Significant benefits for Crete are expected to accrue from the creation of a European Reference Centre for the Welfare of Aquatic Animals in Heraklion. The creation of the centre, which is expected to start operation in January 2024, was announced recently in Luxembourg at a meeting between the minister for Rural Development and Food, Lefteris Avgenakis, and the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides.
The new institution is one of four such Centres in the EU and the first devoted to issues of aquatic animals; it will operate under the leadership of the University of Crete in a consortium which also includes the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
Speaking to APE-MPE, the Rector of the University of Crete Giorgos Kontakis said: “The Centre is intended to serve as a global model for services supplied to the institutional bodies of the EU, responsible national organisations and the public administrations of Member States. Its basic aim is to develop and disseminate knowledge and tools to be used, by both services and organisations, for the correct treatment of [aquatic] animals.”
The programme’s coordinator, Professor Michalis Pavlidis of the University’s Biology Department, told APE-MPE: “The Centre will provide scientific and technical expertise for the development and application of indicators for good practice and contribute to the development and application of monitoring systems for the wellbeing of aquatic organisms. It will carry out scientific and technical studies, play a leading role in the education and training of staff of the organisations involved, and contribute to the better dissemination of research results and technical innovations.”
The benefits
This development will have multiple benefits both for the University of Crete and for the local community, since apart from raising the University’s scientific profile it will create new jobs, and promote education in young scientists and professionals associated with the primary sector. For the government, it will contribute to research and development in the field of aquatic animal welfare, improve the management of water resources and help in maintaining biodiversity.
It will also help to promote good practice in fish farming – an area in which Greece is a European leader. The Centre is also expected to attract tourists, broadening the area’s offer in the field of alternative tourism and helping the local economy.
(Haniotika Nea 30/10/23/APE-MPE)