Capacity development for aquaculture
Aquaculture is a rapidly growing global industry, but the European market faces issues of economic and environmental sustainability. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) is a new approach that shows promise as a sustainable aquaculture solution. The IRC-IMTA project aimed to promote research into IMTA in Europe. The project's approach involved international staff and researcher visits, as well as joint workshops and seminars. Participating research institutions included the Chinese Yellow Seas Fishery Research Institute, the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research and the Scottish Association for Marine Science. A Norwegian company and several Chinese and Norwegian aquaculture farms were involved as well. Over a period of three years, several networking visits took place to exchange research methods, and to attend laboratory tours and lectures. Additionally, an international IMTA conference was held in Norway. New collaborative research projects focusing on resource efficiency and the arctic sea urchin, for example, have emerged as a result of IRC-IMTA. This demonstrates the value of linking researchers through such networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities.
Keywords
Aquaculture, research exchange, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, sustainability, resource efficiency
