“Introduction to
Aquaculture” - Undergraduate Short Training Module
To be held at Aqua 2006
At the Annual Meeting of the World Aquaculture Society and the European
Aquaculture Society
Firenze, Italy
May 2006
Dear Colleague,
"Aquaculture
is the farming and marketing of freshwater or marine plants and animals in a
controlled environment avoiding the harmful effects of nature. Due to the
depletion of world fisheries stocks, aquaculture is today the only
alternative to make a significant contribution to the world’s aquatic food
supply and to become an important provider of food for the world’s growing
population. Aquaculture also has a social dimension providing for an
alternative livelihood and thus has an important role in the alleviation of
poverty in the world. Consequently, in the same way that agriculture has
replaced the gathering of wild plants and livestock breeding has
replaced hunting, aquaculture is supplementing fishing in order to save the
endangered seas." Source: www.aquamedia.org
Aquaculture is a new developing multidisciplinary
science, a very young one when compared to many of the AFA-NET network
sectors. It is also clear that there are many existing issues and challenges
that aquaculture has in common with other related sectors. To list but a
few: public perception, food safety, ethics, fork to farm approach etc.
One way to deal with these common issues is to pool
the expertise between different academic areas. This is one of the main
objectives of AFA-NET (Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture).
It is with this reason that a new initiative is
currently being developed within the aquaculture workpackage (WP5 –
AQUA-TNET) of AFA-NET to develop a new innovative course to introduce the
concept of aquaculture to both you and your students which will hopefully
lead to future collaboration.
Target Participants?
The training course will convey essential notions on
aquaculture technology to final year BSc. students studying complimentary
sciences (e.g. biological sciences, engineering, plant and animal
production, sustainable development, food technology, agronomy & other
related disciplines), that otherwise would never have the opportunity to
become acquainted with aquaculture.
It is the intention to offer the course to bachelor
students from across Europe (up to 500 in total). There will also be added
value through the participants exposure to other disciplines and
nationalities due to the wide variety of participant backgrounds.
When?
In May 2006 the World Aquaculture Society (www.was.org)
and the European Aquaculture Society (www.easonline.org) are organising a
joint conference AQUA2006 in Firenze (Italy). The Conference and tradeshow
will compliment the training course and further expose the participants to
the industry.
Training Course Structure
The course will start with an introduction where
students will become acquainted with aquaculture in a series of
lectures/seminars, covered by leading experts on the topics of:
Aquatic production and environmental implications
Fish consumption, health and food safety
Economic and regulatory framework
This introductory day will be followed by
- Exercises and ICT learning tools
- Role playing scenarios
- A guided participation to the one-week conference
and its trade show
- Assessment will be computer-based examination.
Who will fund this?
Provided we receive sufficient feedback and support
for this initiative, we have the intention to submit a proposal to the
European Commission for Community support as it fits in the EU’s policy
plan to increase the awareness of aqauculture. It is anticipated that any
successful funding will include support to fully cover student
participation.
In the long term it is hoped to incorporate the
training course as a regular component in any European Bachelor/Master
structure. The partnership is looking into the possibility of accreditation
of the course (Estimated 3 ECTS)
If the proposal is successful (Estimated Feb 2005)
the project will seek your support for including the course in the
curriculum of faculties for the academic year 05/06.
How can you collaborate/ support this initiative?
This letter is the first announcement. The
coordinating committee needs your support to follow up on this initiative.
Please take a brief moment to fill out the attached form so we can
keep you informed. We are especially interested in knowing if your faculty
is willing to include such a course in its curriculum.
If you are not the correct contact person in your
institute please could you forward it to the appropriate person (s).
On behalf of
the steering committee thank you for taking the time to read this and we
look forward to communicating with you in the near future.
Steering Committee
Peter Bossier and Patrick Sorgeloos, Ghent
University, Belgium
Yngvar Olsen, Trondheim University, Norway
Marco Saroglia, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
Johan Verreth, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Organising Committee
AquaTT, David Murphy, Ireland.
For more information, contact:
Prof. Peter Bossier, Lab Aquaculture & ARC, Ghent
University, Belgium
Fax: 00 32 9
264.41.93
E-Mail: peter.bossier@UGent.be