Untitled Document
 

AQUA-TNET NEWSLETTER

December 2012

This is a free e-mail news service provided by Aqua-tnet for the Aqua-tnet network and its partners. Aqua-tnet is the European Thematic Network in the field of aquaculture, fisheries and aquatic resources management, funded under the European Commission Lifelong Learning Programme, from 2011 - 2014.

In the newsletter you will find an update of Aqua-tnet and its activities, as well as information from the European Commission related to European education matters.

Please forward this newsletter to your colleagues and students. Please submit any relevant information for dissemination in the newsletter to aquatnet@aquatt.ie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Aqua-tnet secretariat would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our members a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!


CONTENTS

1. Aqua-tnet News

2. Programmes, Courses & People

3. Research & Education

4. Other

7. AquaTT Training News and Announcements

8. PiscesTT Jobs

1. Aqua-tnet News

Aqua-tnet Annual Event 2013

This year's Aqua-tnet Annual Event will most likely take place between the 13th-14th of March in Istanbul (Turkey). Confirmation of the dates will be sent out to Aqua-tnet members very shortly. More information will also be posted on the project website www.aquatnet.com.

WP leaders should consider holding pre- or post-meetings for their Work Package. Please contact John Bostock as soon as possible if you are thinking to do so (j.c.bostock@stir.ac.uk).

BACK to top
 

2. Programmes, Courses & People


To search for PhD, MSc and mobility opportunities and courses and to access information on your colleagues in Aqua-tnet3, please visit the Aqua-tnet3 interactive web portal available at http://aquatnet.djangofoo.com/. If you have any further additions or would like to make changes to your institution's information please contact Marieke Reuver at marieke@aquatt.ie
 
If you are a graduate and would like to post your request for an internship, or your company is seeking interns, please visit http://www.aquatnet.com/index.php/167/internships/.
 

3. Research & Education

Mediterranean Aquaculture Leaders Join Forces

Leaders from the Mediterranean Aquaculture sector put aside their competitive differences at the inaugural Med-Aqua CEO Event, which took place in Athens, Greece on the 13th December 2012.

This groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind event provided a rare opportunity for senior managers from fish farming and supply industry companies, as well as senior representatives from fish farmers' associations to come together to discuss, debate and explore the principal barriers facing the sector. In all, 37 senior executives from Greece, Turkey, Spain, Cyprus, Croatia, and Israel attended the event.

One of the key messages from the event was that investors like stability and are willing to invest in the potential of aquaculture. However, boom and bust cycles were recognised to be seriously damaging the Mediterranean aquaculture industry. Participants agreed that the sector needs to reach a maturity level to be able to self-organise and learn to predict and eventually control these cycles, thereby ensuring the sector's sustainability. To achieve this, closer communication and cooperation between all stakeholders is needed to develop a road map to secure this sustainability. 

The event provided a unique opportunity for industry actors to join forces to address external competition and to ensure that the ambitions of the sector are realised. The Med-Aqua CEO Event was organised under the auspices of INTRANEMMA, a European Commission-funded project. The INTRANEMMA project was conceptualised by AQUARK (Greece) and AquaTT (Ireland), and is led by three producer associations, the Federation of Greek Maricultures (Greece), APROMAR (Spain), and Mugla (Turkey). Dr. Panos Christofilogiannis (Managing Director of AQUARK, INTRANEMMA coordinator, and Med-Aqua CEO Event local organiser) co-chaired the event alongside Mr. Bjorn Myrseth (MORPOL Board member and recipient of the FEAP Excellence Award 2011). Download the full press release here (PDF).

If you would like further information about the Med-Aqua CEO Event or the INTRANEMMA project, please contact Dr. Panos Christofilogiannis, INTRANEMMA coordinator: panos@aquark.gr


Photo: Participants at Med-Aqua CEO Event 2012, Athens, Greece


BACK to top

AQUAEXCEL: giving aquaculture researchers the unique opportunity to carry out research at a key European aquaculture research facility

European aquaculture researchers are offered the unique chance to undertake specialised research at 23 top aquaculture research facilities all around Europe. The project titled AQUAEXCEL (Aquaculture Infrastructures for Excellence in European Fish Research) is an EU FP7 project that aims to integrate key aquaculture research infrastructures across Europe in order to promote their coordinated use and development.

Through collaboration with 17 partners and 23 facilities, AQUAEXCEL offers access to top class research infrastructures for both basic and applied research, giving aquaculture research groups the opportunity to utilise AQUAEXCEL’s facilities. Interested researchers can propose projects that are compliant with the EATIP Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda, and that involve visits of one or two people to a Research Infrastructure that provides facilities not available in their own country, for periods of up to three months. Access to the research facilities and associated travel and subsistence expenses will be paid for under the project, that is supported by the European Union 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (Infrastructures).

The 4th Call for Access opened 21st December 2012. Deadline is 15th March 2013.

For more information: www.aquaexcel.eu/call_for_access or download the brochure here (PDF).

BACK to top

SEAFARE Project Delivers Promising Results

The SEAFARE project made vital dissemination and knowledge transfer decisions in relation to its research outputs during its sixth group meeting, held on the 4th and 5th December 2012 in Dublin. The meeting was crucially important as it enabled project partners to discuss, identify and plan the actions necessary to ensure that the project's research-based knowledge outputs are transferred to the correct end users.

The meeting was attended by representatives from Bangor University (UK), IFAPA (Spain), IPMA (Portugal), the Marine Institute (Ireland), and hosted by AquaTT, the SEAFARE project partner responsible for the dissemination, targeted communication, and knowledge management of the project. Daniel Lee, SEAFARE project coordinator, said: “The SEAFARE partnership is developing new research to support sustainable and environmentally friendly aquaculture in the Atlantic region of Europe. Now that the project is nearing completion, it is crucial for SEAFARE that we ensure the main research outputs of the project are communicated to targeted end users. It's during this stage of the project that dissemination, communication and knowledge transfer activities are most relevant, and I am glad to count on AquaTT’s experience in this field".

David Murphy, AquaTT’s manager, stated: “It is a pleasure for us to hold this meeting in Dublin. The SEAFARE project comprises several sub-projects and it’s very interesting how all of them converge into one common goal: the development of solutions to specific constraints on industry development for Europe’s fish and shellfish farmers through the development of low-intensity aquaculture systems that are compatible with sensitive coastal habitats”.

SEAFARE is expected to finish by the end of 2013. During this remaining period, the main research results will be disseminated to policy makers, the general public and targeted stakeholders to increase the use of the knowledge and products developed by the project.

For more information visit the SEAFARE webpage www.seafareproject.eu. Download the press release here (PDF).


Photo: SEAFARE partner meeting, Dublin, Ireland

BACK to top

HEALTHY FUTURES – Researchers collaborate to explore links between Environmental Change and Vector-Borne Diseases in eastern Africa

The HEALTHY FUTURES (Health, environmental change and adaptive capacity) and QWeCI (Quantifying Quantifying Weather and Climate Impacts on Health in Developing Countries) projects will jointly host a symposium on links between climate and vector-borne diseases (VBDs) at the upcoming 4th East African Community Health and Scientific Conference, scheduled for 27th–29th March 2013 in Kigali, Rwanda. The symposium will bring together researchers at the cutting edge of research in understanding the relationships between health and environment and, in particular, links between climate and VBDs in Africa.

In addition, HEALTHY FUTURES in collaboration with the CGIAR program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), held a stakeholder workshop on the 6th November 2012 at the International Livestock Research Institute campus in Nairobi, Kenya. The purpose of this workshop was to engage with regional experts from a range of disciplines with the aim of looking at potential futures of VDBs in East Africa. The approach was guided by HEALTHY FUTURES' ethos of a bottom-up, end-user/stakeholder-focused approach.

Participants at the workshop discussed future scenarios of socio-economic development in the region and its implications for the spread and control of malaria, schistosomiasis and Rift Valley fever. The outcomes of the workshop included the development of an inventory of interventions to tackle the target diseases and decisions on the next steps forward to ensure qualitative and quantitative information will finally feed into vulnerability assessments and decision support systems.

HEALTHY FUTURES is currently developing a project database of existing and new relevant data relating to the emergence and outbreaks of its three target VBDs in the study area and drawn from a range of primary and secondary sources. It is due for completion in late 2013 and will be publicly accessible via the HEALTHY FUTURES website. For more information please visit: http://www.healthyfutures.eu/.

BACK to top

FORCE 2nd Partners’ meeting a success

The FP7 project FORCE (Fisheries and aquaculture-Oriented Research Capacity in Egypt) held its second partners’ meeting in Venice, Italy, 10 – 11 December. The consortium consisting of 4 partners, 2 from Italy and 1 each from Egypt and Ireland, and invited guest experts from Italy and Egypt, spent two days in Venice discussing the progress and accomplishments from the first year of the project and preparing activities and the way forward for the next year. The success of the meeting was also boosted by the attendance of the EC Officer attached to the project who provided guidance for project progress.

The project is designed to enhance the capacity of the Egyptian National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, NIOF, to carry out research activities aimed at supporting the implementation of sound and science-based policies for the sustainable development of fishing and aquaculture in Egypt, as well as in the whole Mediterranean North African region. NIOF is the coordinating partner of FORCE, with Università Ca' Foscari Venezia (Italy), The Fishing Technology Unit, National Research Council, Institute of Marine Sciences (Italy) and AquaTT (Ireland) comprising the consortium.

For more information please visit the project website http://www.forceproject.eu or download the project factsheet as a PDF at http://www.forceproject.eu/images/force.pdf.

BACK to top

2nd Call: The new Food and Drink Professional - Industry growth by focusing on people

An Open Symposium will be held on the 29th of January 2013where the main results of the TRACK_FAST project will be presented. TRACK_FAST is an EU funded support action, whose main objective is the “Identification of the training and career requirements of future European food scientists and technologists (FST), and implementation of a European strategy to recruit the next generation FST leaders” (www.trackfast.eu).

In this event you will have the opportunity to contribute to a vision document: THE NEW FOOD & DRINK PROFESSIONAL: Industry Growth by Focusing on People, to be distributed to National Professional Associations, Industry Federations and Training and Higher Education Institutions.

Furthermore, the debates of the symposium are expected to provide useful input for future activities in the European AgriFood context under different structures to support this sector in the future: ETP Food 4 Life, fostering the implementation of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, and future EU activities like Joint Programming Initiative and European Institute of Technology.

Pre-register by sending a message to trackfast@porto.ucp.pt with your name, profession and company/institution name and wait for a confirmation reply. 

BACK to top

European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) Newsletter December 2012

Read about the current policy developments in the field of adult education, including Erasmus for All, and find out what happened at the EAEA Younger Staff Training that took place in Brussels in October. Download the newsletter here (PDF).

BACK to top

Cedefop Newsletter no. 27 - December 2012

"The right skills set counts for more in the job market than formal qualification levels". Read this and other articles in Cedefop's latest newsletter at http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/newsletter/20811.htm?WT.mc_id=NL27.

BACK to top

International Summer School - Invitation

The Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (FFPW USB) would like to invite bachelor, master and Ph.D. students to an International Summer School which will be held in the Czech Republic, in July 2013. The Summer School lasts four weeks and includes many excursions and lectures, but mostly work on a small research project under the guidance of experienced researchers in very well-equipped faculty laboratories. The FFPW USB provides hotel accommodation and full board to all participants for free. In addition, each student gets some "pocket money". For more information download the flyer (PDF).

BACK to top

Complementary education for the maritime sector

During 2013 a new, complementary course for the marine/maritime sector is being launched within the EU-project Generation Balt. Universities, institutions and trade organizations in five countries around the Baltic Sea cooperate in the project, which provides a unique opportunity for you who hold minimum 180 ECTS within a relevant area, like marine biology, oceanography, marine technology, shipping, marine law, marine economy, environmental science, energy technology, etc. In collaboration with the industry you will obtain the complementary skills the business is asking for – as well as an international network during your studies. The course is part-time, with weekend courses, a summer course and internship – altogether awarding 7.5 ECTS. The course is free of charge and last date of application is 31 January.
 
Read more and apply at http://lnu.se/schools/school-of-natural-sciences-/research/projects/generation-balt?l=en and www.generationbalt.eu

BACK to top

 

 4. Other

EAS-SG - Call for National Coordinators

The European Aquaculture Society Student Group as a group of volunteers is always searching for new members who want to be part of their team. If you would like to be part of this network and contribute to their various activities, as well as taking action in your country, you are welcome to apply to become a National Coordinator. Find out more on their website at http://www.eassg.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83:national-coordinators&catid=41:people-places&Itemid=82.

BACK to top

iMarine Data e-Infrastructure

iMarine is an open and collaborative initiative that will establish a data infrastructure to support the Ecosystem Approach to fisheries management and conservation of marine living resources. iMarine empowers practitioners and policy makers from multiple scientific fields such as fisheries, biodiversity and ocean observation. The iMarine Gateway facilitates specialist communities that are geographically dispersed. The Gateway offers easy access to resources and applications that advance our knowledge of marine living resources and the aquatic ecosystem. Six iMarine Applications are currently available and can be accessed through the user-friendly iMarine Gateway at https://portal.i-marine.d4science.org/web/guest;jsessionid=0B79FC466B725BB7467B40A7A4A586D5.

BACK to top

Oil in a good days work

The International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation (IFFO) has launched an informative video presenting the case for eating more oily fish. Entitled ‘Marine Omega-3 – The Healthiest Fats’ the film is a response to growing scientific and consumer interest in the subject and can be viewed at: http://www.iffo.net/default.asp?contentID=809.

BACK to top


5. Aqua-tnet Calendar

Please check the Aqua-tnet calendar for a live update of upcoming events, courses and workshops

 

BACK to top

 6. BibMail & Information of Interest


BibMail is a monthly overview of the content tables of the major aquaculture-relevant scientific journals. Information of Interest is a monthly overview of interesting publications, reports, and manuals relating to aquaculture in a broad sense, with links to the respective files or information points. From January 2012 the BibMail & Information of Interest are combined into one PDF document. For the latest editions and archive of BibMail CLICK HERE and Information of Interest CLICK HERE

BACK to top

7. AquaTT Training News and Announcements

AquaTT's Training News is a free monthly e-newsletter featuring the latest announcements, news, and opportunities for collaboration from the European education community. The e-newsletter also has a section dedicated to young scientists. Training News is an important dissemination channel for education and training opportunities for aquaculture and related sectors. CLICK HERE for the latest edition.

Please email news@aquatt.ie to submit your news which will reach over 6,000 international subscribers.

BACK to top

8. PiscesTT Jobs

PiscesTT Jobs is a free online recruitment service used by over 300 companies globally in Aquaculture, Fisheries and Marine Science. If you are interested in viewing or posting a vacancy please go to http://www.piscesttjobs.com/ or contact aquatt@aquatt.ie Subscribe at http://www.piscesttjobs.com/feeds/ for live RSS updates.

BACK to top


About Aqua-tnet

This update is published by the Aqua-tnet Secretariat. For further information e-mail aquatnet@aquatt.ie Previous editions are archived at marieke@aquatt.ie or aquatnet@aquatt.ie.

DISCLAIMER: AQUA-TNET provides this newsletter as a free service to its partners. Most of the information is provided by AQUA-TNET. Where it is not, the source of the news is provided in the text of the news brief or else AQUA-TNET attributes the news to the coordinating body as the "Data Source Provider". In no way does this newsletter intend to wrongly or inappropriately claim projects, news, etc. as its own nor is it responsible for incorrect information provided from other sources. The AQUA-TNET Newsletter is a dissemination tool and forum for both AQUA-TNET and its partners.