare of animals and the wellbeing of workers – fish welfare in aquaculture is extremely important.

The Director of CSAR, Professor Carlos Garcia de Leaniz, at  Swansea University, welcomed the participants and highlighted three main reasons for hosting this second symposium:  the increasing awareness of fish welfare, the link between fish welfare and fish health, and the need for operational welfare indicators (OWIs) that can be used by fish farmers.

 

 

 

 

Prof. Lluis Tort of the Autonomous University of Barcelona presented a keynote talk on Indicators of Welfare Status for Cultured Fish. Professor Tort explained the real challenges for measuring welfare in farmed fish and noted that despite fish being the most “used” animals worldwide (30,000 million/year), their welfare needs are the least well known. It was also highlighted that most scientists, and also the majority of consumers (73%) , now accept that fish can feel pain.

 

 

 

Dr. Lars Helge Stien, of the Institute of Marine Research, focused on OWI for salmon and explained the challenges of measuring welfare in a cage environment with thousands of individuals; he also explained the different welfare indicators and the merits of having clear decision flow-charts and 3-alert levels which are relevant for fish farmers.

 

 

 

 

The OWIs for lumpfish were discussed by Carolina Gutierrez-Rabadan of CSAR – Swansea University. She explained the challenges of defining welfare for novel farmed species such as the lumpfish and provided examples of the importance of measuring the reliability in OWIs, and the need for simplification and validation. Carolina presented a practical Lumpfish Operational Welfare Score Index (LOWSI) and highlighted that most lumpfish she sampled in salmon farms were in good condition (70%) with only 2% in poor welfare status.

 

 

 

Dr. Sonia Rey Planellas of Stirling University pointed out that there are few or no OWIs for tilapia, which is the second most important farmed fish in the world. Tilapia is farmed mostly in developing countries where welfare needs may not always be a priority. Another challenge is the complex social behaviour and aggression shown by this species

 

 

 

 

Professor Michalis Pavlidis, of the University of Crete, discussed the different welfare challenges posed by sea bass and sea bream at different production stages; he highlighted the need to keep the temperature within optimal limits as a key welfare consideration for these very important Mediterranean farmed fish. Professor Pavlidis highlighted the big improvements that the industry has made to make slaughtering more humane.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Sofia Teixeira of Tyndall Institute in Ireland presented non-invasive, rapid tests using smart sensors which can be used to monitor health by measuring indicators such as cortisol and other parameters that have wide applications in the assessment of immune competence, stress, growth, and behaviour.

 

 

 

 

The Symposium ended with Prof. Carlos Garcia de Leaniz summarizing the talks and inviting attendants to the next Symposium on Welfare in Aquaculture which will be hosted in Crete in 2021.

 

 

 

 

Text and images by Dr Sara Barrento

Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research, Swansea University

CONFERENCIAS-COLOQUIO VIRTUALES: “La Aceptación Social de la Acuicultura en la Era Post-COVID”.

CICLO DE CONFERENCIAS-COLOQUIO:

Desde la Organización del Proyecto Access2Sea, ponemos en marcha el ciclo de conferencias-coloquio online sobre:

“La Aceptación Social de la Acuicultura en la Era Post-COVID”.

 

La celebración de la segunda sesión tendrá lugar el día 2 de diciembre, en horario de 10:00 a 12:00 horas.

Programa:

10:00 – 10:10 Bienvenida  
10.10 – 11:30 Retos y Oportunidades para para una mejor Aceptación Social de la Acuicultura en la Bahía de Cádiz: Visión desde el Prisma de la Cuádruple Hélice de Innovación

  • D. Alfonso Macías. Coordinador Técnico de Asociación de Empresas de Acuicultura Marina de Andalucía (ASEMA).
  • Juan Miguel Mancera. Presidente Sociedad Española de Acuicultura. Catedrático Universidad de Cádiz
  • Antonio Rafael Peña Sánchez. Investigador Grupo Investigación “Economía, Cooperación y Sociedad”.
  • Adrián Sánchez Barea. Delegado de Fomento, Participación Ciudadana y Educación del Ayuntamiento de Chiclana de la Fra.
11:30 – 12:00 Debate: Estrategias necesarias para mejorar la Aceptación Social de la Acuicultura

Inscripciones

Más información:

access2sea@ceeicadiz.com

CEEI Bahía de Cádiz. Tel. 956 860 654

CTAQUA. Tel. 956 569 363

 

Organizan:

 

CONFERENCIAS-COLOQUIO VIRTUALES: “La Aceptación Social de la Acuicultura en la Era Post-COVID”

CICLO DE CONFERENCIAS-COLOQUIO:

Desde la Organización del Proyecto Access2Sea, ponemos en marcha el ciclo de conferencias-coloquio online:

“La Aceptación Social de la Acuicultura en la Era Post-COVID”.

 

La celebración de la primera sesión tendrá lugar el día 1 de diciembre, en horario de 10:00 a 11:30 horas.

Programa:

10:00 – 10:10 Bienvenida  

CEEI Bahía de Cádiz

CTAQUA

10.10 – 10:40 Innovación y Aceptabilidad Social como impulso necesario para el crecimiento de la Acuicultura en la Europa Post-Covid19

D. Javier Ojeda

APROMAR

10:40 – 11:10 El papel de la Gobernanza en el Desarrollo de Iniciativas públicas para la mejora de la Aceptación Social de la Acuicultura

Marina Fernandez Lora

Agencia de Gestión Agraria y Pesquera de Andalucía (Junta de Andalucía)

11:10 – 11:30 Ronda de preguntas y debate

Inscripciones

Más información:

access2sea@ceeicadiz.com

CEEI Bahía de Cádiz. Tel. 956 860 654

CTAQUA. Tel. 956 569 363

Organizan:

Genialg project final conference!

The final conference of the H2020 project Genialg will be held online on the 30th of november!
The Horizon 2020 Blue Growth project GENIALG is the first industry-driven project bringing together pioneering companies in large-scale integrated European biorefineries and experts in seaweed cultivation, genetics and metabolomics to boost the seaweed industry. GENIALG is aimed at boosting the Blue Biotechnology Economy in Europe by designing high yielding seaweed cultivation systems!

To register to the event: http://genialgproject.eu/genialg-final-conference/

Ayudas para medidas en materia educativa y de apoyo al sector de la acuicultura de Andalucía, ante la situación generada por el coronavirus (COVID-19).

  • Objeto de la Convocatoria:

La finalidad de esta ayuda es paliar los efectos de impacto económico negativo que dicha crisis sanitaria ha provocado en el sector de la acuicultura, con el fin de ayudar a sostener la continuidad de su empresa o negocio, evitando el cese definitivo del mismo y, por tanto, la destrucción de empleo.

Esta actuación está cofinanciada con fondos FEMP procedentes de la Unión Europea, con cargo al Programa Operativo FEMP Andalucía (2014-2020).

La subvención consistirá en el pago del 50%, como máximo, de la disminución del ingreso por ventas en el periodo desde el 14 de marzo al 31 de julio de 2020, respecto de la media del mismo período de los tres años anteriores, o respecto al mismo periodo del año anterior para las empresas con tres o menos años de actividad, sobre la base de las solicitudes de ayuda aprobadas por la autoridad competente en materia de pesca, con un máximo de subvención de 150.000 € por entidad beneficiaria.

  • Actividades Subvencionables:

La disminución del ingreso por ventas en el periodo desde el 14 de marzo al 31 de julio de 2020, respecto de la media del mismo período de los tres años anteriores, o respecto al mismo periodo del año anterior para las empresas con tres o menos años de actividad.

  • Requisitos:
    • Estar ejerciendo la actividad productiva objeto de la ayuda a fecha 14 de marzo de 2020 en al menos una instalación de producción ubicada en la Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía, así como estar ejerciendo la misma en el momento de solicitar la ayuda.
    • Ser titular de la autorización administrativa para realizar el cultivo de especies de acuicultura en Andalucía a fecha de solicitud.
    • En caso de persona física, estar dada de alta como autónomo en la Seguridad Social.
    • En caso de agrupaciones sin personalidad, deberán hacerse constar expresamente en la solicitud el importe de subvención a aplicar por cada uno de sus miembros, que tendrán igualmente la consideración de entidad beneficiara. En cualquier caso, deberá nombrarse una persona representante o apoderado único de la agrupación.
    • Haber sufrido una disminución de ingresos por ventas en el periodo desde el 14 de marzo al 31 de julio de 2020 de al menos un 20% de la media de ingresos por ventas del mismo periodo de referencia, en los tres años anteriores al 2020, o al del año anterior si se trata de una empresa con menos de tres años de actividad.
  • Procedimiento de Solicitud:

Las solicitudes de ayudas irán dirigidas a la Dirección General de Pesca y Acuicultura y se presentarán de forma telemática ajustándose al modelo de formulario que figura como anexo en la convocatoria de las ayudas y que está disponible en el siguiente enlace del Catálogo de Procedimientos y Servicios de la página web de la Junta de Andalucía:

https://juntadeandalucia.es/servicios/procedimientos/detalle/23230/datos-basicos.html

Sardines in aquaculture? Yes, in the Algarve.

The shortness of sardines may have their days numbered, since their production in aquaculture is ready to be sold on a large scale, with only the need for industrialists willing to bet on the business. The project started at the Pilot Fish Farming Station (EPPO), of the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), in Olhão, and joined other species that already existed in this space, from sea bass to sea bream, passing through the croaker and sole.

But if at first, the idea was to study the stress of sardines – after being caught, the researchers tried to understand their behavior after being released at sea and their survival rate – gained new impetus with the challenge of the previous Minister of the Sea, in 2016, which aimed to combat the scarcity of sardines. “We started working on sardines in 2005/2006. If a trawler had reached the quota, the sardine was thrown back into the sea, but there was a fear that the animal would not survive. At that time, we caught sardines to try to understand how they looked at the food and how they behaved after being released. But there was still no pressure on quotas. We had the sardines here for a few years, put on aquaculture, put eggs, but we didn’t go down that path ”, tells Pedro Pousão, responsible for EPPO.

The project started to take on new dimensions with the challenge of restocking by Ana Paula Vitorino, the former Minister of the Sea. An idea that was quickly dismissed, since for that it would be necessary to have thousands of this species. “For many years we did experimental restocking with sea bream, sea bream, sea bass, halibut, corvina, they are slightly different species, but always from an experimental point of view to try to understand if the species died, if it held on, if it fled. It wasn’t meant to fill the sea with fish because there would have to be millions of fish to have any meaning ”, says the official. From there, the next step would be production for consumption. And it is at this level that is the aquaculture of sardines.

Pedro Pousão guarantees that the species adapts perfectly to captivity. And for the most suspicious, the person in charge of EPPO says only that the only care that needs to be taken regards the way they are transported, but this applies to all species. “Sardines adapt perfectly to captivity, it is evident that they lose a little bit of scale and have to be handled more carefully. But handling sea bream and sea bass is totally different. If I transport the sea bream and sea bass to the cages in the same way, my mortality rate is 80% in the sea bass and in the sea bass it is zero. They have to be transported depending on the specificity of the species ”, he adds.

Access2Sea at Swansea Science Festival

The Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research had the pleasure to be part of the Welsh largest free science festival last Saturday (24 Oct 2020). We were live but virtual, in the fringe stage. We had the opportunity to launch our video where we showcased our research and unique aquaculture facilities in the UK. Participants were very engaged and had many questions about fish invasive species (brown trout) in the Falklands. Jess Minnette is finishing her PhD and had the opportunity to share her exciting research in this remote South Atlantic archipelago.

There were also many questions about sustainable diets in aquaculture and the role of fats such as omega-3 from microalgae oil. Some concerns were raised about heavy metals in fish and the differences between farmed fish and wild fish. Sergio Trevi had the opportunity to introduce his PhD research on farmed tilapia. Dr Sara Barrento explained the differences between macro and microalgae and introduced the Access2Sea project. While Paul Howes shared some exciting news about the new biophilic building project at Swansea.

Text by Dr Sara Barrento

Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research, Swansea University

5TH AQUAIMPROVE 2020

You are invited to the 5th AQUAIMPROVE WORKSHOP to be held on the 6th of November 2020.

Due to the actual COVID limitations, this year event will be held online.

This year we will have the 5th edition of the AQUAIMPROVE Workshop and, due to the restrictions due to the actual COVID crisis, it will be held online. Of course, the success of this initiative is directly related to the willingness of participants to attend it and present their recent research.

Taking advantage of this online version of the workshop, we intend to extend it to a broader audience and take the opportunity to have some international experts presenting webinars.

Thus, in this workshop we wil have the following plenary lectures:

  • Alimentos funcionais – aplicação na aquacultura” – Prof. Margarida Maria Barros; Universidade Estadual Paulista – UNESP; Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia; Departamento de Melhoramento e Nutrição Animal; Laboratório de Nutrição e Saúde de Peixes – AquaNutri – Brasil
  • Protein and amino acid nutrition in marine fish” – Prof. Helena Peres; CIIMAR, Fish Nutrition and Immunobiology Laboratory.
  • Ácidos Graxos como nutracêuticos para peixes tropicais” – Prof. Priscila Vieira Rosa e Renan Rosa Paulino; Universidade Federal de Lavras, Departamento de Zootecnia, Brasil
  • Aquaponics in Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania: Research in the FishGlassHouse and knowledge transfer into regional aquaculture production” – Prof. Harry Palm; Universitat Rostock, Alemanha
  • Aquicultura na América do Sul: Peixes Amazônicos, Tilápia, Camarão e Salmão” – Dra. Raquel Tatiane Pereira; Technical Manager South America at Olmix Group, Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brasil.

The AQUAIMPROVE Workshop aims to promote the presentation and debate of recent research advances in aquaculture-related topics. It is directed to students, researchers, the academic community, and stakeholders.

The first AQUAIMPROVE Workshop was held in 2015 as an initiative of CIIMAR’s NUTRIMU group and the perception of the interest of this initiative encouraged us to promote it regularly as a meeting point for the scientific community, students, and stakeholders to discuss aquaculture-related issues. Of course, the success of this initiative is directly related to the willingness of participants to attend it and present their recent research.

We encourage you to participate and to disseminate this event among your colleagues and students. The participation is free of charge but pre-registration is required. Invited speakers will give plenary lectures on edge-cutting topics related to aquaculture.

Oral presentations are accepted (15 min) and will be evaluated by a Scientific Committee. A slot will be reserved for short presentations (3-5 min pitch including a maximum of 5 slides). Poster presentations are also welcome.

Students’ presentations are incentivized and will be prioritized. A certificate of participation will be provided to all registered participants, and a Abstract booklet will be also prepared.

Please register at https://forms.gle/pqd15reeT1aGYejz5

Abstract submission should be done until October 16 to aquacultureresearchworkshop@gmail.com (please consult the attached template)

Speakers announced for the 2nd symposium on welfare in aquaculture

The Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture Research is delighted to announce the line-up of speakers for the Second Symposium on Welfare in Aquaculture (SWELA 2020). This year the symposium is going to be a webinar on the 26th of November with free registration.

The theme for SWELA 2020 is “Operational Welfare Indicators (OWI) for farmed fish”. Six speakers will be discussing OWI for 5 key aquaculture fish species farmed in Europe: salmon, lumpfish, sea bream, sea bass, and tilapia.

The symposium is a follow up from the very successful SWELA 2019, focusing on Welfare Indicators for Novel species. The number of farmed fish outnumbers by far any other sentient animals farmed for food.

A recent report by the Access2Sea project highlighted that consumers are starting to realize how their food is produced; they are becoming more sensitive to the welfare of animals and the wellbeing of workers – fish welfare in aquaculture is extremely important.

This symposium promises to be an unmissable opportunity for professionals working in fish farming across the sector. We encourage everyone interested in fish welfare – farmers, researchers, and aquaculture suppliers – to register for free here.

 

Text and images by Dr Sara Barrento

Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research, Swansea University