- With the collaboration of the General Secretariat of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and within the framework of the celebration of Aquaculture Day 2024, the Biodiversity Foundation promotes various actions to increase knowledge about this sector
- During the day, the training needs of the sector were discussed, reflected in the new Empleaverde+ Program and the new aquaculture mentoring program: CultiVA Program
- The CultiVA Program seeks to connect professionals from various sectors, such as administration, academia, the environmental field, the scientific community and the business sector with young people interested in developing their professional careers in these areas
November 28, 2024- The Higher Technical School of Forestry, Forestry and Natural Environment Engineering of the Polytechnic University of Madrid has hosted this morning the conference “Training in aquaculture, key to its sustainability”, organized by the Spanish Aquaculture Observatory coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation, with the collaboration of the General Secretariat of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA). During the day, in which the Secretary General of Fisheries of the MAPA, Isabel Artime, accompanied by the Deputy Director of Green Transition of the Biodiversity Foundation, Sonia Castañeda, participated, the Spanish Aquaculture Observatory and the Pleamar Programme, co-financed by the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (FEMPA), were highlighted. as tools to support the fishing and aquaculture sector in its commitment to increasingly sustainable activities. In addition, during the day, the importance of training as a fundamental pillar for the sustainability of the sector and the opportunities offered by the Empleaverde+ Programme led by the Biodiversity Foundation, to address the training needs of the sector, were highlighted during the conference. This day of debate and reflection on the origins of aquaculture training in Spain and its current and future needs, is part of the celebration of Aquaculture Day, which is celebrated every November 30.
ROUND TABLES
Also coinciding with the celebration of the first 40 years of the Special R+D Plan in Aquaculture, a round table has been held with the participation of a selection of professionals who participated in the Special R+D Plan in Aquaculture, who have held or occupy positions of relevance in the sector, contributing to the development of aquaculture for four decades. In addition, another round table discussed the present and future of aquaculture training, in which members of REDAQUA, a project of the ACUIPLUS Cluster, co-financed by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) through the Pleamar Programme, for the strengthening of networking, professionalisation and training in the field of aquaculture, took part. through innovation and knowledge transfer. Finally, the new aquaculture mentoring program has been presented: CultiVA, which will be launched in the coming days. This OESA initiative seeks to connect professionals from various sectors, such as administration, academia, the environmental field, the scientific community and the business sector with young people interested in developing their professional careers in these areas. The voluntary and free program proposes, over a period of three months, the realization of at least three mentoring sessions, which may be face-to-face or remote.
OPPORTUNITIES TO ADDRESS TRAINING NEEDS
The Biodiversity Foundation, through the Empleaverde+ Programme, co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), addresses training and training in new skills linked to the opportunities offered by the ecological transition in the sectors linked to this transformation. Through calls for subsidies, for which an endowment of more than 44 million euros is planned, training projects will be supported, aimed at unemployed people, workers and entrepreneurs, aimed at facilitating access to the labour market and promoting professional retraining and entrepreneurship. The first call for 30 million euros has already been launched and is in the resolution phase. A new call for subsidies, worth more than €13 million, will be published in 2025 to address the training needs detected in different sectors, including the blue economy.
PRESENTATION OF THE XXIII JACUMAR AWARD
During the event, Isabel Artime presented the XXIII JACUMAR Award (National Advisory Board for Marine Farming) for aquaculture research to the Naval and Sea Technology Center of Murcia, for its research project “Development of a digital model for the management of escapes”, which has created advanced digital systems that allow the remote management of facilities and the early detection of failures or breakages in ocean aquaculture infrastructures. Thanks to this technology, it is possible to minimize the economic, environmental and social impact associated with these incidents, contributing to the sustainable development of the sector.
ABOUT OESA AND AQUACULTURE DAY
The Spanish Aquaculture Observatory (OESA) is an initiative coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, with the collaboration and funding of the General Secretariat of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. It serves as a platform for monitoring and analysing the development of aquaculture in Spain, promoting its sustainability, strengthening its image among society, supporting the implementation of research projects, technological development and especially environmental innovation, promoting knowledge transfer and supporting international cooperation. In 2012, OESA, in coordination with the Spanish Aquaculture Society (SEA) and other associations and entities of the Spanish aquaculture sector, launched the celebration of Aquaculture Day, every November 30.
Since then, this date has been consolidated as an opportunity to disseminate to society as a whole that aquaculture is a modern and strategic activity, key to boosting the blue economy and employment in many rural and coastal areas of our country.
