Athens, Thursday 28 May
Funded by the Recovery and Resilience Funds, the national CAREFISH-TRN program aims to develop innovative and reliable methods and services for the assessment and improvement of farmed fish welfare.
Improving the welfare of farmed fish is a high priority for the European Union, consumers, aquaculture producers, and competent regulatory authorities. The project focuses on the development of reliable and user-friendly indicators, as well as a welfare assessment system for the main species farmed in Mediterranean aquaculture: european seabass, gilthead seabream, and pagrus major
The project addresses key management practices, such as grading, vaccination, transportation, and harvesting, which are critical stages where issues related to the proper handling and welfare of fish may arise. As part of the project, a dedicated digital training platform is being developed for aquaculture professionals and employees, with the aim of providing education and training on fish welfare principles and supporting the implementation of welfare assessment systems at production facilities.
Fish welfare has been a top priority for the Hellenic Aquaculture Producers Organization (HAPO) since its establishment in 2016. For this reason, during the workshop held to present the project, Mr. Apostolos Touralias, Chairman of HAPO, delivered a welcome address:
“For a business, welfare is not a cost; quite the opposite. When standards and best practices are followed, costs are reduced rather than increased. On this issue, HAPO has maintained long-standing cooperation with the scientific community and the European Union. In animal production, prevention plays a crucial role, especially in a sector such as ours where it can be challenging to determine whether a treatment has been successful. Our Members are undertaking significant initiatives in the field of biosecurity, and their personnel have adapted quickly to these practices.
The greatest strength of Greek aquaculture is its people, who deserve access to better training and education on fish welfare issues.”
