WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2018 21 Climate change, fish/mollusc health and disease and harmful algal blooms sub-group have the scope of better understanding how climate change affects fish and shellfish culture and facilitating transatlantic networks for information sharing, with the expected impact of finding solutions to improve fish health and manage diseases issues, such as sea lice. Another objective is to assess correlations between mollusc and HAB occurrence, related disease definitions and management options. Spatial planning was also identified as a key topic, with the goal of developing and validating hydrodynamic and other models that can predict connectivity in aquatic systems and facilitate marine spatial analysis and planning. The impact would be the utilization of available marine space most efficiently while protecting the environment and studying wild-farmed fish interactions. Outreach, public perception and public acceptance of aquaculture remain as challenges. Several EU projects (e.g. the 7th Framework Programme COFASP ERA-NET4) consulted the private aquaculture sector in Europe and feedback pointed to public perception as the principal factor hindering development of aquaculture operations and impacting farmed seafood sales. Therefore this topic was identified as a major scientific priority, with the aim of communicating to consumers how application of science-based tools and strategies have improved aquaculture practices and reduced impacts, and to inform society about nutrition and seafood security issues. The Aquaculture Working Group also hopes to increase, in an accessible manner, outreach and education for facilitating expansion of marine aquaculture in the EU, Canada and the US. One way of achieving public acceptance of aquaculture is by improving the productivity and environmental sustainability of marine aquaculture practices such as Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (IMTA), which uses the waste products generated from one aquatic species as input for another. IMTA was defined as a scientific sub-theme, with the goal of increasing coordination and interaction among the three partners to 1) avoid duplication, 2) address gaps in scientific knowledge and 3) develop good business models to lift IMTA to the next level with producers and consumers. The expected impact is the creation of a transatlantic platform and use of working modules on both sides of the Atlantic to stimulate joint planning, staff/ student exchanges, and interactions with local industry and government. AORA Working Group Meetings The trilateral group actively contributes to the annual symposia of Aquaculture Europe and Aquaculture America. During the WAS Aquaculture America conference in Las Vegas in 2016, six sessions aligned with six working group priority areas were co-sponsored, allowing for productive interaction among scientists from the three jurisdictions. This allowed the AORA Aquaculture Working Group to have meaningful discussions and develop more concrete actions to be undertaken jointly. The six sessions were 1) modelling carrying capacity/deposition, 2) spatial planning, 3) escapees (modelling genetic interactions), 4) climate change (fish health and disease and harmful algal blooms and mollusc disease), 5) Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture, and 6) public perception, public acceptance. A joint session with the Trilateral AORA Ocean Literacy group took place at Aquaculture America 2018. The Trilateral AORA Aquaculture Working Group met at a fourth conference, associated with the Aquaculture Canada and Sea Farmers 2017 Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The conference also contained AORA-tagged sessions on Public Perceptions and IMTA, advancing the work of those sub-groups. The leadership group reviewed thematic sub-themes and potential activities with researchers and stakeholders. Work on short-and medium-term action plans under all AORA Aquaculture Working Group priority areas of the roadmap was initiated. Some themes were regrouped to capture research efforts on tools to improve management, science to support industry and technology transfer, sustainable growth, and evaluating genetic of environments and organisms. Consideration was also given to parallel related initiatives, including the currently running EU Horizon 2020 research projects and the Sustainable Aquaculture module of the Canadian Ocean Frontier Institute. Coordinating work between the AORA Working Group on Aquaculture and the ICES Aquaculture Steering Group and its associated expert groups in this field was discussed; cooperation guidance from both sides is being implemented. Perspectives and Conclusions for AORA Aquaculture To achieve intensified and coordinated international effort the AORA will continue to communicate success stories and case studies with international value by pointing to health effects or social and economic benefits, or transfer of best practices and successful investments in aquaculture education. One example of social awareness campaigns to promote aquaculture products is the Farmed in the EU campaign, directed to students. This has been made possible by active engagement in the Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance of national jurisdictions. Highlighting examples of increased cooperation among various subsectors of aquaculture to achieve greater political hearing has been and will be streamlined via the AORA-CSA. The main forward-looking opportunities of the Trilateral AORA Aquaculture Working Group are improvement of researcher mobility and provision of a mechanism so the most strategic issues are tackled. Tactical concerns such as providing project-related support, technical workshops, forum for scientists to network, and implementation of tools that help researchers meet and interact still need to be improved. If there is continued willingness to contribute from both sides of the Atlantic, the AORA will result in coordinated research, reduced fragmentation, transfer of best practices, and ultimately in the future a long-term alignment of funding for aquaculture research. Notes Karolina Reducha, Project Officer, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Margaret Rae, Director, Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance Coordination and Support Action, Marine Institute Ireland Paola Reale, Policy Officer, DG R&I, European Commission Michael Rust, Aquaculture Science Advisor, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ICES Aquaculture Steering Group Chair Jay Parsons, Ecosystems and Oceans Science Sector, Fisheries and Oceans Canada Wojciech Wawrzynski, Head of Science Support, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), lead support to the AORA Aquaculture WG under the AORA-CSA project. Communicating author email: wojciech@ices.dk 1 www.atlanticresource.org 2 www.atlanticresource.org/aora/site-area/about-us/about-aora-csa 3 www.ices.dk 4 www.cofasp.eu
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