Objective
In Europe the future expansion of aquaculture is widely believed to be through land based recycling systems with minimal environmental impact. The global goal of this project was to bring together into one dynamic European network, fish farmers, technology providers, RTD institutes, and companies, with the main focus on water treatment. The network should be able to offer systems tailored to customers' needs all over Europe, in association with equipment manufacturers. Contacts were made between end-users, technical providers and these bodies agreed on the necessity to utilise different pilot production scale farms as a tool to verify recent technical improvements they have made in water treatment. These technical solutions from different fields will be adapted to make an integrated recycling system for the rearing of marine species. Even if Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) is the farmed species at both end-user sites, the project is species- and region independent.
The overall aim of this project was to improve and validate in full scale the use of innovative technologies for treating sea water, thus validating the concept of a closed circuit system to marine aquaculture. It focused on technical, environmental and economical aspects in land based aquaculture. The project aimed to meet the following targets:
1) Reducing investment costs:
- Use of more cost-effective new technologies
- Precise design and proper sizing for equipment
2) Increasing productivity and controlling inputs in the system
- Minimal use of natural resources (energy, new sea water)
- Maximum fish production per unit food used.
- Optimal fish performances by improved hydrodynamics in rearing tanks
3) Reducing risk factors and developing innovative management methods:
- Strict control of pathogens
- Computerised monitoring
4) Developing a concept fitting with new environmental legislation and reducing wastes:
- Reduction of wastes by minimal sea water exchange and use of natural renewable source of energy.
- Efficient management of effluents and integration of environmental criteria.
The project was genuinely pan European in its approach with trials in the North and the South and provides information of value to fish farming anywhere within the EU. The team overcame technical and organisational problems to achieve improved yields of fish and fish densities. The main questions lie in the area of economics where the high initial capital costs need to be amortised over the annual volume and need to enable the system to be competitive with the alternative sea cage approach.
The report suggests that there may be economies of scale from larger tanks or that the system might be used in conjunction with the existing sea tank approach. The project has wide ranging potential interest within the EU where wild fish stocks are low and where there is a growing demand for farmed fish. The approach provides benefits in terms of jobs in less developed areas, environmental benefits and market benefits in the ability to provide fish of the right size as required. The project team overcame many technical and organisational obstacles in undertaking the project and achieved yields in line with their original objectives. The main concerns lie in the area of the economics of the approach compared with sea cages - particularly given the relatively high initial capital costs.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering waste management waste treatment processes recycling
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries fisheries
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
550 SAUDARKROKUR
Iceland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.