The European Marine Biological Resource Centre (EMBRC) has joined the Transnational Access programme of the AQUAEXCEL3.0 project and is announcing a joint call for access proposals.
EMBRC and AQUAEXCEL3.0 announce joint call
In May 2024, EMBRC joined AQUAEXCEL3.0’s Transnational Access (TNA) programme to widen access to aquaculture research services in Europe. 40 EMBRC marine stations and institutes from 8 countries will provide additional facilities to complement AQUAEXCEL3.0’s existing aquaculture service offering. The additional services provided by EMBRC partners focus on supporting marine biological and ecological research. They include:
- Facilitating access to marine ecosystems
through coastal research vessels and the collection of organisms from the field - Marine biological resources
from culture collections and biobanks and taxonomy services - Experimental facilities
aquaria, tanks and mesocosms, dry and wet laboratories - & technological platforms
for molecular biology, imaging and structural and chemical analysis
From the launch of the joint call on Monday 13 May 2024, researchers will be able to submit project proposals until the project ends in October 2025 or when all the available funding has been allocated, whichever is sooner.
“Many EMBRC partners already work in the aquaculture sector so this call helps us consolidate links with the community. Providing our services to even more scientists helps us boost research efforts and ensure Europe remains an aquaculture leader,”
says Davide Di Cioccio, EMBRC’s Access Officer.
Who should apply?
Scientists are encouraged to apply if access to EMBRC’s state-of-the-art marine biology facilities and services will boost their aquaculture research, or extend its reach.
The challenges and opportunities for aquaculture
Aquaculture is a rapidly growing sector, which provides more than half of global seafood supplies. But this industry faces challenges in Europe and still imports a large volume of fish. It’s important to make sure European aquaculture products are good quality, efficiently produced and sustainable. Research of the highest standards is critical if we are to boost innovation and sustainable growth in this sector so Europe remains a key player when it comes to aquaculture.
About AQUAEXCEL3.0
AQUAEXCEL3.0 – which builds on the previous Horizon 2020 projects AQUAEXCEL(FP7) and AQUAEXCEL2020 – aims to boost the EU aquaculture sector by providing more support to research teams. The programme provides high-quality services, tools, resources, and facilities as well as free training courses to help the scientific community stay ahead of the latest developments and in touch with the industry’s needs. While fish remains a primary target, the project broadened its scope to include shellfish and macroalgae, paving the way for a more sustainable approach focused on lower trophic levels.
By partnering with the European aquaculture industry, the project hopes to raise awareness of the benefits research infrastructures can provide the sector, and advance the strategic research agenda of the European Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Platform (EATiP).
“We’re pleased to be able to expand our service offering even further thanks to the 40 EMBRC partners who are involved in this joint call,”
says Marc Vandeputte, Project Coordinator of AQUAEXCEL3.0. “Boosting sustainable aquaculture development is an important part of developing the Blue Economy across Europe.”
“This joint call also plays an important part in continuing to give access to the aquaculture services available through AQUASERV. The project’s first open call for Transnational Access is planned for early autumn 2024,” adds Di Cioccio.
More info and to apply
For more information on this joint call, please visit: https://www.embrc.eu/newsroom/calls/joint-call-new-aquaculture-opportunities-aquaexcel30-and-embrc and to submit your project proposal, visit: https://apply.aquaexcel.eu/submit-proposal/
For more information on AQUAEXCEL3.0 project
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