Our Vision
Our vision is the establishment of an EU Reference Centre for the Welfare of Aquatic Animals, that will become a global gold standard for the services provided to National Competent Authorities in Member States, addressing the main scope to improve the welfare of aquatic organisms.
The European Union Reference Centre for the Welfare of Aquatic Animals (hereafter the EURCAW-Aqua) will mainly focus on the welfare of fish, cephalopods and decapods. Priority will be given to farmed aquatic species of economic significance for European aquaculture. The EURCAW-Aqua is structured and operated to address the main challenges in assessing the welfare of aquatic organisms, namely the large number of farmed species, the diversity of farming systems and the uniqueness of different aquatic environments, all of which can influence the welfare needs of the animals. The EURCAW-Aqua will conduct and facilitate the research in the underdeveloped area of aquatic animals’ welfare and will engage in National Competent Authorities outreach and awareness campaigns through lectures and exhibitions.
EURCAW-Aqua will review the welfare status of fish reared under different production systems (earthen ponds, flow-through systems, Recirculating Aquaculture Systems, open sea cages), related with common production practices and operations (husbandry practices, selective breeding, transportation, harvest and slaughter) and throughout their life cycle in captivity (broodstock, hatchery, weaning, on-growing). It will also review the welfare of cephalopods (nautiloids, cuttlefish, squids, and octopuses) and decapods (crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, and prawns). Furthermore, during the development of new aquatic organisms farming operations, the welfare of any novel/emerging fish species will be evaluated upon specific queries arisen either by the European Commission Services or the Member States’ Competent Authorities (NCA’s).
EURCAW-Aqua shall focus on “the enforcement of EU rules by developing and disseminating knowledge and tools to assist the competent authorities in performing better official controls” and shall “provide scientific and technical expertise to relevant national scientific support networks or bodies through training courses for staff and disseminating research findings and technical innovations. It will help the authorities understand the rules, as well as the possible control methods to be used by them.
Our vision is the establishment of an EU Reference Centre for the Welfare of Aquatic Animals, that will become a global gold standard for the services provided to National Competent Authorities in Member States, addressing the main scope to improve the welfare of aquatic organisms.
