About THE Workshop
The University of Crete and Prorata S.A. welcome the 3rd and final Cure4Aqua Workshop on Operational Welfare Indicators for Gilthead Seabream, on the 11th of October 2024, in Athens, Greece.
International experts from the scientific community, the aquaculture industry and competent authorities will discuss the outcome of the first workshop and the development of welfare indicators for Gilthead Seabream's juveniles. This specific lab is a part of the 7th Work Package of the Cure4Aqua Project.
Organizing Committee
➔ Professor Michalis Pavlidis, University of Crete (GR)
➔ Amedeo Manfin, Head of the National Reference Laboratory
for Crustacean Diseases in Italy (IT)
➔ Angeliki Mitropoulou, Project Manager of Prorata S.A. (GR)
Cure4Aqua project Overview
Funded by the EU Horizon Europe programme, Cure4Aqua is a
€4.8 million, 4.5-year project that will develop new approaches to
prevent aquatic fish diseases by introducing and validating novel
technologies for early detection of diseases, while also supporting the
advancement of alternative treatments to replace pharmaceuticals in
disease control.
Farmed seafood is an important source of protein for food and
animal feed, with a low-carbon footprint, essential to help build a
sustainable food system.
However, controlling pathogens continues to be a major challenge
for the sector. This is particularly relevant for Europe, where there is
a great variety of species and production systems, which hinders the
implementation of good husbandry practices tailored to each aquatic
species.
Cure4Aqua will develop new approaches to prevent aquatic fish
diseases through technologies for early disease detection, while also
supporting the advancement of alternative treatments to replace
pharmaceuticals in disease control.
TRAINING COURSES
These courses will share and extend the skills and competences of
aquatic health care actors, assessors, health professionals and other
relevant stakeholders, providing internationally recognised certification
that will improve the professional skills and competences of those
working and being trained to work within the blue economy.
RESULTS
The results of this project will be made available through publications,
reports and open access data which will be added to the website as
they become available.
COMMUNICATION
The Cure4Aqua resources include factsheets, press releases,
newsletters, infographics, podcast, training courses leaflets, blog and
project videos. Resources will be added to the website as they become
available.
OUR PROJECT
Our project will contribute to the transformation of the European
aquaculture industry, improving aquatic animal health and welfare
and supporting the environmentally friendly, inclusive, safe and
healthy production of seafood.
Cure4Aqua consists of 8 work packages (WP), of which WP7 is about
“Evidence-based standards and tools to advance WELFARE on
farms”. Its objectives are:
➔ To develop, optimize and validate a reliable, scalable, and easyto-
use operational welfare score index, for farmed common
carp, European sea bass, gilthead sea bream, based on a set of
indicators that are (i) species-specific, (ii) life-cycle specific,
(iii) production system/phase-specific, and (iv) fulfil the
welfare needs of a given species.
➔ To develop and apply practical protocols and tools for welfare
control, including the development of a “Quality of Life (QoL)
scaling system” for fish that enables selecting of appropriate
veterinary and behavior-monitoring interventions and defining
humane endpoints to reduce suffering. Develop a prototype novel
digital welfare assessment tool that incorporates machine learning
methodologies and IoT applications.
➔ To assess and model the socio-economic and environmental
impact of welfare assessment.
➔ To develop of protocols and scoring system for auditing and
assessment of biosecurity (including hygiene) at site and company
level with focus on European freshwater and Mediterranean
aquaculture (bioexclusion and biocontainment). The use of the
protocol and scoring system will lead to anonymized benchmarking
and identification of site-specific goals for targeted improvement.
Mediterranean Fish Welfare Studies
Welfare Guides
University of Crete
Organizing Committee
Prof. Michalis Pavlidis
University of Crete
Greece
Dr. Amedeo Manfrin
Head of Fish Pathology Laboratory - National Reference Lab for Fish and Crustacean Diseases - Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie
Mrs. Angeliki Mitropoulou
Project Manager of Prorata S.A.
Greece
Presenters of Workshop
Prof. Michael Pavlidis
Professor at the University of Crete
Dr. Amedeo Manfrin
Head of Fish Pathology Laboratory - National Reference Lab for Fish and Crustacean Diseases - Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie
Dr. Athanasios Samaras
Department of Biology, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete.
Sponsored by
Established in 1973, the University of Crete is a young public educational institution sited in a region rich in ancient and modern Mediterranean cultures. Currently around 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students study here through the Schools of Philosophy, Education, Social Sciences, Sciences & Technology, and Medicine, taught by an outward looking academic staff committed to quality in teaching, research, and community partnerships.
Prorata S.A. was created in Athens in 2014 based on the belief that independent, reliable, and innovative research is not only feasible but also necessary. Especially in an economic, social, and political environment that is constantly changing.
In that context, the main aim of our company is the production of valid results and useful scientific analyses through the adoption of international best research practices in order to feed the public debate on issues that require more space, as well as to ensure the provision of effective strategic directions for our partners through customized consulting services.
At the core of our philosophy is the specialized approach of each project based on our scientific knowledge and passion on the fields of public opinion and consumer research. Our ambition is to be not just another company conducting quantitative and qualitative research but a model – company of international scope that will never stop evolving and expanding.
Funded by the European Union
Funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Programme, Grant Agreement No. 101084204 (Cure4Aqua). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Participants from UK
UK participants in Cure4Aqua are supported by the UKRI’s Horizon Europe Guarantee under the Grant No. 10054306 (UNIAB); and Innovate UK under the Grant No. 10061596 (THL); Grant No. 10050496 (MRI); No. 10061148 (SWU); and No. 10054089 (ICL).
Participants from Chile
The Chilean participant in Cure4Aqua has received funding from the Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo (ANID) under Grant No. FONDECYT N°1200521 and FOVI210032 (PUCV).
Participants from Switzerland
Swiss participants in Cure4Aqua have received funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) under Contract No. 22.00432 (FGCZ) and No. 22.00431 (PATH).