Today, November 30, is Aquaculture Day, a strategic sector for the country’s economy, with more than 335,000 tons of annual production. A sector that directly employs more than 20,000 workers in the more than 5,200 establishments dedicated to aquaculture in 2015. On the occasion of the celebration of this day, last Monday, the Secretary General of Fisheries, Andrés Hermida, participated in the commemorative event of Aquaculture Day at the National Museum of Science and Technology of Alcobendas in Madrid, in which he highlighted “the leading role that this activity can play in the economic and social development of many rural and coastal areas, maintaining and generating jobs”.

Among the projects supported by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment linked to aquaculture through the Spanish Aquaculture Observatory, the exhibition “Aquaculture? Discover it” , which will soon continue its journey through the country’s museums and exhibition centres, or the school project “Raised in the EU”, launched by the European Commission to bring the world of aquaculture closer to schoolchildren, through the programming of training workshops in educational centres throughout Spain.

Within the framework of this initiative, and coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation, a total of 62 workshops have been given during the months of October and November of this year, in which more than 1,700 young people have participated with the collaboration of 27 experts from the sector. So far, schools from 37 Spanish cities have participated and another 30 schools will carry out their activities during the months of December and January.

Schools interested in participating during this school year can find more information about the methodology to be used or the materials available on the website of the Spanish Aquaculture Observatory or through the email criadoenlaUE@fundacion-biodiversidad.es.

At last Monday’s event, the prizes of the “Say yes to sustainable aquaculture” contest were awarded, framed in the school project “Raised in the EU”, which has had the participation of 300 students who have shown a casual vision of aquaculture through drawings and projects.

Victoria López Hernández from the Samaniego Concerted Teaching Center (Murcia), has received the Prize in the category of “Drawing first cycle of primary” and Nerea Abrumhosa Fernández from the El Cotayo Public School (Asturias), has been the winner in the category of “Drawing second cycle primary”.

The runners-up in this category went to Jessica García Jaramillo from the Río Mundo School (Albacete), Carla Gil Hernández from the Samaniego Concerted Teaching Center (Murcia) and Joana Iñiguez Tomás, from the Mestre Marcel•li Domingo Public School (Tarragona).

In the Project Category, the winners were the students of the Almunia Institute (Cádiz) for their project “Gyotaku gaditano, the soul of bay aquaculture” which represents the Japanese tradition of immortalizing catches through a natural impression.

This category has also had three runners-up prizes that have gone to the San Agustín Concerted School (Murcia), the Ángel Corella Institute (Madrid) and the Samaniego Concerted Teaching Center (Murcia).

All the winners have been presented with a diploma, the story “The Emperor’s Dream”, a batch of aquaculture products and the opportunity to visit an aquaculture facility.