The AE2015 event, organised by the European Aquaculture Society in cooperation with Wageningen UR, was held in October in Rotterdam and attracted a total participation of 1057 from 65 countries.
The event was opened by representatives of the Dutch national and provincial governments, Wageningen and the European Commission. John Bell, Director of Bioeconomy at DG Research and Innovation gave a rousing welcome to participants, noting the importance of aquaculture to rural economies and the wide range of research tools that the EU can offer for its continued development.
The event was opened by representatives of the Dutch national and provincial governments, Wageningen and the European Commission. John Bell, Director of Bioeconomy at DG Research and Innovation gave a rousing welcome to participants, noting the importance of aquaculture to rural economies and the wide range of research tools that the EU can offer for its continued development.
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| Chris Ninnes |
So too was that of Wageningen CEO Louise Fresco. Without any supporting presentation or notes, she gave a fascinating and passionate insight into aquaculture developments and how they compare to those in agriculture. Her ‘new approaches to production’ inspired delegates to consider the contribution of aquaculture to maintain and enhance our natural capital and the need to balance the ‘precision farming’ concept with the provision of eco-services and being a key element of conservation in local areas.
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| Huw Thomas |
On the second day of AE2015, the EAS Executive Director Alistair Lane admitted that he was a little surprised by the level of participation.
“After a remarkably successful AE2014 event in San Sebastian, Spain that attracted close to 1450 participants, our expectations for Rotterdam were somewhat less and in the region of 750. I’ve seen many people here that were in San Sebastian and many others that have been present in all recent AE events. That is very encouraging for EAS as it shows that we are seen as being the forum that brings together scientists and other stakeholders from all research disciplines to get a ‘helicopter’ view of the latest developments in the European sector.”
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| Louise Fresco |
Aquaculture Europe 2015 received support from Gold Sponsor Biomar, Silver Sponsor DSM, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Province of Zeeland. Sessions were sponsored by Aquasoja and Sparos.
A summary report, bringing together the summaries of individual sessions as prepared by the session chairs, the winners of the AE2015 poster awards and other information will be available on the EAS web site shortly. The summary of the AE2014 event is available here.
(1) European Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Platform
(2) International Union for the Conservation of Nature
Visit the EAS site HERE.
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