The organizers of the global Offshore Mariculture Conferences have announced that the brand is to evolve this year, to reflect a change in direction for the aquaculture industry. As a result, its biannual European conference has been renamed High-Energy Mariculture Europe.
For the past 15 years, Mercator Media has alternated the conferences between Asia and Europe and has seen interest and attendance grow in line with the increasing global focus on aquaculture.
This year’s three-day event takes place on the Greek island of Corfu, from 17 to 19 October. According to event director Marianne Rasmussen-Coulling, Corfu was chosen to reflect the importance of Greece in the Mediterranean fish-farming supply chain. More than 69 percent of all Greek fisheries production comes from aquaculture and accounts for 11 percent of total Greek agricultural exports. Of the 1,045 aquaculture facilities in Greece, 36 percent are marine fish-farm sites. The main species farmed are sea bass and sea bream, particularly in offshore conditions, and mussels.
The conference will look at the challenges and opportunities involved in moving to high-energy and offshore sites; explore opportunities and innovations throughout the supply chain from hatchery and farming to distribution networks; highlight emerging business opportunities and industry projects, investigate how to improve survival rates and increase profits; and provide a platform for sharing differences in farming practices, particularly between northern and southern Europe.
Rasmussen-Coulling explained that the two days of presentations will cover the full process of aquaculture development, from broodstock to consumer. There will also be an in-depth review of how the industry is developing, and a focus on how recent advancements overseas can be adapted and implemented in Europe. The third and final day will see a technical visit to a local offshore farm.
“We are pleased to launch High Energy Mariculture Europe in Greece and look forward to the great opportunities the conference will bring to attendees,” she said. “The conference is aimed at professionals who are looking to gain valuable information on the progress and prospects for farming offshore. It will be of particular interest to equipment and service suppliers, senior executives, development directors and investors in the aquaculture sector, as well as operators within the processing, value-added and transport network.”
