Researchers from 16 countries have come together to develop new ways of safeguarding animal health within the European aquaculture industry.
Funded by the EU Horizon Europe programme, Cure4Aqua is a €4.8 million, 4.5-year project focused on early disease detection amongst farmed fish and seafood and finding alternatives to pharmaceuticals.
Farmed seafood is an important source of protein for food and animal feed but the industry remains plagued by the challenges of disease control. This is particularly true for Europe, where there is a great variety of species and production systems.
“There is an urgent need to solve some of the major shortcomings and constraints that the European aquaculture industry is facing,” said Cure4Aqua project coordinator, Ivona Mladineo from the Institute of Parasitology in Czech Republic said.
“Cure4Aqua will address these issues by building a co-creative approach with other players interested and involved in the aquaculture,” she added.
Cure4Aqua has brought together experts to take several key actions, namely to:
- Develop cost effective vaccines to prevent diseases in farmed fish
- Implement selective breeding programmes to improve stress and disease management
- Develop biobased and sustainable alternatives to antibiotics for controlling fish diseases
- Develop new tools and artificial intelligence-based technology to improve fish health and welfare
- Improve diagnostics of fish pathogens
- Integrate farmer and fish welfare by developing high welfare standards that consider different life stages, production systems and knowledge of welfare needs.
Cure4Aqua partners held an inaugural project meeting on 16-17 November 2022 in Prague, Czech Republic.
