The Alfredo Kraus Auditorium will host the 19th National Aquaculture Congress from 17 to 19 June

More than 200 researchers and experts will take part in the working sessions, papers and posters that will focus on areas such as feed, nutrition, welfare, sustainability, pathology, economics, genetic improvement and aquaculture engineering and technology

The Spanish Aquaculture Society, in collaboration with the Aquaculture Research Group (GIA) of the ECOAQUA Institute of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), is organising the XIX National Aquaculture Congress (NAC).

The event, which will take place from 17 to 19 June at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, will bring together more than 200 researchers and experts in aquaculture, who will give and participate in various conferences, presentations and round table discussions.

Animal welfare, feeding and nutrition of aquatic organisms in aquaculture, reproduction and genetic improvement, sustainability and the environment, or engineering and technology in aquaculture will be some of the topics that will be dealt with throughout the event, in different rooms of the auditorium and simultaneously during a large part of the congress.

During the congress, researchers will publicly present the results of their studies in relevant areas of aquaculture research through the presentation of scientific posters. and aquaculture engineering and technology.

The inauguration, which will take place on 17 June at 18: 00 hours in the Chamber Hall of the Auditorium, will be attended by the President of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales; the Director General of Fisheries and Aquaculture Management of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Aurora de Blas Carbonero; the President of the Spanish Aquaculture Society, Héctor Pula; the rector of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Lluís Serra; the director of the Canary Islands Agency for Research, Innovation and the Information Society (ACIISI), Javier Franco; the director of the ECOAQUA university institute, Ricardo Haroun; and the director of the Aquaculture Research Group (GIA) and president of the congress organising committee, Juan Manuel Afonso.

This will be followed by the opening conference, given by Lluís Serra Majem, entitled 'Nutritional values of aquaculture products for human health'.

In the course of this state-level event, the presentation of the project 'Sustainable production of shrimp in RAS' will be held on Tuesday 18 June at 11:30 am in the Tenerife Hall of the Auditorium, by Darío Basopo Escalante, consultant of Ecobiofarms Fuerteventura, S.L., due to its special relevance for the industry of the Archipelago. 

A project that stands out for its innovative proposal to develop the cultivation of white shrimp in the Canary Islands, which is currently positioned as the second most produced species in world aquaculture, with rapid growth, so this project represents a significant advance in the introduction of new species for cultivation in the islands.

This new commitment will be supported by the research work of ECOAQUA, which has a long history after supporting since 2015 the development of the industry in Ecuador in white prawn or shrimp, a world leader in the cultivation of this species, a project led by Juan Manuel Afonso, director of GIA and president of the Organising Committee of the XIX National Aquaculture Congress, introducing the latest technology and reducing the fattening process from three to two months and studying the traceability and quality of the product for the consumer.

Juan Manuel Afonso, President of the Organising Committee of the National Aquaculture Congress Gran Canaria 2024.

Tatiana Kalinovsky, Director of Innovation at Roda International, an established company based in Gran Canaria, and an expert in the field of global marketing, will also be speaking about white prawns on Wednesday 19 June at 11:30 am in the Tenerife Hall. She will be discussing the production, export and role in the industry of this species.

On the same day, at 9:00 a.m. in the Chamber Hall, the 'ThinkinAzul' project will be presented in two blocks, under the moderation of Fernando de la Gándara. An initiative that seeks to promote research and development in the marine and coastal field, intelligent and precision aquaculture, and innovation in the blue economy, contributing to the sustainable advancement of the sector.

On the same day, at 18:30 hours, in the Auditorium Chamber Hall, the closing conference of the event, entitled 'Larval Nutrition: key element for optimal fattening', will be given by ULPGC professor Marisol Izquierdo López, a researcher in the Aquaculture Research Group (GIA) of the university institution.

On 20 June, the congress participants will make two consecutive visits, a technical visit to the Marine Technological Science Park of Taliarte, the main headquarters of the Aquaculture Research Group (GIA) of the ECOAQUA institute; and a cultural visit to the Bandama crater, to the wine-growing area of Gran Canaria, which will end at the Botanical Garden.

Facilities of the Aquaculture Research Group at the PCTM in Taliarte, Gran Canaria.

The congress has the main sponsorship of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the Government of Spain, the Government of the Canary Islands and the European project AQUAWIND, the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, through the Society for Economic Promotion of Gran Canaria (SPEGC), as well as the support of BiOasis Gran Canaria, the Department of the Primary Sector, Food Sovereignty and Water Security of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, the Technological Institute of the Canary Islands (ITC), the Center for Aquaculture Technologies (CAT, California, USA), the official veterinary colleges of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, ad DiagNost S. A, Trovan, Biosigma, Biotein, Roda International and Ecobiofarms Fuerteventura, SL. 

The prestigious scientific journal Aquaculture (Elsevier), has awarded, for the first time in the history of Spanish aquaculture, a special volume to publish the best scientific papers of the XIX National Congress of Agriculture Gran Canaria 2024, in recognition of the contribution to science of national researchers, who have facilitated the availability today of food of aquatic origin such as sea bream, sea bass, sole, sea bass or turbot.