The GAIN Final Public Meeting

After 3.5 years of research, innovation, and fruitful international cooperation, the GAIN project has come to an end.
In the Final Meeting we shared our results and lessons learnt with other researchers, operators, policy makers and the wide public, eager to contribute to the ecological transition of the aquaculture sector.
The public meeting covered topics like: precision aquaculture, circular economy, sustainability assessment, policies and markets. Talks delivered by GAIN experts were complemented by contributions from worldwide recognized authorities, companies and research institutions operating in the aquaculture sector.

The GAIN Project

GAIN – Green Aquaculture Intensification in Europe (May 2018 October 2021) is an EU Horizon 2020 Project which aims at supporting the ecological intensification of aquaculture in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA).
In our vision “ecological intensification” means increasing production and competitiveness of the industry, while ensuring sustainability and compilance with EU regulations on food safety and environment. In order to achieve these goals and promote a global approach to the ecological transition, GAIN looks at innovative ways of producing fish and shelfish, and seeks integration with other sectors. Being a real paradigm shift, eco-intensification of European aquaculture is a transdisciplinary challenge that requires the integration os scientific and technical innovations, new policies and economicinstruments, as well as the mitigation of social costraints. Successful eco-intensification of aquaculture will set the scene for the ecological transition of EU and EEA aquaculture, increasing the production of higher quality aquatic products, creating more jobs and improving the trade balance by reducing import.
The GAIN Consortium includes a wide range of complementary expertise and a well-blended mix of research institutes and industrial partners, which are cooperating to:
→ test novel sustainable feeds, designed to improve productivity without increasing the pressure on land and fish stocks;
→ develop new circular processes, which turn both by-products and side streams into valuable secondary materials, thus increasing profits and minimizing the environmental footprint;
→ foster the digitalization of aquafarming, by developing tools for the implementation of Precision Aquaculture in fish and shellfish farms;
→ introduce a new approach to the sustainability assessment of aquafarming, based on a comprehensive index, including environmental, socio-economic and welfare indicators;
→ identify legal barriers restricting the implementation of circular processes and suggest policy changes for supporting the growth of EU-EEA aquaculture.

More info: www.unive.it/gainh2020_eu