On the 12th of December, 2024 EMBRC-BE and VAP organize a symposium that brings together various stakeholders including scientists, political, industrial and non-governmental parties to explore the horizon of ecological sustainable marine aquaculture, uncovering both its threats and opportunities.
Context
Marine aquaculture stands at the forefront of addressing the increasing global demand for seafood while presenting a range of ecological and social challenges. The symposium aims to illuminate the intricate balance between sustainable use of marine resources and the potential risks associated with this rapidly evolving aquaculture industry. The symposium will cover:
Ecological Considerations: What are the environmental impacts of marine aquaculture and what are strategies to enhance biodiversity, water quality, and ecosystem integrity?
Ecological Sustainability in Focus: What are best strategies and good practices that promote sustainable marine aquaculture, mitigate negative impacts, while ensuring the preservation of our oceans for generations to come?
The following thematic sessions will take place
- Aquaculture in Open Sea: Identify the challenges and possibilities of open-sea aquaculture and explore the practices shaping the sustainable cultivation of marine species.
- Land-Based Aquaculture: Discuss the intricacies of land-based aquaculture. Examine the threats and opportunities in this segment of the industry.
- Restorative Aquaculture: Present approaches that integrate aquaculture practices into environmental conservation and coastal resilience strategies.
- Belgian initiatives in a context of ecological sustainable aquaculture
The symposium takes place at Marifish in Oostende. Participation in the symposium is free but registration before November 29th, 2024 is mandatory. Register here. For more information feel free to contact embrc@ugent.be.
Programme
- 9:00 Registration & coffee
- 9:30 Introduction
- Welcome to Marifish. Sylvie Becaus (Marifish)
- Introduction to aims of the day. Ann Vanreusel (EMBRC-BE Director)
- Vlaams Aquacultuur Platform. Stefan Teerlinck (Inagro)
- 10:00 Opening keynote
- Prospects of seaweed cultivation and the opportunities of seaweed sustainable aquaculture. Philippe Potin (Sorbonne University)
- 10:30 Sustainable aquaculture in open sea
- tbc. Johan Verreth (WUR)
- Offshore aquaculture in Belgian windparks, lessons learned from the UNITED and ULTFARMS projects. Jessica Knoop, Annelies Declercq, Olivier De Clerck (UGent)
- The Belgian vision on sustainable aquaculture in the BPNS. Tine Miet Van Maele (Institute of Natural Sciences)
- tbc. Jasper Van Vlasselaer (ILVO)
- 11.15 - 11.45 Coffee break
- 11:45 Land based aquaculture: a sustainable alternative for marine-based aquaculture?
- Engineering for the Optimisation of the Land-Based Marine Aquaculture of Coastal Shellfish. Katia Philippart (Nioz, Universiteit Utrecht)
- Willy Verdonck (Belgian Caviar)
- BlueMarine3 project. Vincent Vermeylen (UGent)
- tbc. Eric Wakkee (OOS)
- 13:15 - 14:00 Lunch
- 14:00 Restorative aquaculture
- Feeding the future: Redefining Responsible Feed for Aquaculture. Maurane Martin Hernandez (Aquaculture Stewardship Council)
-
Reefcovery project. Molly Hughes (UGent)
- Restoration in ULTFARMS - Artificial Hard substrate garden. Wannes De Clercq (RBINS)
- Towards restorative aquaculture of flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) in northern Europe: a modeling approach. Brecht Stechele
- 15:00 Belgian initiatives in a context of ecological sustainable aquaculture
- Ecological sustainability in financing aquaculture. Sofie Van Den Hende (Blauwe Cluster)
- Environmental challenges related to cultivation of mussels in the North Sea. Donaat Mortelmans (Colruyt - Zeeboerderij)
- Innovative monitoring of aquaculture - multibeam measurements to predict bivalve crops. Thomas Vandorpe (VLIZ)
- 15:45-16:15 Coffee break
- 16:15 Panel discussion: How to safeguard ecological sustainable mariculture in Belgium? Moderator: Marijn Rabaut
- 17:00 Closing of the event: Belgian ambitions towards ecological considerations and sustainability in mariculture practices. Marijn Rabaut
- 17:15 Network reception
