Climate change is reshaping aquatic environments across Europe. Rising water temperatures, shifts in salinity patterns, increased disease prevalence, and extreme weather events pose unprecedented challenges to aquaculture productivity, fish health, and farm sustainability. As the aquaculture sector faces increasing pressures, the need for innovative adaptation and mitigation strategies has never been more urgent.

CIHEAM (Zaragoza and Bari Institutes), as a partner in the ActFast project, presents this webinar which will showcase how two major European Union Horizon Europe Innovation Actions projects are tackling these challenges head-on, developing practical solutions that will help secure the future of European aquaculture.

The webinar is particularly timely as Europe grapples with the reality that its aquaculture production has stagnated over the past 25 years despite growing global demand for sustainable protein sources. Both ActFast and OCCAM represent strategic investments in reversing this trend through science-based innovation and practical solutions that can be implemented across diverse aquaculture systems and geographical regions.

Programme overview

• 10:00 – Welcome and opening
  Bernardo Basurco (ActFast & CIHEAM Zaragoza) and Freya Robinson (OCCAM & Submariner Network) will set the stage for the discussion.
• 10:10 – Forecasting the impact of climate scenarios on European marine and freshwater aquaculture
  Antón Salgado (IIM-CSIC, Vigo, Spain) will present advanced climate modeling and projections specific to aquaculture systems.
• 10:25 – Coping with climate change in European aquaculture: key challenges, emerging solutions and policy directions
  Szilvia Mihalffy (FEAP, Brussels, Belgium) will address the policy landscape and strategic priorities for the sector.
• 10:40 – OCCAM solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation in various aquaculture sectors
  Petter Olsen (Nofima, Norway) will showcase practical solutions being developed and tested across European aquaculture systems.
• 10:55 – Introducing the ActFast project: actions for climate transition by developing future aquaculture strategies and technologies
  Alessio Bonaldo (University of Bologna, Italy) will present ActFast's comprehensive approach to climate challenges.
• 11:10 – Questions & answers
  An interactive session allowing participants to engage directly with all speakers.

The projects

ActFast (Actions for Climate Transition by developing Future Aquaculture Strategies and Technologies) is a comprehensive Horizon Europe Innovation Action running from 2025 to 2029, bringing together a multidisciplinary consortium of 28 partners from 10 EU countries, plus Norway, Tunisia, and Egypt. The project aims to identify, validate, and demonstrate climate change adaptation and mitigation solutions tailored for European aquaculture, alongside opportunities to increase sustainable production. ActFast focuses on four key aquaculture regions: the Mediterranean basin for seabass and seabream farms particularly vulnerable to heatwaves; Norway and Scotland for salmon aquaculture testing functional feeds and genetic approaches; the Po Delta, Ebro Delta, and Nile Delta addressing mussel thermotolerance and developing innovative Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture systems; and demonstrations in Hungary and Slovenia focusing on carp, trout, and catfish farming.

Coordinated by the Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences at the University of Bologna, ActFast addresses these challenges by combining sustainable farming practices, environmental monitoring, and Artificial Intelligence. A cornerstone of the project is the development of a user-friendly early warning system for the Mediterranean region, empowering aquafarmers to proactively manage and mitigate climate risks. By 2029, ActFast aims to deliver a 10% reduction in mortality rates for sea bass and sea bream through climate-adapted health strategies, a 10% reduction in antibiotic use via preventive measures and functional feeds, and a 10-15% improvement in feed conversion through low-carbon, climate-smart feed formulations.

Running alongside ActFast is OCCAM (Operationalising Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in European Aquaculture), a four-year Horizon Europe project that brings together 22 partners across research, industry, and policy from diverse regions across Europe. Led by Nofima in Norway, researchers in OCCAM will develop 12 different climate adaptation solutions for aquaculture facilities in nine regions across Europe, covering species such as carp, trout, salmon, mussels, oysters, and seaweed. The project includes potential development of improved systems to provide warnings about algal blooms and increases in sea lice populations, as well as breeding fish that can tolerate higher temperatures.

Both projects represent a coordinated European response to climate challenges, with ActFast and OCCAM designed to work as sister projects from the outset of their technical activities. Together, they embody the European Union's commitment to positioning European aquaculture as the global reference for sustainability and quality while increasing competitiveness and creating jobs in rural and coastal regions.

The experts

The webinar brings together leading voices in aquaculture research and policy. Antón Salgado from IIM-CSIC in Vigo, Spain, is a Research Professor specialising in Chemical Oceanography who has worked extensively on ocean biogeochemistry and the role of dissolved organic matter in global biogeochemical cycles. His presentation will explore how climate scenarios are expected to impact European marine and freshwater aquaculture systems, providing critical forecasting insights based on advanced modelling and decades of oceanographic research.

Szilvia Mihalffy serves as Project Manager at the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) in Brussels, where she works at the intersection of aquaculture policy and practice. FEAP represents fish farming associations across Europe and serves as a leading consultative body for European interests, providing advisory input to the European Commission and Parliament. In her presentation, Mihalffy will address the key challenges facing European aquaculture in adapting to climate change, emerging policy solutions, and the strategic directions needed to support the sector's resilience.

Petter Olsen is a Senior Scientist at Nofima in Norway, where he has been employed since 1993, working with applications of information and communication technology in the food industry, with background in computer science, applied mathematics, and operational research. Beyond his technical expertise, Olsen has participated in numerous EU Horizon projects related to climate change and aquaculture. He will present OCCAM's innovative solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation across various aquaculture sectors, demonstrating how technology and data-driven approaches can help producers anticipate and respond to environmental challenges.

Alessio Bonaldo is Full Professor at the Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences at the University of Bologna, where he has been conducting research on nutrition and feeding of aquatic animals since 2005, with particular focus on new protein sources and the development of sustainable and circular feed formulations for sea bream and sea bass. As coordinator of ActFast and principal investigator for several European research projects on aquaculture under the Horizon2020 program, Bonaldo brings extensive experience in leading large-scale collaborative research initiatives. His presentation will introduce the ActFast project's comprehensive approach to climate adaptation, from AI-driven forecasting tools to practical on-farm solutions.

This webinar is organised as part of the ActFast project (Grant Agreement N° 101181159) and OCCAM project (Grant Agreement N° 101182044), both funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions programme. The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor REA can be held responsible for them.