HCMR is the main advisory body on aquaculture and fisheries in Greece and participates in the project with the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC). IMBBC aims to carry out basic and applied research on 1) aquaculture technology, reproduction, precision farming, nutrition, welfare, pathology and fish quality 2) diversity of marine and freshwater life, phylogeography and genomics of marine species, development of genomic approaches in fish aquaculture, bioinformatics and interactions of organisms with their environment. IMBBC has a long-standing experience in converting accumulated knowledge to aquaculture technologies applicable to the private sector, development of genetic tools for parentage assignment, production of genetic maps and QTL analyses of aquaculture species.

Role in the AQUAEXCEL3.0 project:

IMBBC will offer access to TNA (WP1), participate in workshops with industry (WP2), help to the development of modelling tools for growth, nutrition and feeding and the use of biotelemetry to assess fish behavior (WP4). IMBBC will participate in the definition of the welfare indicators and lead welfare monitoring experiments in cages (WP6).

Key persons involved:

Dr. Stavros Chatzifotis is involved in the TNA activities of IMBBC. He is a research director with over 20 yearsʼ experience in fish nutrition. His research interests include the determination of nutrient requirements of fish and feeding behaviour and diet selection by fish.

Dr. Nikos Papandroulakis is involved in WP4 and WP6. He is a research director in charge of the hatchery and the cage facility, studying several different Mediterranean species. His research interests include the development of mathematical models for food consumption and growth aiming automated management and precision farming, the study of fish behaviour in rearing conditions and during stress and the application of research results in the industry.

Dr. Costas Tsigenopoulos manages the Genomics-Bioinfo TNA. He is a research director, interested mostly in the development and use of molecular genetic markers to assist breeding and genomic selection in aquaculture. He is also interested in comparative genomics and transcriptomics and he is actively contributing to practical applications of the produced results in commercial farms.