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A decade on from its 2014 stop in San Sebastián, Aquaculture Europe is back in Spain – this time on Valencia’s Mediterranean coast. Organised by the European Aquaculture Society (EAS), this year’s edition puts inclusivity and social licence centre stage under the theme “Aquaculture for everyone”, pairing a packed scientific programme with sector-wide conversations – including an Industry Forum probing the prospects and pitfalls of farming further offshore; an FAO-led session on putting its sustainable aquaculture guidelines into practice; and a Network of Women in Aquaculture (NOWA) roundtable focused on identifying, nurturing and advancing tomorrow’s talent.
“Aquaculture is one of the new animal production sectors that's evolved very quickly… but social licence and societal understanding still has a way to go,” said Alistair Lane, executive director of EAS, speaking to The Fish Site. “There are a lot of people that don't really understand how we produce our products. The idea was to put aquaculture into the spotlight and build on some of the initiatives that we have across Europe – and Spain in particular – to give consumers more information about aquaculture.”
Opening plenaries: from regenerative aquaculture to genetic selection
The event will take place at the Valencia Congress Centre and the neighbouring Sercotel Sorolla Palace Hotel, with an outdoor Spanish pavilion linking the two sites. As is customary, EAS will feature around 50 scientific sessions, spanning production systems, advances in nutrition, welfare, species diversification and more. Each day begins with an opening plenary on a distinct theme.
“We've got some really great plenary speakers. During the opening plenary, Carlos Duarte, one of the world's leading marine ecologists, is going to be telling us all about his thoughts on regenerative aquaculture – where aquaculture is not about just providing ecosystem services or trying to mitigate climate effects… Aquaculture requires resources, but at the same time aquaculture can also be regenerative. There are so many sites where we see increases in biodiversity related to the aquaculture operations. Carlos is going to give us his thoughts on that,” Lane said.
On day two, Elisabetta Giuffra (INRAE) will outline approaches to genetic selection in aquaculture – arguing for accelerated breeding programmes to produce more climate-resilient stocks. The final day turns to demand: Joan Rierra of Kantar Worldpanel will explore why seafood consumption is plateauing, and in some countries even falling. Spain’s General Secretary of Fisheries is also expected to offer closing remarks following his presentation on the final day.
Special sessions open to trade-show attendees
Beyond the plenaries, eight sessions will be open to all trade-show pass holders, reflecting the “for everyone” ethos. These include the FAO and NOWA-led sessions, and the Innovation Forum organised by the European Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Platform (EATiP), alongside an all-Spanish session from the Spanish Aquaculture Society focusing on early-career researchers.
“The Network of Women in Aquaculture are organising a roundtable looking at tomorrow's talent,” Lane explained. “They’ve got a panel with people from research and industry, giving their views on how to spot talent, understand it, nurture it and help it get to where it should be.”
Student and social events
As usual, the EAS Student Group has arranged ample networking opportunities, including a student reception on Tuesday to help first timers connect. The President’s Reception will take place off-site at Valencia’s iconic City of Arts and Sciences, with shuttle buses booked to ferry attendees from the conference venue.
Lane closed by acknowledging the complexity of assembling such a varied programme – yet noting it remains a lot of fun – and by thanking EAS’s Anna Viskovich for largely steering the programme, from liaising with session chairs and the conference team to managing about 1,000 abstracts.
The full programme is available on the EAS website and mobile application.
