The AQUAEXCEL3.0 project recently hosted another successful industry brokerage event, this time in the enchanting city of Vienna. At the Innovation Forum of Aquaculture Europe 2023, on September 20th, we showcased the latest innovative outputs from our project to a diverse audience encompassing both the aquaculture industry and academia.
Themed “Innovation in Nutrition,” the event was a collaborative effort between EATiP and ERINN Innovation. Its primary aim was to establish a dynamic forum that fostered meaningful engagement and exchange between researchers and industry beneficiaries potentially interested in leveraging the research results generated by our project.
AQUAEXCEL3.0 remains dedicated to its commitment to bridging the gap between research innovation and industrial application. This necessitates robust engagement with stakeholders, and our recent event provided an ideal platform to unveil the innovative outcomes of the project, particularly those emerging from the Transnational Access (TNA) programme. This initiative, which allocates funding for access to 40 key aquaculture research facilities across Europe, allows researchers to conduct experimental trials on commercially significant aquaculture fish species and system types.
The three innovative outputs presented at the event were selected earlier this year by the project’s industry and Research Advisory Panel (IRAP), based on their anticipated high potential to impact the aquaculture sector positively:
- Ramon Fontanillas of Skretting (Netherlands) presented findings from the TNA project FeedRegius, conducted at the HCMR-AQUALAB facilities in Greece. His study focused on experimentally assessing fish meal content requirements for Meagre (Agyrosomus regius) feeds.
- Kiranpreet Kaur of Aker BioMarine (Norway) conducted TNA KRILL research at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, exploring the benefits of krill meal inclusion in enhancing the growth of juvenile gilthead seabream by significantly reducing the feed conversion ratio (FCR).
- Claudia Figueiredo Silva of ZINPRO (Portugal) presented her TNA research, carried out at HCMR (Greece). Her study focused on using metal-amino acid complexes as a cost-effective strategy to reduce fish meal in European seabass diets.
Following the presentations, a panel discussion, facilitated by Luis Conceição (Sparos, Portugal), enriched the debate. The event concluded with a drinks reception, providing attendees with an excellent opportunity to deepen their discussions and forge connections.
It is our sincere hope that this industry brokerage event will catalyse further collaborations and provide crucial support in advancing the showcased outputs along their path to the market.