The first of the Marie Curie funded AQUALABS Training Course Series took place in Kuopio, Finland from the 23-30 May. The course was an overwhelming success with more 30 participants from 17 countries worldwide. The eight day training course provided an opportunity for students and researchers to share, explore and identify new laboratory skills and expertise. The focus of this training course was Molecular Biology and Ecology in Aquaculture. The location of the course was ideal because of the University’s outstanding experience with the AQUALABS Training Course 1 initiative in 2001 and its reputation as a centre of excellence in molecular techniques.

The overall response from the participants was extremely positive. David Swords, Laboratory Technician, Fish Health Unit from the Marine Institute, Ireland described the programme as “an excellent course" He also noted that “my future work will certainly benefit from it." Fiona Eddy a PhD student at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Wales, Swansea said the course was “a brilliant opportunity, not only academically but also to meet other young researchers." Gonçalo de Abreu Santos from Portugal and currently pursuing a PhD at Wageningen University, The Netherlands summed up the event as “Superb Science in Suomi with Swim and Sauna."


The laboratory aspect of the course covered a number of techniques such as RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, quantitative RT-PCR, gel preparation & extraction, TOPO cloning, plating, plasmid-DNA purification for sequencing, analyses and microarray technology. For the purpose of the course, the University of Kuopio sourced a number of leading lecturers in this growing field of research for the lectures from the University of Barcelona, Autonomous University of Barcelona, University of Kuopio, University of Turku, and the University of Crete. Participants also visited the Aquaculture Research Unit part of the Institute of Applied Biotechnology at the University of Kuopio.

The social events arranged by the University of Kuopio included an interesting visit to the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, Tervo and the top site of Fisheries Tourism in Finland - Lohimaa Holiday & Fishing Centre (Tervo). The excursion to Tervo provided the participants with a unique opportunity to view national breeding programmes and benefit from a presentation from the Director of the Fish Innovation Centre, Tervo - Hannu Möls The organisers at the University of Kuopio also organised a trip to experience the Finnish tradition of a Smoked Sauna.

 

I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of AquaTT to thank the scientific coordinators at the University of Kuopio, Heikki Koskinen, Juha Matilainen and Dr. Aleksei Krasnov.
Lorraine Rafferty, Project Officer.

The next AQUALABS Training Course is scheduled for August 22 - 27, 2005 at the Research Institute for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Irrigation (HAKI), Szarvas, Hungary focusing on the Aquaculture and the Environment. Please visit to the AQUALABS link on the AquaTT website for future updates and registration details for this course: www.aquatt.ie

Source: AquaTT
For further information visit: www.aquatt.ie

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MARINVEST - Marine Investment for Future Prosperity Seminars, China May/June 2005

Two Marine Investment for Future Prosperity (MARINVEST) seminars took place in China this week titled; "implementing EU Environmental and Shellfish Safety Criteria." The first event was held in Beijing on the 30th May 2005 and was repeated in Qingdao on the 1st June. Approximately 45 participants attended each seminar, including relevant government (central/provincial/local) departments, competent authorities, development agencies, food safety organisations and environmental protection representatives.

Invited European experts from Ireland, the UK and the European Commission gave presentations to the high level audience; key note speakers included Paolo Caricato, DG Sanco, European Commission, John Coleman, AquaTT Director, Doug McLeod, SATA, Lorna Murray, Scottish Food Standards Agency, Peter Holmes, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Nicolas Ranninger, BIM and Alan Yates, Highland Council.

MARINVEST is partially funded by the EU Asia Pro Eco Programme (Promoting sustainable solutions for the environment between Asia and Europe) and aims to transfer the technology of environmental monitoring to promote socio-economic progress and environmental improvements in the aquaculture sector throughout the Shandong region of China. The partners of MARINVEST are AquaTT (Coordinator), Scottish Aquaculture Training Association Ltd. (SATA), Yellow Seas Fisheries Research Institute (YSFRI), and the Qingdao Association for International Science & Technology Cooperation (QAISTC).

The focus of the project is threefold: (1) to assist public authorities with the establishment of a comprehensive environmental monitoring programme, (2) to train the workforce on implementation practices, and (3) to improve the quality and safety of shellfish through activities such as designing and implementing Harvesting Area Classification, generating a marine biotoxin monitoring regime, developing a network of depuration facilities, and designing a traceability system. Without these elements in place, exporting shellfish to the EU will be an unattainable objective. These will form the essential foundation for the industry in the Shandong Province and will ultimately serve as the model for other regions in China and beyond.

A full report on the seminars will be in next month's issue of Training news and copies of the presentations available on the AquaTT website.

If you would like more information on MARINVEST, please refer to the AquaTT website, www.aquatt.ie

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The 2005 Glasgow Traceability Seminar, SECC, Glasgow, Scotland May 19 2005

The 2005 Glasgow Traceability Seminar was held on the 19th May as part of events supporting the "Fishing 2005" exhibition held in the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC). This was the second year that such a free event was held and the emphasis was on EU Traceability Projects, Implementing Traceability, and Traceability Solutions.

The seminar was truly European with speakers from Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Poland. In Session one there were presentations on most of the major EU Research projects with a Traceability element to it.

John Coleman from AquaTT opened proceedings with a quick run through some of the European projects not having specific presentations. This was followed by Crick Carleton's presentation (Nautilus Consultants) reminding us what is traceability actually about. This was followed by a series of presentations on specific projects. These included: Fish-Tracenet project, Fish Trace, and an update on the EAFPA led transnational fishery project on fish port auctions. Session 2 had two presentations on Molecular Traceability, One on Weighing/Labelling at Sea and one on The Problems in Implementing Tracefish Standards in Poland. The final session dealt with presentations from companies providing traceability solutions. The day was finished with a short presentation on a low cost web based traceability solution aimed at small scale shellfish producers.

The presentations from the 2005 Glasgow Traceability Seminar will be made available on one of the aquatt websites (www.aquatt.ie, www.piscestt.com) within the next two weeks, and published later in the year.

The Glasgow Traceabilyity Seminars are coordinated by AquaTT. The seminars are sponsored by Seafish Industry Authority, AquaTT, Nautilis Consultants Ltd, La Tene Maps, and the Informa Group, publishers of Fishing News, Fishing News International, Seafood International and Fish Farming International.

Source: John Coleman, La Tene Maps
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