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During the first week of May, UCV organised several activities into the attention to the European sea, within the framework of European Maritime Day.

Among the activities carried out in the Valencian Community, four presentations have been included given by professors and experts from universities of the EU-CONEXUS consortium, and a presentation in the municipality of El Campello, Alicante, with three presentations on the subject ‘ Social Dimension of Aquaculture’.

The conference on May 3 was opened by Ana de Luis, dean of the Faculty of Veterinary and Experimental Sciences and Academic Council member of EU-CONEXUS “The objective of the conference is to make visible actions for good promotion of the oceans and the sustainable use of marine resources”.

The day began with a presentation by Slavica Čolak, head of the Nutrition Department at Cromaris, a fish farm company in Croatia, with the theme of aquaculture nutrition. Next, Evelina Grinienė, senior researcher at the Marine Research Institute of Klaipeda, Lithuania. Later, professors Ivan Župan and Tomislav Saric, University of Zadar, spoke about the wealth of aquaculture and its impact on the environment.

Social Dimension of the Aquaculture

On May 4, in the municipal library of El Campello, Alicante, some lectures were made on the social dimension of aquaculture.

Welcoming the conference, Tahiche Lacomba, CEO of AVRAMAR, a company dedicated to the aquaculture. Starting the presentations was Eduardo Soler on the ‘Carbon Footprint of Aquaculture’, responsible for Sustainable Operations of the same company, AVRAMAR, where he explained that responsible aquaculture, in addition to having the lowest carbon footprint of all animal husbandry is in harmony with the environment.

Next, Pablo Vidal, rector’s delegate at the UCV for EU-CONEXUS, and director of the Anthropology Research Institute, in his presentation of the ‘Social Dimension of Aquaculture’, presenting the advantages of aquaculture: “It contributes to the creation of skilled job positions and offers a solution to the seasonality of tourism, offering economic stability to coastal areas”

Finally, David Gras, a researcher at the Institute of Coastal Ecology, in his presentation on the ‘Environmental Control of Fish Farms’, where he explained control parameters, as well as prudent distances between farms and other living organisms, for greater environmenta.

At the end of the session, a round of questions was opened, where Pablo Vidal stated “It is necessary to carry out social research studies to really determine why there are people against aquaculture.” Thus, the CEO of AVRAMAR emphasized that it is necessary to make speeches and report on what is the new aquaculture, and the advantages it presents, both to society and to the environment. For this reason, this type of conferences is important, to approach new aquaculture.

During the same day, the students have also been able to enjoy a guided tour of the IMEDMAR in Calpe, and learn a little more about the work of our researchers in the marine field.

Aquaculture week

Both days cover a specific theme of the European seas, which is Aquaculture. Thus, the European Maritime Day is part of another EU-CONEXUS event, the Aquaculture week. For this reason, the students of this subject in the Minor Programmes have been invited to the Catholic University of Valencia, to have a week of physical training ‘Aquaculture Week’, and have been able to carry out the blended mobility. A total of 7 incoming students, from Greece, Lithuania and Ireland.

Within the week of training, the students have attended classes and laboratory practices together. Stands out the visit to the fish farms of the AVRAMAR company, where they have been able to see and learn first-hand how the fish farms work, as well as learn about the Mediterranean industry and aquaculture.