10-03-04 - The first kick-off meeting of project 5.2 ”Ethical quality traits in farmed fish: The role of husbandry practices and aquaculture production systems” (ETHIQUAL) was held at RIVO in IJmuiden, NL, with 12 scientists from NIFA, UGLA, IFREMER, RIVO, ID-Lelystad, AquaNet, FFY, DD and PAS.
After a warm welcome from RIVO’s director, the project meeting started with a general presentation of the partners involved, focusing on the scientific areas and methods used by the different research group. The project leader, Børge Damsgård, informed about SEAFOODplus in general, and gave an overview of the organisation and administration of the programme.
The overall objective in ETHIQUAL is “to examine how husbandry practice, aquacultural systems and pre-slaughter conditions contribute to the flesh quality and ethical quality of finfish seafood.” This objective will over the full project period be achieved in the following eight blocks:
1. Identifying ethical quality based on behavioural and physiological traits
2. Developing smart tagging and monitoring technology for individual-based screening
3. Monitoring ethical indicators
4. Balancing ethical and flesh quality in farmed fish
5. Identifying genetic basis for individual-specific responses to challenges
6. Effects of transport on physiology, behaviour and fish flesh of turbot
7. Optimisation of pre-slaughter with respect to physiology and fish flesh
8. Testing the optimised pre-slaughter conditions at the SME and preparation of guidelines
During the first 18-month period, block 1, 2 and 6 will be initiated. The research is organised in four workpackages, covering the species cod, carp, sea bass, turbot and salmonids, including both method development (”smart” tagging), husbandry and pre-slaughter conditions.
The second day of the project meeting, Hans van de Vis gave a presentation about the current status of ethical slaughter of fish. Børge Damsgård took up the discussion how ETHIQUAL could be organised during the programme period, regarding questions such as meeting schedules and structure, information flow and decision making, reporting and responsabilities of the project leader and partners.
The next ETHIQUAL meeting is planned to take place in Copenhagen in connection with the annual SEAFOODplus conference in October 2004.
