Growth has stalled in the European aquaculture industry, due to a shortage of staff with the right knowledge, skills and qualifications. If unaddressed, despite a growing demand for fish products globally, Europe could become uncompetitive.BlueEDU will determine how receptive the education system and aquaculture industry are to aquaculture vocational education and training (VET) innovation and the harmonisation of qualifications. With a high dependency on cage based rearing systems and technology, the 12 partner countries face many of the same skills development challenges, irrespective of the differences between northern and southern Europe in the fish species farmed.Through a combination of intensive engagement, demonstration and dissemination activities, influential industry members and VET providers, will be informed and enthused, motivating them to respond to subsequent questionnaire surveys, overcoming the common problem of poor response rates. BlueEDU will complete the evidence base upon which future strategies for aquaculture VET innovation and collaboration can be based.European level occupational definitions will be developed for high priority occupations, to produce a competence map that can complement EQF qualifications levelling, making VET more transparent and enhancing mobility, anchored to shared occupational definitions.The current VET supply will be evaluated, including formal and informal/non formal VET, to identify good practice for demonstration and sharing. The most successful VET practices, including ICT enabled learning, will be demonstrated to industry, raising awareness the potential impact VET innovation could have on work based learning and qualifications in particular.The outcomes will be disseminated to stakeholders, supported by a proposed action plan for future VET innovation and the harmonisation of qualifications, catalysing a new partnership between northern and southern European aquaculture interests and their VET sector

We are standing at the dawn of a century that will be largely affected by how we as a society are able to manage our oceans and their resources. Marine and Maritime Research has a critical role to play in developing our understanding of the seas and advance technology so that we can develop their economic potential in a sustainable manner. The COLUMBUS project intends to capitalise on the EC’s significant research by ensuring accessibility and uptake of research Knowledge Outputs by end-users (policy, industry, science and wider society). COLUMBUS will ensure measurable value creation from research investments contributing to sustainable Blue Growth within the timeframe of the project. Adopting proven methodologies and building on significant past work, COLUMBUS will first identify end-user needs and priorities. It will then set about identifying and collecting “Knowledge Outputs” from past and current EC projects. Rigorous analysis will take place to identify specific applications and end-users. Transfer will be achieved and measured through tailor-made knowledge transfer. All knowledge collected will be made accessible the pre-existing Marine Knowledge Gate. To achieve the above, COLUMBUS has brought together a multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder team representing all aspects of the research value chain from funding agencies to end-users. Key strategic initiatives and networks further strengthen and provide a strong vehicle for project legacy. A network of 9 Competence Nodes, each with a “Knowledge Fellow” and support team across Europe will provide the necessary critical mass (470pm of effort) to ensure full thematic and spatial coverage. COLUMBUS will also carry out strategic actions to enhance the visibility and impact of research to stakeholders and European Citizen’s. Furthermore working with funding agencies and stakeholders, COLUMBUS will examine the feasibility of improved systems and processes to ensure measurable value creation from research.

Gilthead sea bream and European sea bass are by volume the third and fourth most farmed fish species in the EU, while their collective value surpasses that of salmon, trout or mussel. These two species are farmed and contribute significantly to wealth and job creation in rural and coastal areas in all EU Mediterranean countries. However, production of sea bream/bass in the EU has remained stagnant for the last decade and the industry faces significant sustainability challenges. The overarching objective of PerformFISH is to increase the competitiveness of Mediterranean aquaculture by overcoming biological, technical and operational issues with innovative, cost-effective, integrated solutions, while addressing social and environmental responsibility and contributing to “Blue Growth”. PerformFISH adopts a holistic approach constructed with active industry involvement to ensure that Mediterranean marine fish farming matures into a modern dynamic sector, highly appreciated by consumers and society for providing safe and healthy food with a low ecological footprint, and employment and trade in rural, peripheral regions. PerformFISH brings together a representative multi-stakeholder, multi-disciplinary consortium to generate, validate and apply new knowledge in real farming conditions to substantially improve the management and performance of the focal fish species, measured through Key Performance Indicators. At the core of PerformFISH design are, a) a link between consumer demand and product design, complemented with product certification and marketing strategies to drive consumer confidence, and b) the establishment and use of a numerical benchmarking system to cover all aspects of Mediterranean marine fish farming performance. Created knowledge and innovative solutions will underpin the developed code of conduct and good practices and will foster modernization through capacity building of the Mediterranean aquaculture workforce.

European aquaculture production provides direct employment to 80,000 people and a 3-billion € annual turnover. Parasites cause severe disease outbreaks and high economic losses in finfish aquaculture. The overarching goal of ParaFishControl is to increase the sustainability and competitiveness of European Aquaculture by improving understanding of fish-parasite interactions and by developing innovative solutions and tools for the prevention, control and mitigation of the major parasites affecting Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, common carp, European sea bass, gilthead sea bream and turbot. To achieve these objectives, ParaFishControl brings together a multidisciplinary consortium comprising 28 partners possessing world-leading, complementary, cross-cutting expertise and drawn from public and private research organisations, and the aquaculture industry. The consortium has access to excellent research facilities, diverse biological resources including host-parasite models, and state-of-the-art vaccinology, genomic, proteomic and transcriptomic technologies. The project will: 1) generate new scientific knowledge on key fish parasites, including genomics, life-cycle, invasion strategy and host-parasite interaction data, with special emphasis on host immunity, pathogen virulence and immunomodulation, providing a scientific basis for improved prophylaxis; 2) determine the transfer of parasites between farmed and wild host populations; 3) develop a wide range of novel prophylactic measures, including vaccines and functional feeds; 4) provide a range of advanced or alternative treatments for parasitic diseases; 5) develop cost-effective, specific and sensitive diagnostic tools for key parasitic diseases; 6) assess the risk factors involved in the emergence, transmission and pathogenesis of parasitic diseases; 7) map the zoonotic risks due to fish helminths and; 8) provide a catalogue of good husbandry practices to obtain safe and high-quality fish products.